bell notificationshomepageloginNewPostedit profiledmBox

Hoots : How to find a root note of an unknown scale? I can pick a pentatonic scale by ear to play along the song but I dont know what would be the root of the scale and if its in major or minor. - freshhoot.com

10% popularity   0 Reactions

How to find a root note of an unknown scale?
I can pick a pentatonic scale by ear to play along the song but I dont know what would be the root of the scale and if its in major or minor.


Load Full (1)

Login to follow hoots

1 Comments

Sorted by latest first Latest Oldest Best

10% popularity   0 Reactions

The root note of any scale is the one that sounds most at rest - or at home. The one that could end the piece. Particularly playing the tonic chord (which is based on the root note), will help you to establish which it is. Often pieces will start, as well as end on that tonic.

There may well be a problem with the pentatonics, as guitarists (in particular) like to play the minor pent. over major chords. Nothing wrong there - it's just that a lot of guitarists only ever use that minor pent. and are maybe unaware that a major pent. exists. Take A minor pent. The same five notes also become the C major pent. But with a different root, obviously. A minor pent. will work happily over A major pieces, but so will A major pent. A major pent. is made up from the same five notes as F♯ minor pent.

As others urge - learn major scales - on guitar, one pattern can be moved up and down to produce all twelve, so not a daunting task! I recommend starting with A major, 5th fret bottom string, and work up to 5th fret top string (A). By using frets 4-7, it'll all be done without sliding the hand up or down. That pattern will then do for all major scales - C, for instance, starts on fret 8.


Back to top Use Dark theme