View source for Pentatonic scale

{{Short description|Type of musical scale}}

[[File:'Oh, Susanna' pentatonic melody.png|350px|thumb|The first two phrases of the melody from Stephen Foster's "Oh! Susanna" are based on the major pentatonic scale<ref name="B&S">Bruce Benward and Marilyn Nadine Saker (2003), ''Music: In Theory and Practice'', seventh edition (Boston: McGraw Hill), vol. I, pp.&nbsp;36–37. {{ISBN|978-0-07-294262-0}}.</ref>File:'Oh, Susanna' pentatonic melody.mid]]

A '''pentatonic scale''' is a musical scale with five notes per octave, in contrast to the heptatonic scale, which has seven notes per octave (such as the major scale and minor scale).

Pentatonic scales were developed independently by many ancient civilizations<ref>{{cite book |author=John Powell |title=How Music Works: The Science and Psychology of Beautiful Sounds, from Beethoven to the Beatles and Beyond |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |page=121 |location=New York |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-316-09830-4}}</ref> and are still used in various musical styles to this day. As Leonard Bernstein put it: "the universality of this scale is so well known that I'm sure you could give me examples of it, from all corners of the earth, as from Scotland, or from China, or from Africa, and from American Indian cultures, from East Indian cultures, from Central and South America, Australia, Finland ...now, that is a true musico-linguistic universal."<ref>Bernstein, L. (1976)
''The Unanswered Question'', Cambridge Mass., Harvard University Press.</ref> There are two types of pentatonic scales: those with semitones (hemitonic) and those without (anhemitonic).

== Types ==

=== Hemitonic and anhemitonic ===
[[File:Min'yō scale.png|thumb|300px|''Minyō'' scale on D,<ref>Susan Miyo Asai (1999). ''Nōmai Dance Drama'', p.&nbsp;126. {{ISBN|978-0-313-30698-3}}.</ref> equivalent to ''yo'' scale on D,<ref>Minoru Miki, Marty Regan, Philip Flavin (2008). ''Composing for Japanese instruments'', p.&nbsp;2. {{ISBN|978-1-58046-273-0}}.</ref> with brackets on fourthsFile:Min'yō scale.mid]]
[[File:Miyako-bushi scale.png|thumb|300px|''Miyako-bushi'' scale on D, equivalent to ''in'' scale on D, with brackets on fourths<ref>{{cite book |author=Jeff Todd Titon |title=Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples, Shorter Version |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nWsHAAAAQBAJ |year=1996 |publisher=Cengage Learning |location=Boston |isbn=978-0-02-872612-0}} p. 373.</ref>File:Miyako-bushi scale.mid]]

Musicology commonly classifies pentatonic scales as either ''hemitonic'' or ''anhemitonic''. Hemitonic scales contain one or more semitones and anhemitonic scales do not contain semitones. (For example, in Japanese music the anhemitonic ''yo'' scale is contrasted with the hemitonic ''in'' scale.) Hemitonic pentatonic scales are also called "ditonic scales", because the largest interval in them is the ditone (e.g., in the scale C–E–F–G–B–C, the interval found between C–E and G–B).<ref>Anon., "Ditonus", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (London: Macmillan Publishers, 2001); Bence Szabolcsi, "Five-Tone Scales and Civilization", ''Acta Musicologica'' 15, nos. 1–4 (January–December 1943): pp.&nbsp;24–34, citation on p.&nbsp;25.</ref> (This should not be confused with the identical term also used by musicologists to describe a scale including only two notes.)

=== Major pentatonic scale ===
Anhemitonic pentatonic scales can be constructed in many ways. The major pentatonic scale may be thought of as a gapped or incomplete major scale, using scale tones 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 of the major scale.<ref name="B&S" /> One construction takes five consecutive pitches from the circle of fifths;<ref>Paul Cooper, ''Perspectives in Music Theory: An Historical-Analytical Approach''(New York: Dodd, Mead, 1973), p.&nbsp;18. . {{ISBN|0-396-06752-2}}.</ref> starting on C, these are C, G, D, A, and E. Rearranging the pitches to fit into one octave creates the major pentatonic scale: C, D, E, G, A.

:<score sound="1"> {
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c' {
  \time 5/4
  c d e g a c
} }
</score>
Another construction works backward: It omits two pitches from a diatonic scale. If one were to begin with a C major scale, for example, one might omit the fourth and the seventh scale degrees, F and B. The remaining notes then make up the major pentatonic scale: C, D, E, G, and A.

Omitting the third and seventh degrees of the C major scale obtains the notes for another transpositionally equivalent anhemitonic pentatonic scale: F, G, A, C, D. Omitting the first and fourth degrees of the C major scale gives a third anhemitonic pentatonic scale: G, A, B, D, E.

The black keys on a piano keyboard comprise a G-flat (or equivalently, F-sharp) major pentatonic scale: G-flat, A-flat, B-flat, D-flat, and E-flat, which is exploited in Chopin's black key étude.

:<score sound="1"> {
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c'' {
  \time 5/4
  ges aes bes des ees ges
} }

</score>

=== Minor pentatonic scale ===
Although various hemitonic pentatonic scales might be called ''minor'', the term is most commonly applied to the '''relative minor pentatonic''' derived from the major pentatonic, using scale tones 1, {{music|b}}3, 4, 5, and {{music|b}}7 of the natural minor scale.<ref name="B&S" /> (It may also be considered a gapped blues scale.)<ref>{{cite book |author=Steve Khan |title=Pentatonic Khancepts |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oPnBp74IN8UC |year=2002 |publisher=Alfred Music Publishing |isbn=978-0-7579-9447-0}} p. 12.</ref> The C minor pentatonic scale, the relative minor of the E-flat pentatonic scale, is C, E-flat, F, G, B-flat. The A minor pentatonic, the relative minor of C pentatonic, comprises the same tones as the C major pentatonic, starting on A, giving A, C, D, E, G. This minor pentatonic contains all three tones of an A minor triad.

:<score sound="1"> {
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c'' {
  \time 5/4
  a4 c d e g | a
} }

</score>

The standard tuning of a [[Engineering:Guitar|guitar]] uses the notes of an E minor pentatonic scale: E–A–D–G–B–E, contributing to its frequency in popular music.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Serna |first1=Desi |title=Guitar Theory for Dummies |date=2013 |publisher=Wiley |location=Hoboken, New Jersey|isbn=978-1-118-64677-9 |page=168 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I5dtAwAAQBAJ}}</ref>

=== Japanese scale ===

Japanese mode is based on Phrygian mode, but use scale tones 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 instead of scale tones 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7.

