Pentatonic Scale
A five-note scale found in musical traditions worldwide
Category
scales
Pronunciation
pen-tah-TON-ik SKAIL
Origin
Greek
Length
89 words · 1 min read
About Pentatonic Scale
The pentatonic scale contains five notes per octave, most commonly the major pentatonic (degrees 1, 2, 3, 5, 6). Its lack of semitones gives it an open, consonant sound.
More scales terms
Chromatic Scale
View all scalesterms →A scale comprising all twelve semitones within an octave
Blues ScaleA six-note scale derived from the minor pentatonic with an added flattened fifth, central to blues and rock music.
Major ScaleA seven-note scale with the pattern tone–tone–semitone–tone–tone–tone–semitone
Harmonic Minor ScaleA minor scale with a raised seventh degree, creating a distinctive augmented second between the sixth and seventh notes.
Minor ScaleA seven-note scale with a flattened third degree relative to the major
Synonyms
Related
Compare with similar terms
v1 · 09/04/2026Browse all terms →