The Black Keys

We learned above that five notes in a row from the circle of fifths gives a pentatonic scale, and that seven notes in a row gives a major scale.   Since there are 12 different notes in total, each time we have a major scale we know that the notes that aren’t in the scale, the leftovers, make a pentatonic scale.

This idea is interesting to me because I’m strange that way, but it doesn’t really have a great many implications.  Probably the most important one is this: the black keys on a piano form a pentatonic scale.   We know this because they’re what’s leftover after we remove the white keys which make up C major.

If you’re just starting out, just playing the black keys only is a great way to familiarize yourself with the sound of the pentatonic.  When I was a kid there was a song we used to play on the black keys with an orange.

In fact, the black keys make F# major pentatonic: f# g# a# c# d#.  Since the starting note is also called Gb (fancy name for a different name for the same note: enharmonic spelling), the black keys also make Gb major pentatonic: Gb Ab Bb Db Eb.  Note that these occupy the same place on a regular circle of fifths, but are pretty far apart on the snap bracelet.

Since hardly anyone jams in F# major or Gb major you don’t get a chance to use all the black keys as a pentatonic scale very often.   But when you do, it’s pretty easy to play them very fast with no mistakes, as chords too, and people will think you’re a keyboard god.  The relative minor, Eb minor, and Eb blues (see below) come up a bit more often, and give you a chance to sound great by doing very fast black key only playing. I suppose if you were so inclined you could always work in some all black key jamming using the transpose function on your keyboard.

In F# major our 50’s progression is: F# D#m B C#.   Try playing just the root notes in the bass, and make up melodies with your right hand using only the black keys.  Using the black keys only it’s easy to make chords with your right hand -- throw some of those in too.

Next: The Minor Pentatonic