:<score sound="1"> {
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c' {
  \time 5/4
  e f a b c | e
} }

</score>

== Modes of the pentatonic scale ==
The pentatonic scale (containing notes C, D, E, G and A) has five modes, which are derived by treating a different note as the tonic:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Tonic
! rowspan="2"| Name(s)
! rowspan="2"| Chinese pentatonic scale
! rowspan="2"| Indian pentatonic scale
! rowspan="2"| On C
! colspan="3"| White key transpositions
! Black key transposition
|-
! C major pentatonic
! F major pentatonic
! G major pentatonic
! F{{music|sharp}}/G{{music|flat}} major pentatonic
|-
| 1 (C)
| Major pentatonic
| 宮 (gōng) mode
| Hindustani – Bhoopali<br />Carnatic – Mohanam<br />Tamil - Mullaittīmpāṇi
| C–D–E–G–A–C
| C–D–E–G–A–C
| F–G–A–C–D–F
| G–A–B–D–E–G
| G{{music|b}}–A{{music|b}}–B{{music|b}}–D{{music|b}}–E{{music|b}}–G{{music|b}}
|-
| 2 (D)
| Suspended, Egyptian
| 商 (shāng) mode
| Hindustani – Megh<br />Carnatic – Madhyamavati<br />Tamil - Centurutti
| D–E–G–A–C–D
| G–A–C–D–F–G
| A–B–D–E–G–A
| A{{music|b}}–B{{music|b}}–D{{music|b}}–E{{music|b}}–G{{music|b}}–A{{music|b}}
|-
| 3 (E)
| Blues minor, Man Gong (Guqin tunings)
| 角 (jué) mode
| Hindustani – Malkauns<br />Carnatic – Hindolam<br />Tamil - Intaḷam
| C–E{{music|b}}–F–A{{music|b}}–B{{music|b}}–C
| E–G–A–C–D–E
| A–C–D–F–G–A
| B–D–E–G–A–B
| B{{music|b}}–D{{music|b}}–E{{music|b}}–G{{music|b}}–A{{music|b}}–B{{music|b}}
|-
| 5 (G)
| Blues major, {{ill|ritsusen|ja|律旋法}}, yo scale
| 徵 (zhǐ) mode
| Hindustani – Durga<br />Carnatic – Shuddha Saveri<br />Tamil - Koṉṟai
| C–D–F–G–A–C
| G–A–C–D–E–G
| C–D–F–G–A–C
| D–E–G–A–B–D
| D{{music|b}}–E{{music|b}}–G{{music|b}}–A{{music|b}}–B{{music|b}}–D{{music|b}}
|-
| 6 (A)
| Minor pentatonic
| 羽 (yǔ) mode
| Hindustani – Dhani<br />Carnatic – Shuddha Dhanyasi<br />Tamil - āmpal
| C–E{{music|b}}–F–G–B{{music|b}}–C
| A–C–D–E–G–A
| D–F–G–A–C–D
| E–G–A–B–D–E
| E{{music|b}}–G{{music|b}}–A{{music|b}}–B{{music|b}}–D{{music|b}}–E{{music|b}}
|}

Ricker assigned the major pentatonic scale mode I while Gilchrist assigned it mode III.<ref name="Ricker1999">{{cite book |author=Ramon Ricker |title=Pentatonic Scales for Jazz Improvisation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4pIIfRuiRpcC&pg=PA2 |year=1999 |publisher=Studio P/R, Alfred Publishing Co. |location=Lebanon, Ind. |isbn=978-1-4574-9410-9}} cites {{cite journal |author=Annie G. Gilchrist |title=Note on the Modal System of Gaelic Tunes |journal=Journal of the Folk-Song Society |date=1911 |volume=4 |issue=16 |pages=150–53 |jstor=4433969}} {{Subscription required |via=[[Organization:JSTOR|JSTOR]]}}</ref>

=== Relationship to diatonic modes ===
Each mode of the pentatonic scale (containing notes C, D, E, G and A) can be thought of as the five scale degrees shared by three different diatonic modes with the two remaining scale degrees removed:

[[File:Heptatonic and Pentatonic modes relationship v4.1 plain.svg|alt=Venn-like diagram showing the correspondence between each pentatonic scale and three different heptatonic modes.|thumb|524px|left|Each pentatonic scale can be thought of as the five notes shared by three different heptatonic modes.]]

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Pentatonic<br />scale
! Tonic<br />note
! Based on modes (Diatonic scale)
! Base scale<br />degrees
! Modifications
! Interval sequence
|-
! Major
| C
|
*Lydian mode
*Ionian mode (Major)
*Mixolydian mode
| I–II–III–V–VI
| Omit 4 7
| W–W–3/2–W–3/2
|-
! Blues major
| G
|
*Ionian mode (Major)
*Mixolydian mode
*Dorian mode
| I–II–IV–V–VI
| Omit 3 7
| W–3/2–W–W–3/2
|-
! Suspended
| D
|
*Mixolydian mode
*Dorian mode
*Aeolian mode (Natural minor)
| I–II–IV–V–VII
| Omit 3 6
| W–3/2–W–3/2–W
|-
! Minor
| A
|
*Dorian mode
*Aeolian mode (Natural minor)
*Phrygian mode
| I–III–IV–V–VII
| Omit 2 6
| 3/2–W–W–3/2–W
|-
! Blues minor
| E
|
*Aeolian mode (Natural minor)
*Phrygian mode
*Locrian mode
| I–III–IV–VI–VII
| Omit 2 5
| 3/2–W–3/2–W–W
|}
{{clear}}

=== Intervals from tonic ===
Each mode of the pentatonic scale (containing notes C, D, E, G and A) features different intervals of notes from the tonic according to the table below. Note the omission of the semitones above (m2) and below (M7) the tonic as well as the tritone (TT).

