Technique IX - Pentatonic Scales; Consonant II - V - I

The technical exercise for this month situates the pentatonic ideas explored over the last several months in a particular harmonic context, a II-V-I progression. There are no rules for this particular exercise but I tried to make the connection between these example melodies and the preceding exercises as linear as possible.

Over the II chord I am playing a pentatonic scale built on that chords seventh. In the picture above and the attached PDF, this looks like playing a C pentatonic scale against or over a Dm7 chord. This combination excludes the II chords third but includes its 7th, 9th, and 11th in addition to its root and fifth.

Over the V chord I am playing a pentatonic scale also built on that chords seventh. In this specific case, I am playing an F pentatonic scale over a G7 chord. Like the II chord, this combination excludes the V7’s third but includes a 7th, 9th, and 11th in addition to the chordal root and fifth.

Lastly, over the I chord I am playing a pentatonic scale built on that chords fifth—in this example, a G pentatonic scale over a Cmaj7 chord. This combination omits the root of the I chord but includes its 7th, 9th, and 13th in addition to the chords third and fifth.

You can watch me play through these examples on my instagram page.