Customer Reviews

Pentatonic Khancepts

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

One thing that really sets this book apart is the author's prose. Without it the book is good because the charts give most of the information. Believe me this guy believes in charts! Steve saves you alot of time because he's already done the analysis on what pentatonic scales work with what chords and progressions and from what scale degrees.
'Long Train Running' which every guitar player knows. Instead of using G Dorian Minor 7 Pentatonic over the Gm7, you could play D Dorian Minor Pentatonic for a jazzier sound which omits the minor 3rd in favor of the 9th. Each chord of the song could be analyzed in this way using various pentatonics starting from various scale degress,(that one started from the 5). A trial and error approach from this perspective would yield discoveries but Steve's already gone through it for you. He focuses on just 2 pentatonic scales,(Dorian Minor 7, and Mixolydian Dom 7), because those two scales are the most practical and probably the easiest to play. Note that Dorian Minor 7 also translates to the Lydian and Ionian modes if you change the order of the notes. The Dominant 7th pentatonic translates to the locrian mode (min7flat5) if you start the scale on a different note. It also works around the minor 6 chord from the dorian mode which is a very sweet sounding pentatonic indeed ! Pentatonic scales particularly lend themselves to digital patterns especially if you use the middle two tones as pedal tones. I label them as either tones 1 and 2 or tones 3 and 4. So to me it's like two sets of 4 tones which different patterns can be applied. Thousands of possibilities present themselves in this way. I deducted a star because I felt the pentatonic theory could have been explained in a more comprehensive way but the jamtracks are good as well as Steve's demonstration solos.

And you thought the pentatonic was only good for rock and blues!
Excellent book providing insight on how to use the pentatonic scale in jazz. I now have a better idea of how to use it over any type of music.

Steve really opens your mind with this book. You'll never look at pentatonics the same way. This book teaches you how to use pentatonic scales in other situations outside the basic Rock/Blues. You can learn how to use pentartonics to sound like Jazz and many other styles. This book is a must for soloists that want to increase their lick vocabulary while staying in the more familiar 'pentatonic' mentality.

If you have been working with pentatonic scales in a blues/rock context, this is an excellent way of extending into jazz/fusion. Well written, with interesting examples and excellent practice tracks - this material concentrates on using pentatonics for improvisation, rather than just learning riffs. I have four books on pentatonics - this is by far the most usable.

this book showed me things that I didn't know I needed to know. and the practice CDs are great!

This book is a waste of money if you are a begginer. The author assumes you know all the theories of music. if you don't have at least 10 years of playing experience don't purchase this book you will regret it terribly.