Adding the Minor Third
An important sound in Blues is the alteration between the major third (3rd scale degree) and the minor 3rd (flattened 3rd scale degree) of a key. By itself, the major pentatonic scale often has more of a country sound. However, if you add the flattened third note of the major scale to the major pentatonic a more "bluesy" sound is achieved. Here again is the lick which has been the focus of the last few lessons.
The grace note in this example (A#), is the same as Bb, these two notes are referred to as enharmonic, i.e., they share the same pitch. It therefore can be seen that the Bb is the minor third of this key (G). Study the following analysis of the lick.
Just as the fingerings of the major and relative minor scales are the same, the major pentatonic with the minor third (in this case G major) has the same fingering as the Blues scale of the relative minor key (E minor). Here is the E form of the G major pentatonic with the minor third added. The fretboard pattern is the same as the D from of the E Blues scale.