[[File:Heptatonic and Pentatonic scale intervals.svg|alt=Chromatic circle diagrams comparing the pentatonic scale intervals to the heptatonic scale|thumb|524px|left|The intervals used in the pentatonic scale compared to the heptatonic scale.]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
! rowspan="2"| Pentatonic<br />scale
! rowspan="2"| Tonic<br />note
! colspan="6"| Intervals with respect to the tonic
|-
! style="width: 5em"| unison
! style="width: 5em"| second<br />note
! style="width: 5em"| third<br />note
! style="width: 5em"| fourth<br />note
! style="width: 5em"| fifth<br />note
! style="width: 5em"| octave
|-
! style="text-align: left"| Major
| C
| rowspan="5"| P1
| rowspan="3"| M2
| rowspan="1"| M3
| rowspan="4"| P5
| rowspan="2"| M6
| rowspan="5"| P8
|-
! style="text-align: left"| Blues major
| G || rowspan="4" | P4
|-
! style="text-align: left"| Suspended
| D || rowspan="3" | m7
|-
! style="text-align: left"| Minor
| A || rowspan="2" | m3
|-
! style="text-align: left"| Blues minor
| E || rowspan="1" | m6
|}
{{clear}}

== Tuning ==
=== Pythagorean tuning ===
Ben Johnston gives the following Pythagorean tuning for the minor pentatonic scale:<ref>Ben Johnston, "Scalar Order as a Compositional Resource", ''Perspectives of New Music'' 2, no. 2 (Spring–Summer 1964): pp. 56–76. Citation on p.&nbsp;64 {{JSTOR|832482}}. {{Subscription required}} Accessed 4 January 2009.</ref>
{{Listen|filename=A minor pentatonic scale Pythagorean.mid|title=A minor pentatonic scale in Pythagorean tuning}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="4" | Note
! | Solfege
! colspan="2" | A
! colspan="2" | C
! colspan="2" | D
! colspan="2" | E
! colspan="2" | G
! colspan="2" | A
|-
! Ratio
| colspan="2" | {{frac|1|1}}
| colspan="2" | {{frac|32|27}}
| colspan="2" | {{frac|4|3}}
| colspan="2" | {{frac|3|2}}
| colspan="2" | {{frac|16|9}}
| colspan="2" | {{frac|2|1}}
|-
! Natural
| colspan="2" | 54
| colspan="2" | 64
| colspan="2" | 72
| colspan="2" | 81
| colspan="2" | 96
| colspan="2" | 108
|-
! Audio
| colspan="2" | 1[[File:Unison on C.mid|90px|center]]
| colspan="2" | 3[[File:Pythagorean minor third on C.mid|90px|none]]
| colspan="2" | 4[[File:Just perfect fourth on C.mid|90px|none]]
| colspan="2" | 5[[File:Just perfect fifth on C.mid|90px|none]]
| colspan="2" | 7[[File:Lesser just minor seventh on C.mid|90px|none]]
| colspan="2" | 8[[File:Perfect octave on C.mid|90px|none]]
|-
! rowspan="2" | Step
! Name
| rowspan="2" style="background-color: white; colspan="1" | &nbsp;
| colspan="2" | m3
| colspan="2" | T
| colspan="2" | T
| colspan="2" | m3
| colspan="2" | T
! rowspan="2" style="background-color: white; colspan="1" | &nbsp;
|-
! Ratio
| colspan="2" | {{frac|32|27}}
| colspan="2" | {{frac|9|8}}
| colspan="2" | {{frac|9|8}}
| colspan="2" | {{frac|32|27}}
| colspan="2" | {{frac|9|8}}
|}

Naturals in that table are not the alphabetic series A to G without sharps and flats: Naturals are reciprocals of terms in the [[Harmonic series (mathematics)]], which are in practice multiples of a [[Physics:Fundamental frequency|fundamental frequency]]. This may be derived by proceeding with the principle that historically gives the Pythagorean diatonic and chromatic scales, stacking perfect fifths with 3:2 frequency proportions (C–G–D–A–E). Considering the anhemitonic scale as a subset of a just diatonic scale, it is tuned thus: 20:24:27:30:36 (A–C–D–E–G = {{frac|5|6}}–{{frac|1|1}}–{{frac|9|8}}–{{frac|5|4}}–{{frac|3|2}}).

=== Just intonation ===

[[File:Lou Harrison - Old Granddad pentatonic tuning.png|thumb|Just pentatonic tuning of Lou Harrison's "American gamelan", Old Granddad.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Miller|first1=Leta E.|last2=Lieberman|first2=Fredric|date=Summer 1999|title=Lou Harrison and the American Gamelan|journal=American Music|volume=17|number=2|pages=146–178 (158)|doi=10.2307/3052712 |jstor=3052712 }}</ref> This gives the proportions 24:27:30:36:40.File:Lou Harrison - Old Granddad pentatonic tuning.mid]]

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Modes
! Ratios (just)
|-
! Major
| 24:27:30:36:40
|-
! Blues major
| 24:27:32:36:40
|-
! Suspended
| 24:27:32:36:42
|-
! Minor
| 30:36:40:45:54
|-
! Blues minor
| 15:18:20:24:27
|}
(A minor seventh can be 7:4, 16:9, or 9:5; a major sixth can be 27:16 or 5:3. Both were chosen to minimize ratio parts.)

=== Other ===
Assigning precise frequency proportions to the pentatonic scales of most cultures is problematic as tuning may be variable.

[[File:Slendro on C.png|thumb|300px|Slendro approximated in Western notation.<ref>"The representations of ''slendro'' and ''pelog'' tuning systems in Western notation shown above should not be regarded in any sense as absolute. Not only is it difficult to convey non-Western scales with Western notation&nbsp;..." Jennifer Lindsay, ''Javanese Gamelan'' (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), pp.&nbsp;39–41. {{ISBN|0-19-588582-1}}.</ref>File:Slendro on C.mid]]
For example, the slendro anhemitonic scale and its modes of Java and Bali are said to approach, very roughly, an equally-tempered five-note scale,<ref>Lindsay (1992), p.&nbsp;38–39: "Slendro is made up of five equal, or relatively equal, intervals".</ref> but their tunings vary dramatically from gamelan to gamelan.<ref>"... in general, no two gamelan sets will have exactly the same tuning, either in pitch or in interval structure. There are no Javanese standard forms of these two tuning systems." Lindsay (1992), pp.&nbsp;39–41.</ref>

Composer Lou Harrison has been one of the most recent proponents and developers of new pentatonic scales based on historical models. Harrison and William Colvig tuned the slendro scale of the gamelan Si Betty to overtones 16:19:21:24:28{{sfn|Miller|Lieberman|1999|p=159}} ({{frac|1|1}}–{{frac|19|16}}–{{frac|21|16}}–{{frac|3|2}}–{{frac|7|4}}). They tuned the Mills gamelan so that the intervals between scale steps are 8:7–7:6–9:8–8:7–7:6{{sfn|Miller|Lieberman|1999|p=161}} ({{frac|1|1}}–{{frac|8|7}}–{{frac|4|3}}–{{frac|3|2}}–{{frac|12|7}}–{{frac|2|1}} = 42:48:56:63:72)

