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Writer's pictureJoe Graham

The Language of 5 notes

The pentatonic scale is used all over the world. It has expressed the emotions of mankind for centuries and it continues today. It can be a major or minor sound, it can be played fast or slow. It is by far the easiest way to improvise though. Without the leading tone of the 4th or 7th note in the major scale, it does not assume to go anywhere. It pretty much sounds good paired with any chord progression, because it does not assume to lead anywhere, it simply communicates.

This is such a good way of handling yourself with others, do not assume to lead, simply communicate. Our ears are trained to assume that after Ti usually comes Do. There’s an assumption that we’ve made after hearing the norm in music for most of our lives. Let’s think about daily conversation, most people are socially trained to say “I am fine” after prompting “How are you?” What other answers may be trained responses? I wonder how many times I ask people certain questions if they are just giving me a trained response. So the lesson I can learn from the pentatonic scale is how to communicate myself without unintentionally bringing people to my conclusions, but rather helping them discover their own conclusions.

I’m really enjoying this day, it is filled with peace and happiness.

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