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Pentachordal decatonic scales on 22-tET guitar

🔗paul@stretch-music.com

5/16/2001 3:29:32 PM

Alison e-mailed me off-list with her fingering diagram for the
standard pentachordal decatonic scale. She uses five to six notes per
string. I use four notes per string, as there are four fingers on the
fretting hand, and it makes it easier to jump around. Five of the ten
positions are very easy for guitarists who already know how to play
the pentatonic scale. Just play a pentatonic scale (in any of the
five positions) with your 1st and 3rd fingers, and play the same
pentatonic scale two frets higher with your 2nd and 4th fingers. For
example:

| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | 1 1 | |
1 1 | | 1 1
| | 2 2 | |
2 2 | | 2 2
| | | | | |
3 3 3 3 3 3
| | | | | |
4 4 4 4 4 4
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |

Try this for the other four pentatonic positions, and you'll
immediately know how to play half of the decatonic positions! (though
to make decatonic music, you should know your tetradic arpeggios as
well . . .)