== Use of pentatonic scales ==
Pentatonic scales occur in many musical traditions:
{{div col}}
* Indian classical music, both Hindustani and Carnatic traditions
* Ancient Tamil music, see the Section "Evolution of panns".
* Peruvian Chicha cumbia
* Indigenous ethnic folk music of Assam
* Sudanese Music
* Celtic folk music<ref name="Sawyers2001">{{cite book |author=June Skinner Sawyers |title=Celtic Music: A Complete Guide |year=2000 |publisher=Da Capo Press |location=United States |isbn=978-0-306-81007-7 |page=25 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* English folk music<ref>Ernst H. Meyer, ''Early English Chamber Music: From the Middle Ages to Purcell'', second edition, edited by Diana Poulton (Boston: Marion Boyars Publishers, Incorporated, 1982): p.&nbsp;48. {{ISBN|9780714527772}}.</ref>
* German folk music<ref>Judit Frigyesi (2013). [https://books.google.com/books?id=pjzNAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA129 "Is there such a thing as Hungarian-Jewish music?"] in Pál Hatos & Attila Novák (eds.) (2013). ''Between Minority and Majority: Hungarian and Jewish/Israeli ethnical and cultural experiences in recent centuries''. Budapest: Balassi Institute. p. 129. {{ISBN|978-963-89583-8-9}}.</ref>
* Nordic folk music<ref>{{cite book |last1=Blacking |first1=John |title="A commonsense view of all music" : reflections on Percy Grainger's contribution to ethnomusicology and music education |date=November 1987 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-26500-3 |page=161 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Awo4AAAAIAAJ&q=nordic+folk+music+five+tone&pg=PA161 |access-date=21 November 2019}}</ref>
* Hungarian folk music<ref name="Bartók1997">{{cite book |editor=Benjamin Suchoff |title=Béla Bartók Studies in Ethnomusicology |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LKQuRowyjPcC&pg=PA198 |year=1997 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |location=Lincoln |isbn=0-8032-4247-6 |page=198}}</ref>
* Croatian folk music<ref name="Bartók1997" />
* Berber music<ref name="Berber Music of Morocco and the Middle Atlas">{{cite book |title=Alwan For The Arts |url=http://www.alwanforthearts.org/event/282 |access-date=2021-01-23 |archive-date=2013-05-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521030929/http://www.alwanforthearts.org/event/282 |url-status=dead}}{{self-published source|date=October 2008}}</ref>
* West African music<ref name="RichardHenry" />
* African-American spirituals<ref>{{cite book |author=Erik Halbig |title=Pentatonic Improvisation: Modern Pentatonic Ideas for Guitarists of All Styles|type=Book & CD|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XalDz4xM6wEC&pg=PA4 |year=2005 |publisher=Alfred Music|location=Van Nuys, California|isbn=978-0-7390-3765-2 |page=4}}</ref>
* Gospel music<ref name="DMA2012">{{cite book |author=Lenard C. Bowie, DMA |title=African American Musical Heritage: An Appreciation, Historical Summary, and Guide to Music Fundamentals |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lMeLfBO0kPsC&pg=PA259 |year=2012 |publisher=Xlibris Corporation |location=Philadelphia |isbn=978-1-4653-0575-6 |page=259}}{{self-published source|date=December 2017}}</ref>
* Bluegrass music<ref>{{cite book |author=Jesper Rübner-Petersen |title=The Mandolin Picker's Guide to Bluegrass Improvisation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hAKpyaL45uYC&pg=PA17 |year=2011 |publisher=Mel Bay Publications |location=Pacific, Missouri|isbn=978-1-61065-413-5 |page=17}}</ref>
* [[Social:American folk music|American folk music]]<ref>{{cite book|author=William Duckworth|title=A Creative Approach to Music Fundamentals |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SYsEAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA203 |year=2009 |publisher=Schirmer / Cengage Learning |location=Boston |isbn=978-1-111-78406-5 |page=203}}</ref>
* Music of Ethiopia<ref name="RichardHenry" />
* Jazz<ref>{{cite book |author=Kurt Johann Ellenberger |title=Materials and Concepts in Jazz Improvisation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H_o0aZFP93AC&pg=PA65 |year=2005 |publisher=Keystone Publication / Assayer Publishing |location=Grand Rapids, Michigan|isbn=978-0-9709811-3-4 |page=65}}</ref>
* Blues<ref>{{cite book |editor=Edward Komara |title=Encyclopedia of the Blues |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-w-uGwm_LhcC&pg=PA863 |year=2006 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |isbn=978-0-415-92699-7 |page=863}}</ref>
* Rock music<ref name="Walker">{{cite web |last1=Joe Walker |title=The World's Most-Used Guitar Scale: A Minor Pentatonic |url=https://deftdigits.com/2012/01/06/the-worlds-most-used-guitar-scale-a-minor-pentatonic/ |website=DeftDigits Guitar Lessons |date=6 January 2012}}</ref>
* Sami joik singing<ref name="Burke">{{cite web |last1=Kathryn Burke |title=The Sami Yoik |url=http://www.laits.utexas.edu/sami/diehtu/giella/music/yoiksunna.htm |website=Sami Culture}}</ref>
* Children's song<ref name="Day-O'Connell2007">{{cite book |author=Jeremy Day-O'Connell |title=Pentatonicism from the Eighteenth Century to Debussy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2FSTvnnJWS0C&pg=PA54 |year=2007 |publisher=University Rochester Press |location=Rochester |isbn=978-1-58046-248-8 |page=54}}</ref>
* The music of ancient Greece<ref>{{cite book |author=M. L. West|title=Ancient Greek Music |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=So-Qpz6WDS4C&pg=PA163 |year=1992 |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |isbn=0-19-814975-1 |pages=163–164}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=A.-F. Christidis |author2=Maria Arapopoulou |author3=Maria Christi |title=A History of Ancient Greek: From the Beginnings to Late Antiquity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WJbd0m6YaFkC&pg=PA1432 |year=2007 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-521-83307-3 |page=1432}}</ref>
** Greek traditional music and polyphonic songs from Epirus in northwest Greece<ref>Meri-Sofia Lakopoulos (2015). [http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/108625253/traditional-iso-polyphonic-song-epirus The Traditional Iso-polyphonic song of Epirus] {{dead link|date=November 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}. The International Research Center for Traditional Polyphony. June 2015, issue 18. p. 10.</ref>
* Music of southern Albania<ref>{{cite book |author=Spiro J. Shetuni |title=Albanian Traditional Music: An Introduction, with Sheet Music and Lyrics for 48 Songs |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SjasqxAeHXAC&pg=PA38 |year=2011 |publisher=McFarland |location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn=978-0-7864-8630-4 |page=38}}</ref>
* Folk songs of peoples of the [[Place:Volga region|Middle Volga region]] (such as the Mari, the Chuvash and Tatars)<ref name="BroughtonEllingham1999">{{cite book |author1=Simon Broughton |author2=Mark Ellingham |author3=Richard Trillo |title=World Music: Africa, Europe and the Middle East |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ViwKAQAAMAAJ&q=middle+volga+pentatonic |year=1999 |publisher=Rough Guides |location=London |isbn=978-1-85828-635-8 |page=160}}</ref>
* The tuning of the Ethiopian krar<ref name="RichardHenry">{{cite book |author=Richard Henry |title=Culture and the Pentatonic Scale: Exciting Information On Pentatonic Scales |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uz1QYwA9t-oC&pg=PP4 |date=n.d. |publisher=World Wide Jazz |location=n.p. |page=4}}</ref> and the Indonesian gamelan<ref name="Phillips2002">{{cite book |author=Mark Phillips |title=GCSE Music |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BDFb82vmI8AC&pg=PT104 |year=2002 |publisher=Heinemann |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-435-81318-5 |page=97}}</ref>
* Philippine kulintang<ref>{{cite book |author=Willi Apel|title=Harvard Dictionary of Music |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TMdf1SioFk4C&pg=PA665 |year=1969 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |isbn=978-0-674-37501-7 |page=665}}</ref>
* Native American music, especially in highland [[Earth:South America|South America]] (the Quechua and Aymara),<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.scielo.org.co/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1794-58872009000200006 |title=Musiques métisses, musiques populaires, musiques latines: genèse coloniale, identités républicaines et globalisation |author=Carmen Bernand |date=19 August 2009 |journal=Sorbonne University |volume=6 |issue=11 |pages=87–106 |issn=1794-5887 |location=France}}</ref> as well as among the North American Indians of the [[Place:Pacific Northwest|Pacific Northwest]]{{Citation needed|date=December 2016}}
* Most [[Social:Turkic languages|Turkic]],<ref>{{Cite news |title=A Common Denominator Music Links Ethnic Chinese with Hungarians |last=Qian |first=Gong |date=19 June 1995 |work=China Daily|via=ProQuest}}</ref> [[Social:Mongolic languages|Mongolic]] and [[Social:Tungusic languages|Tungusic]] music of Siberia and the Asiatic steppe is written in the pentatonic scale<ref name="jstor.org">Van Khe, Tran. "Is the Pentatonic Universal? A Few Reflections on Pentatonism." The World of Music 19, no. 1/2 (1977): 76–84. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43560446.</ref>
* Melodies of {{wipe|China}}, [[Place:Korea|Korea]], Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, {{wipe|Japan}}, and Vietnam (including the [[Social:Folk music|folk music]] of these countries)<ref name="jstor.org"/>
** Traditional Japanese court music
** Shōmyō chanting
* Andean music<ref>{{cite book |editor1=Dale A. Olsen |editor2=Daniel E. Sheehy |title=The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 2: South America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xb2ibVAXO9sC&pg=PA217 |year=1998 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |location=New York |isbn=0-8240-6040-7 |page=217}} (Thomas Turino (2004) points out that the pentatonic scale, although widespread, cannot be considered to be predominant in the Andes: [https://books.google.com/books?id=SYuKB29_7qUC&pg=PA141 Local practices among the Aymara and Kechua in Conima and Canas, Southern Peru] '''in''' {{cite book |editor=Malena Kuss |title=Music in Latin America and the Caribbean: an encyclopedic history |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SYuKB29_7qUC&pg=PA141 |year=2004 |publisher=University of Texas Press |location=Austin |isbn=0-292-70298-1 |page=141}})</ref>
* Afro-Caribbean music<ref name="Peretti2009">{{cite book |author=Burton William Peretti |title=Lift Every Voice: The History of African American Music |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-1uasSvAnE4C&pg=PA39 |year=2009 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |location=New York |isbn=978-0-7425-5811-3 |page=39}}</ref>
* Polish highlanders from the Tatra Mountains<ref name="CzekanowskaBlacking2006">{{cite book |author1=Anna Czekanowska |author2=John Blacking |title=Polish Folk Music: Slavonic Heritage – Polish Tradition – Contemporary Trends |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=czVkawHfw_UC&pg=PA189 |year=2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-521-02797-7 |page=189}}</ref>
{{div col end}}

