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(5 votes) 
Regulars
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Been thinking too much again!!! 🙄
I don't have any issues with Key Signatures for Major/Minor scales & Modes.
BUT, what about tunes that don't have the usual 7-note scales?
I've run across trad tunes that are made of the Pentatonic scales. They never have the same amount of accidentals as their 7-note scale counterparts, e.g., D Major:
- D Major has 2 sharps (F# & C#) - sounds very happy
- D Major Pentatonic has only 1 sharp (F#) - sounds almost more happy to me, even with the C# missing.
- D Mixolydian has 1 sharp (F#) - would be considered the mode for a tonal center of D with 1 sharp... it's the neighboring key to D Major, but there's a definite feeling change, it's just not as close to the Pentatonic.
So, I understand Key Signatures tell us what accidentals are in use - but I look for it to help me narrow down a scale & which chords may be used. When I figure out the Key, I can consider neighboring keys to borrow chords & notes, too.
I'm just wondering if trad folk musicians would just use the Key Signature the Pentatonic was derived from & ignore there's any missing notes/accidentals (C# D Major) - OR, could it be more helpful to show the missing accidental as a 'natural', e.g., F# and C having a natural sign?
I'd like to know what people think here (on the forum), because my query could be directed at BLUES SCALES, too - since they only have 6 notes.
I saw this video today, so I asked about it in the comments... waiting for a response.
Regulars
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think of the pentatonic as slang for the key.. NOT a seperate thing.
Regulars
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@ABitRusty -
🤔... darn, so you'd just use the typical Major scale chords & chord progressions?
Don't pentatonic scales have a different feel... that could possibly be emphasized with chord choices - ones you wouldn't normally use for regular Major or Minor Key Signatures?
Same thing for Blues scales?
Sorry, have to exhaust all my questions if I'm going to dismiss all my thoughts here.
If I don't need to waste anymore time on this, that's fine. I just think there's a lot of ways to harmonize pentatonic melodies... was hoping for a different direction. Maybe it's time for me to just go with whatever a genre feels like it dictates to me, it's hard for me to dismiss what I see.
Regulars
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Okay, I'm getting it...
If the melody is avoiding using the 4th and 7th notes, does that apply to the chords you choose as well?
The short answer is no, you can still use the same chords that you might use for any standard progression from major or minor keys. And in fact, you’ll often find the process of fitting chords with melody notes easier when you use pentatonic scales.
The reason for that ease is because the 4th and 7th notes of a major scale are a bit fussy about which chords make them sound good. (secretsofsongwriting.com)
Wow, I even got a reply back from Clíodhna Ní Aodáin!
So, I'm going to use the Key Signature of the 'parent' major/minor scale, that the Pentatonic scale originated from.
I'm gonna assume this also applies to Blues scales & be done with it. 
Regulars
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🙂
So now you can cull spending alot of time on all the major and minor pentatonic scale names and concerning over the chords that are supposed to go with. just learn the major and rock on from there deriving everything else from it.
. and make stuff! 😉😀
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