Fretprints · free PDF guide

Move the Seventh

by Jim Ellis · founder of Fretprints

The pentatonic scale you already know, turned into something that plays the changes — by moving one note.

The minor pentatonic contains no tritone. That is why it sounds open, and also why it cannot, on its own, say “dominant.” Lower its flat seventh by a half step and the scale picks up exactly one tritone — and that tritone is the V chord’s.

Get the free guide

Five pages. Fretboard shapes, the collections written out, and the two places to put a minor 6 pentatonic on a V chord.

No spam. Unsubscribe any time.

Five of the twelve

Each row is the twelve chromatic notes. Filled squares are the five the scale uses. None of these contains a half step — that is where the open sound comes from.

D minor pentatonic

CDbDEbEFGbGAbABbB

notes D F G A C · over Dm7 it spells Dm11 · no tritone

C major pentatonic

CDbDEbEFGbGAbABbB

notes C D E G A · over Cmaj7 it spells C6/9 · no tritone

D minor 6 pentatonic — the one most players have never been shown

CDbDEbEFGbGAbABbB

notes D F G A B · over G7 it spells G9 · tritone F–B

The third row is the first one with its flat seventh moved down a half step. One square changes. That square is the 3rd of G7, and it brings the tritone with it.

What each move costs

Through a ii–V–I the collections do not all change by the same amount, and the difference is worth hearing.

Chord	Collection	Notes	Change
Dm7	D minor pentatonic	D F G A C	—
G7	D minor 6 pentatonic	D F G A B	1 note C → B
Cmaj7	C major pentatonic	C D E G A	2 notes F B → C E

The ii to the V costs one note. The V to the I costs two. So the ii–V is the seamless part of the phrase and the arrival is where the color actually turns over.

What’s in the guide

The three pentatonic shapes drawn against all twelve chromatic notes, so you can see exactly which five each one uses.
Fretboard diagrams for the minor and minor 6 pentatonic in one position, two notes per string, with the moving note marked.
What each collection spells over its chord — Dm11, G9, C6/9 — and why none of them has a note you need to handle carefully.
The two places to put a minor 6 pentatonic on a dominant: on the 5th for the 9 sound, a half step above the root for the altered sound. Same fingering, moved.
Why “the 5th of the tritone substitute” and “a half step above the root” name the same five notes.
Which three pentatonics fit inside a major key, and why only one minor 6 pentatonic does.
Where the room is for chromatic passing notes — only two of the five gaps are wide enough.

Send me the guide

Free PDF, straight to your inbox. You will also get the fretprints newsletter.

No spam. Unsubscribe any time.

Every musical example in the guide is original. The collections, degrees, fretboard shapes and note counts were computed and checked rather than recalled. More lessons, play-alongs and practice tools at fretprints.com.