=== In classical music ===
Examples of its use include:

Beethoven, Quartet in F major, Op. 135, finale: [[File:Beethoven Quartet Op 135, finale bars 250-7.wav|thumb|Beethoven Quartet Op 135, finale bars 250-7]][[File:Beethoven Quartet Op 135, finale bars 250-8.png|thumb|centre|500px|Beethoven Quartet Op 135, finale bars 250-7]]

Chopin's Etude in G-flat major, op. 10, no. 5, the "Black Key" etude,<ref name="B&S" /> in the major pentatonic.[[File:Chopin Etude Op. 10 No. 5.wav|thumb|Chopin Etude Op. 10 No. 5]][[File:Chopin Etude Op. 10 No. 5.png|thumb|center|500px|Chopin Etude Op. 10 No. 5]]

Western Impressionistic composers such as French composer Claude Debussy<ref name="O'Connell">{{cite journal |last1=Jeremy Day-O'Connell |title=Debussy, Pentatonicism, and the Tonal Tradition |journal=Music Theory Spectrum |date=2009 |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=225–261 |url=https://www.skidmore.edu/music/documents/Day-OConnell_Debussy_Pentatonicism.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.skidmore.edu/music/documents/Day-OConnell_Debussy_Pentatonicism.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |doi=10.1525/mts.2009.31.2.225 |doi-access=free}}</ref> and Maurice Ravel used the pentatonic scale extensively in their works.

