USE THE RAMP FOR CREATIVE IDEAS

he pentatonic scale has to be the most ubiquitous melodic device in all of music. It is prevalent in blues, jazz, funk, rock, and pretty much all Western music. It’s also widely used in music indigenous to east Asia, south Asia and many African countries. I say all this to state that it’s difficult to find anything new under the sun regarding pentatonic scales—so today, I want to talk about a great scale shape that can easily be used alongside the major and minor pentatonic scales. I call this shape the ‘Ramp’, and it won’t be long before it sparks a wellspring of new ideas to add to your vocabulary. So let’s dive