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Expanded Harmonywi*h Flmm*mt*m{cru W{. ffBY THADDEUS HOGARTH

LAST MONTH, WE STARTED EXPLORINGsome new ways to employ the tried-and-true pentatonic scale. For these examples,we'll still use the G minor pentatonic scale,superimposing it over other chords. Thefunction of each scale degree changesdepending on the chord underneath, andyou'll want to record (or have a friendstrum) the underlying chords as you playover them to really hear what's going on.

Ex.1: G minor pentatonic scale over anA[maj7 chord

Here, think of playing a minor pentatonica minor second (a half step: one fret) belowthe root of a major 7th chord. This createsan interesting uneasiness over a major 7thchord, since you only touch two ofthe chordtones (the rest are tensions). Using the minorpentatonic in this way may not be appropri-ate in all situations, since the sound is a litde'butside," but in many cases,'it can add anunusual and effective new color.

Ex2: G minor pentatonic scale over anE[maj7 chord

Think of this as playing a minor penta-tonic that is built a major third up from theroot of a major 7th chord. This is a more"inside" sound than the previous example.

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Er3: G minor pentatonic scale over B[7This is a common way to use the minor

pentatonic scale. Start a minor pentatonicdown a minor 3rd from a dominant chord'sroot.

Ex4: G minor pentatonic scale over E7pThink of playing a relative minor pen-

tatonic up a minor third from the root ofan altered dominant 7th chord. This is avery colorful sound.

Ex5: Over CZThink of this as playing a perfect fifth

above the root of a dominant 7th chord.Playing in this way sounds relatively inside.

In Ex.6, we mix and match all of theseideas for a hip sound that should still feeltotally familiar. Record the chords, get thenotes under your fingers, and pay attentionto how the scale shifts up or down in rela-tion to the root of the chord. Some areinside, some are more outside, but it addsup to a creative usage ofthe good old pen-tatonic scale. Enioy!

Thaddeus Hogarth teaches Funk and RtsBGuitar for berhleemusic.com, the online school

for Berhlee College of Music.

Elnatz ozfis

Down a min 3rd from Up a min 3rd lromEbmajT = Cm pentatonic D7#9 = Fm pentatonic root = Gm pentatonic pentatonic

upa5th=Gm upamin3rd=Fmpentatonic pentatonic

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