[[File:Debussy Voiles, Preludes, Book I, no. 2, mm.43-45.png|500px|thumb|center|Pentatonic scale in Debussy's ''Voiles'', Preludes, Book I, no. 2, mm.&nbsp;43–45.<ref>Bruce Benward and Marilyn Nadine Saker, ''Music in Theory and Practice'', eighth edition (Boston: McGraw Hill, 2009): vol. II, p.&nbsp;245. {{ISBN|978-0-07-310188-0}}.</ref>File:Debussy Voiles, Preludes, Book I, no. 2, mm.43-45.mid]]500px|thumb|center|Pentatonic scale in [[Maurice Ravel|Ravel's ''Ma mère l'Oye'' III. "Laideronnette, Impératrice des Pagodes", mm.&nbsp;9–13.<ref name="B&S" />File:Ravel Ma Mere l'Oye Laideronnette Imperatricedes Pagodes m.9-13.mid]]

Giacomo Puccini used pentatonic scales in his operas ''Madama Butterfly'' and ''Turandot'' to imitate east Asian musical styles. Puccini also used whole-tone scales in the former to invoke similar ideas.

=== Indian ragas ===
{{Main|Biology:Raga}}

Indian classical music has hundreds of ragas, of which many are pentatonic. Examples include Raag Abhogi Kanada (C, D, E-flat, F, A),<ref name="Chaudhuri 2021 p. 52">{{cite book |last=Chaudhuri |first=A. |title=Finding the Raga: An Improvisation on Indian Music |publisher=Faber & Faber |year=2021 |isbn=978-0-571-37076-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N3oeEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT52 |access-date=26 May 2021 |page=52}}</ref> Raag Bhupali (C, D, E, G, A),<ref name="Menon 1973 p. 50">{{cite book |last=Menon |first=R.R. |title=Discovering Indian Music |publisher=Somaiya Publications |year=1973 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AuUXAQAAIAAJ |access-date=26 May 2021 |page=50 |quote=Some prefer the first Raga to be pentatonic in scale. Let us take for an example, the pentatonic Bhoopali. Its notes are: SA RI GA PA DHA SA up and down the scale.}}</ref> Raag Bairagi (C, D-flat, F, G, B-flat),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chib |first1=S. K. S.|last2=Khan |first2=A. A.|title=Companion to North Indian Classical Music |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers |year=2004 |isbn=978-81-215-1090-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ag4KAQAAMAAJ |access-date=26 May 2021 |page=337}}</ref> Raag Chandrakauns (C, E-flat, F, A-flat, B),<ref>{{cite book |last=Qureshi |first=R. B.|title=Master Musicians of India: Hereditary Sarangi Players Speak |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-135-87396-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SxYfDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT385 |access-date=26 May 2021 |page=385}}</ref> Raag Dhani (C, E-flat, F, G, B-flat),<ref name="Chaudhuri 2021 p. 52"/> Raag Durga (C, D, F, G, A),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Thatte |first1=A.|last2=Sabanīsa|first2=M. P.|title=Vande Mataram, Down the Memory Lane |publisher=Jayanti Samaroha Samitee Vande Mataram |year=2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KsBjAAAAMAAJ |access-date=26 May 2021 |page=77 |quote=Named after the powerful Hindu goddess, Raga Durga is pentatonic, omitting the third and the seventh degrees, while emphasising the sixth and the second.}}</ref> Raag Gunakari (C, D-flat, F, G, A-flat),<ref name="The Historical Development of Indian Music: A Critical Study 1973 p. 175">{{cite book |title=The Historical Development of Indian Music: A Critical Study |publisher=Firma K. L. Mukhopadhyay |year=1973 |isbn=978-0-88386-344-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kowHAQAAMAAJ |access-date=26 May 2021 |page=175}}</ref> Raag Hamsadhwani (C, D, E, G, B),<ref>{{cite book |last=O'Brien|first=J. P.|title=Non-western Music and the Western Listener |publisher=Kendall/Hunt Publishing|year=1977 |isbn=978-0-8403-1755-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mr8ZAQAAIAAJ |access-date=26 May 2021 |page=37}}</ref> Raag Hindol (C, E, F#, A, B),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nizami |first1=F. |last2=Arshad |first2=S. |last3=Lakhvīrā |first3=N. Ḥ.|title=ABC of Music |publisher=Punjab Council of the Arts |year=1988 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Guu5AAAAIAAJ |access-date=27 May 2021 |page=54}}</ref> Raag Kalavati (C, E, G, A, B-flat),<ref name="Chaudhuri 2021 p. 52" /> Raag Katyayani (C, D, E-flat, G, A-flat),<ref name="Krsna Kirtana Songs 2009">{{cite web |title=Katyayani |website=Krsna Kirtana Songs |date=13 June 2009 |url=http://kksongs.org/raga/list/katyayani.html |access-date=27 May 2021}}</ref> Raag Malkauns (C, E-flat, F, A-flat, B-flat),<ref>{{cite journal|journal=The Musical Quarterly|volume=71|number=2|year=1985|pages=157–171 (160)|author=Thom Lipiczky|title=Tihai Formulas and the Fusion of 'Composition' and 'Improvisation' in North Indian Music|quote=They are set to one of the most widely performed ragas in North India, the pentatonic midnight raga Malkauns. The most important notes of Malkauns are Sa (the tonic) and Ma (the fourth). Both the gats and the tihais "cadence" on one of ...}}</ref> Raag Megh (C, D, F, G, B-flat),<ref name="Chaudhuri 2021 p. 52" /> Raag Shivaranjani (C, D, E-flat, G, A),<ref name="Chakraborty Mazzola Tewari Patra 2014 p. 3">{{cite book |last1=Chakraborty |first1=S. |last2=Mazzola |first2=G. |last3=Tewari |first3=S. |last4=Patra |first4=M. |title=Computational Musicology in Hindustani Music |publisher=Springer International Publishing |series=Computational Music Science |year=2014 |isbn=978-3-319-11472-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0o2eBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 |access-date=27 May 2021 |page=3}}</ref> [[Biology:Sarang (family of ragas)|Raag Shuddha Sarang]] (C, D, F#, G, B),<ref name="Karnani 2005 p. 81">{{cite book |last=Karnani |first=C. |title=Form in Indian Music: A Study in Gharanas |publisher=Rawat Publications |year=2005 |isbn=978-81-7033-921-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dGIJAQAAMAAJ |access-date=27 May 2021 |page=81 |quote=Ghulam Ali showed unusual fondness for pentatonic modes like Gunkali, Malkauns, Kausi Dhani and Bhopali. Even Shudh Sarang and Megh Malhar are largely pentatonic.}}</ref> [[Biology:Tilang|Raag Tilang]] (C, E, F, G, B),<ref>{{cite book |last=Katz |first=J. |title=The Traditional Indian Theory and Practice of Music and Dance |publisher=E. J. Brill |series=Panels of the VIIth World Sanskrit Conference / World Sanskrit Conference 7, 1987, Leiden: Panels of the VIIth World Sanskrit Conference |year=1992 |isbn=978-90-04-09715-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HVjyfWPCO1wC&pg=PA19 |access-date=27 May 2021 |page=19}}</ref> Raag Vibhas (C, D-flat, E, G, A-flat),{{sfn|Chib|Khan|2004|page=39}} Raag Vrindavani Sarang (C, D, F, G, B), and others.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.swarganga.org/raagabase.php|title=Raagabase – A collection of Indian Classical Music Raags (Aka Ragas)}}</ref>

