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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 coaches you to reliably finding the pentatonic scale tones in any key. Here are two which use only the white piano keys.

 C pentatonic major

 F pentatonic major

In fact, the same five keys can make both a major and a minor pentatonic scale. The Musicarta Pentatonic Workbook has lots of diagrams to help you quickly grasp these creative secrets!

Sample Workbook repertoire

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.

Sample doodles

Because the pentatonic scales use only five notes, any note you pick 'sounds right'. That's why they're used so much for melody-writing and improvising.

Here are two sample ‘doodles’. They both start and end on the name-note (tonic/T) of the scale - C or A. They're right in the middle of the keyboard - try to copy them.

 C major

 A minor

Spoiler alert! Here come 'the answers'!

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! You can at least see how the two familiar-sounding melodies are made from the notes of the pentatonic scale.

So! Ready to take a leap of faith?

Or enjoy your free sample module - The One-Octave Blues.

Thanks for visiting!

By the way...   

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Musicarta is streaming on Twitch TV! Bookmark keyboardcomposing and check the schedule for your local times!