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Welcome to the sample content pages for the Musicarta Pentatonics Workbook - now available on Udemy at a discount introductory price of $19.95.

Pentatonic scales have five notes – two of the notes in the ordinary scale are missed out. There are two pentatonic scales, a pentatonic major and a pentatonic minor. These scales are easy to learn and generate lots of music, from blues and heavy metal through to mainstream rock jamming and folk tunes.

You'll recognise the sound of the minor pentatonic scale immediately. Here's an example.

Pentatonic scales are great for improvising because they provide a limited set of notes which sound good over a maximum number of chords. Because there are only five of them, it’s easier to pick a note, and it’s more likely to be a good one.

If you're interested in boosting your popular-styles keyboard skills using this approach, please watch this introductory video.

Here's some sample content from the Musicarta Pentatonics Workbook theory modules.

The all-white-key major pentatonic scales

Musicarta's video method makes it easy to find the pentatonic scale tones.

• Here are two which use only the white piano keys.
• Use two hands - left for green and right for orange.

 C pentatonic major

 F pentatonic major

Get practical!

Using the Pentatonic Workbook keyboard diagrams, you can immediately start picking out pentatonic melodies at the keyboard. ‘Doodle’ with two hands covering a total of perhaps eight or nine notes - the shaded octave and a couple of notes either side.

You're sure to find the sound is familiar!

Here's 'Ambling Around' - one of the first pieces in the Workbook. It uses the three (C, F and G) all-white-key major pentatonic scales.

Here's the 'One-octave Blues'. It uses the same five keys, but with A as the home-note - so it's in A minor.

Get with the groove and learn the 'One-octave Blues' - the A minor tune right above. Click through here to see how easy it is to

...make music with the pentatonic scales!

Here are two sample ‘doodles’. They both start and end on the name-note of the scale - C or A. They're right in the middle of the keyboard - try to copy them.

 C major

 A minor

There's a whole section of playing-by-ear coaching in the Workbook, so don't be dismayed if at first you don't succeed!

Feel free to browse more sample content on Sample Page Two.

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