(For Tamil Music System, See here - Ancient Tamil music#Evolution of panns )

=== Further pentatonic musical traditions ===
[[File:D Yo scale.svg|thumb|400px|D Yo scaleFile:Yo scale on D.mid]]
The major pentatonic scale is the basic scale of the music of China and the music of Mongolia as well as many Southeast Asian musical traditions such as that of the Karen people as well as the indigenous Assamese ethnic groups.{{Citation needed|date=March 2017}} The pentatonic scale predominates most Eastern countries as opposed to Western countries where the heptatonic scale is more commonly used.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Graue |first1=Jerald |title=Scale |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/scale-music |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=3 May 2021}}</ref> The fundamental tones (without ''meri'' or ''kari'' techniques) rendered by the five holes of the {{wipe|Japan}}ese shakuhachi flute play a minor pentatonic scale. The yo scale used in Japanese shomyo Buddhist chants and gagaku imperial court music is an anhemitonic pentatonic scale<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080313144427/http://www.uwgb.edu/ogradyt/world/japan.htm ''Japanese Music'', ''Cross-Cultural Communication: World Music'', University of Wisconsin – Green Bay].</ref> shown below, which is the fourth mode of the major pentatonic scale.

=== Javanese ===
[[File:Gamelan slendro.mid|right|Temperated pentatoncs]]
In Javanese gamelan music, the slendro scale has five tones, of which four are emphasized in classical music. Another scale, pelog, has seven tones, and is generally played using one of three five-tone subsets known as pathet, in which certain notes are avoided while others are emphasized.<ref>Sumarsam (1988) [http://sumarsam.web.wesleyan.edu/Intro.gamelan.pdf Introduction to Javanese Gamelan].</ref>

=== Somali===
Somali music uses a distinct modal system that is pentatonic, with characteristically long intervals between some notes. As with many other aspects of Somali culture and tradition, tastes in music and lyrics are strongly linked with those in nearby Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Sudan.<ref name="Abdullahi">{{cite book |author=Mohamed Diriye Abdullahi |title=Culture and Customs of Somalia |year=2001 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=0-313-31333-4 |page=170 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Nu918tYMB8C&pg=PA170 |quote=Somali music, a unique kind of music that might be mistaken at first for music from nearby countries such as Ethiopia, the Sudan, or even Arabia, can be recognized by its own tunes and styles.}}</ref><ref name="Tekle">{{cite book |last=Tekle |first=Amare |title=Eritrea and Ethiopia: from conflict to cooperation |year=1994 |publisher=The Red Sea Press |isbn=0-932415-97-0 |page=197 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xbQTEF0rd7wC&pg=PA197 |quote=Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan have significant similarities emanating not only from culture, religion, traditions, history and aspirations ... They appreciate similar foods and spices, beverages and sweets, fabrics and tapestry, lyrics and music, and jewelry and fragrances.}}</ref>

=== Scottish ===
In Scottish music, the pentatonic scale is very common. Seumas MacNeill suggests that the Great Highland bagpipe scale with its augmented fourth and diminished seventh is "a device to produce as many pentatonic scales as possible from its nine notes" (although these two features are not in the same scale){{Clarify|date=January 2020}}.<ref>Seumas MacNeil and Frank Richardson ''Piobaireachd and its Interpretation'' (Edinburgh: John Donald Publishers, 1996): p.&nbsp;36. {{ISBN|0-85976-440-0}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=January 2020|reason=Source neither confirms nor denies that one and the same scale may contain both an augmented fourth and a diminished seventh.}} Roderick Cannon explains these pentatonic scales and their use in more detail, both in Piobaireachd and light music.<ref>Roderick D. Cannon ''The Highland Bagpipe and its Music'' (Edinburgh: John Donald Publishers, 1995): pp.&nbsp;36–45. {{ISBN|0-85976-416-8}}</ref> It also features in Irish traditional music, either purely or almost so. The minor pentatonic is used in Appalachian folk music. Blackfoot music most often uses anhemitonic tetratonic or pentatonic scales.<ref>Bruno Nettl, ''Blackfoot Musical Thought: Comparative Perspectives'' (Ohio: The Kent State University Press, 1989): p.&nbsp;43. {{ISBN|0-87338-370-2}}.</ref>

=== Andean ===
[[File:Antara.mid|thumb|Pacha Siku]]
In Andean music, the pentatonic scale is used substantially minor, sometimes major, and seldom ''in'' scale. In the most ancient genres of Andean music being performed without string instruments (only with [[Engineering:Wind instrument|winds]] and percussion), pentatonic melody is often led with parallel fifths and fourths, so formally this music is hexatonic.{{Citation needed|date=May 2015}}

