The Theory

Let's kick off with the theory side of this lesson. We need to remember that every major has a relative minor and vice versa. This means that the relative major or minor key is the same set of notes in the scale, just starting from a different place. As guitarists, we typically start by learning the minor pentatonic, so we'll look at it from that angle.

If you take your minor pentatonic shape 1, as shown below, and start from the second note... This is the major root note of the scale. This same concept can be applied to every single scale shape from the pentatonic. If you know where your minor root note is, you can move to the next note along, and it will be your major root note. Simples!

Keep Learning: Theory Lab! If you want to delve a little deeper into the theory then you need to check out our theory lab section. In particular, this course will be perfect if you are just starting to understand how to use the relative major and minor: Theory Essentials Part 1

The Tab

In this lesson we use the classic 'Amazing Grace' to demonstrate how you can play in the major pentatonic scale. It helps us to locate the major root, major 3rd and fifth... Which are essential when ending phrases. Below is the full tab for you. Remember, we are int he key of D major (relative to B minor) and are using the 4th, 5th, 1st and 2nd pentatonic shapes. We've drawn these out for you below as well.

This content is unavailable on mobile devices, please view through a desktop or laptop browser for the optimum experience.

D Major Pentatonic 5 Shapes

Get the downloads

If you would like the downloads for this lesson, and to get access to our private folder with all the downloads for evey single YouTube lesson, simply fill out your details below. We'll send all the details straight to your email.