=== Jazz ===
[[File:Slow solo 20110108.ogg|thumb|Rock guitar solo almost all over B minor pentatonic]]
Jazz music commonly uses both the major and the minor pentatonic scales. Pentatonic scales are useful for improvisers in modern jazz, pop, and rock contexts because they work well over several chords diatonic to the same key, often better than the parent scale. For example, the blues scale is predominantly derived from the minor pentatonic scale, a very popular scale for improvisation in the realms of blues and rock alike.<ref name="The Pentatonic and Blues Scale">{{cite web |title=The Pentatonic and Blues Scale |publisher=How To Play Blues Guitar |date=2008-07-09 |access-date=2008-07-11 |url=http://how-to-play-blues-guitar.com/blues-concepts/the-pentatonic-and-blues-scale/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080714070421/http://how-to-play-blues-guitar.com/blues-concepts/the-pentatonic-and-blues-scale/ |archive-date=2008-07-14 |url-status=dead}}</ref> For instance, over a C major triad (C, E, G) in the key of C major, the note F can be perceived as dissonant as it is a half step above the major third (E) of the chord. It is for this reason commonly avoided. Using the major pentatonic scale is an easy way out of this problem. The scale tones 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 (from the major pentatonic) are either major triad tones (1, 3, 5) or common consonant extensions (2, 6) of major triads. For the corresponding relative minor pentatonic, scale tones 1, {{music|b}}3, 4, 5, {{music|b}}7 work the same way, either as minor triad tones (1, {{music|b}}3, 5) or as common extensions (4, {{music|b}}7), as they all avoid being a half step from a chord tone.{{Citation needed|date=May 2015}}

=== Other ===
U.S. military cadences, or ''jodies'', which keep soldiers in step while marching or running, also typically use pentatonic scales.<ref name="NROTC Cadences">{{cite web |title=NROTC Cadences |access-date=2010-09-22 |url=http://www.lukeswartz.com/nrotc/cadences.html}}</ref>

Hymns and other religious music sometimes use the pentatonic scale; for example, the melody of the hymn "Amazing Grace",<ref>Steve Turner, ''Amazing Grace: The Story of America's Most Beloved Song'' (New York: HarperCollins, 2002): p.&nbsp;122. {{ISBN|0-06-000219-0}}.</ref> one of the most famous pieces in religious music.{{Citation needed|date=May 2015}}

The common pentatonic major and minor scales (C-D-E-G-A and C-E{{music|b}}-F-G-B{{music|b}}, respectively) are useful in modal composing, as both scales allow a melody to be modally ambiguous between their respective major (Ionian, Lydian, Mixolydian) and minor (Aeolian, Phrygian, Dorian) modes (Locrian excluded). With either modal or non-modal writing, however, the ''harmonization'' of a pentatonic melody does not necessarily have to be derived from only the pentatonic pitches.{{Citation needed|date=May 2015}}

Most Tuareg songs are pentatonic, as is most other music from the [[Place:Sahel|Sahel]] and Sudan regions.

== Role in education ==
The pentatonic scale plays a significant role in music education, particularly in Orff-based, Kodály-based, and [[Philosophy:Waldorf education|Waldorf]] methodologies at the primary or elementary level.

The Orff system places a heavy emphasis on developing creativity through [[Engineering:Improvisation|improvisation]] in children, largely through use of the pentatonic scale. Orff instruments, such as xylophones, bells and other metallophones, use wooden bars, metal bars or bells, which can be removed by the teacher, leaving only those corresponding to the pentatonic scale, which Carl Orff himself believed to be children's native tonality.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Eclectic Curriculum in American Music Education: Contributions of Dalcroze, Kodaly, and Orff |year=1972 |publisher=Music Educators National Conference |isbn=978-0-940796-03-4 |author=Beth Landis |author2=Polly Carder |location=Washington D.C. |page=82}}</ref>

Children begin improvising using only these bars, and over time, more bars are added at the teacher's discretion until the complete diatonic scale is being used. Orff believed that the use of the pentatonic scale at such a young age was appropriate to the development of each child, since the nature of the scale meant that it was impossible for the child to make any real [[Physics:Harmony|harmonic]] mistakes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thekeep.eiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=lib_awards_2013_docs |author=Amanda Long |access-date=1 May 2015 |publisher=Eastern Illinois University |title=Involve Me: Using the Orff Approach within the Elementary Classroom |series=The Keep|page=7}}</ref>

In Waldorf education, pentatonic music is considered to be appropriate for young children due to its simplicity and unselfconscious openness of expression. Pentatonic music centered on intervals of the fifth is often sung and played in early childhood; progressively smaller intervals are emphasized within primarily pentatonic as children progress through the early school years. At around nine years of age the music begins to center on first folk music using a six-tone scale, and then the modern diatonic scales, with the goal of reflecting the children's developmental progress in their musical experience. Pentatonic instruments used include lyres, pentatonic flutes, and tone bars; special instruments have been designed and built for the Waldorf curriculum.<ref>Andrea Intveen, [https://voices.no/index.php/voices/article/viewArticle/547/408 Musical Instruments in Anthroposophical Music Therapy with Reference to Rudolf Steiner’s Model of the Threefold Human Being] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402142734/https://voices.no/index.php/voices/article/viewArticle/547/408 |date=2012-04-02 }}</ref>

== See also ==
* Jazz scale
* Quartal and quintal harmony
* [[Biology:Raga|Raga]]
* Suspended chord
* Traditional sub-Saharan African harmony

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Jeff Burns, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=UK4NAAAACAAJ Pentatonic Scales for the Jazz-Rock Keyboardist]'' (Lebanon, Indiana: Houston Publishing, 1997). {{ISBN|978-0-7935-7679-1}}.
* Jeremy Day-O'Connell, [http://www.urpress.com/store/viewItem.asp?idProduct=10903''Pentatonicism from the Eighteenth Century to Debussy''] (Rochester: University of Rochester Press 2007) – the first comprehensive account of the increasing use of the pentatonic scale in 19th-century Western art music, including a catalogue of over 400 musical examples.
* Trần Văn Khê, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/43560447 "Le pentatonique est-il universel? Quelques reflexions sur le pentatonisme"], ''The World of Music'' 19, nos. 1–2:85–91 (1977). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/43560446 English translation: "Is the pentatonic universal? A few reflections on pentatonism"] pp.&nbsp;76–84. {{Subscription required |via=[[Organization:JSTOR|JSTOR]]}}
* Yamaguchi Masaya (New York: Charles Colin, 2002; New York: Masaya Music, Revised 2006). ''Pentatonicism in Jazz: Creative Aspects and Practice''. {{ISBN|0-9676353-1-4}}
* Kurt Reinhard, "On the problem of pre-pentatonic scales: particularly the third-second nucleus", ''Journal of the International Folk Music Council'' 10 (1958). {{JSTOR|835966}} {{Subscription required}}

== External links ==
* {{YouTube|fjvR9UMQCrg|Power of pentatonic scale}}, Bobby McFerrin


[[Category:5 (number)]]

{{Sourceattribution|Pentatonic scale}}