Should the Blues scale or pentatonics be considered inferior to other scales?

i dont really think you can make any scale inferior to another and both those scales are used effectively by slash and kirk hammett just for starters.

I think they're inferior because it's only using 2 fingers to play the whole scale which makes it a less effective scale to warm up or get your fingers going, that said there are a few great practitioners of the pentatonic scale though I personally don't like Kirk Hammett, then again for newbs and people looking to make there solo sound difficult when its really not the pentatonic works well

well technically inferior yes but not necessarily musically.

they can be used effectively like any other scale.

i think theyr superior, tons of nowadays scales came forth from those. but u cant really say a scale is inferior

I didn't say iut was musically inferior I said in all technicallity and for getting results

Well they most certainly are not superior to anything, because they are so limited and common.

But they are very important, and if you're creative you can still do original things with them as long as you stay out of the box position.

And for the record, I'd have to say most of Kirk's solos use the Natural (Pure) Minor scale, and/or other mode's of the major scale.

its all bout who uses them n how

exactly :)

I agree with Pusher. It is inferior technically. Nothing sounds like pentatonics though. The only scale that even comes close is the Whole tone scale.

Anyone?

pentatonics are easy to make something that doesn't sound bad... and so it is a favorite tool of the uncreative guitarist.

pentatonics are extremely limited in what they can actually do, musically, so it's best to simply use sparingly... if you do not use extra tones, it WILL be uncreative. that's as simple as that. you can't make a creative pentatonic solo... you can literally just hit random notes from those five and it'll sound fine.

oh, and EMB, that was stupid.

pentatonics predate septatonics, but the latter did not in any way evolve from the former.

this is kinda a stupid question b/c almost all scales came off of and fit into the maj scale and its modes. inferior...no. different sounding yes.

NO. WRONG. BAD.

could u care to explain why?

it's simply not a fact. the major, minor and modes are in no way, shape, or form, come from the pentatonic scale.

Baud's right on this one. Just look at the Scales Tool on this site. The scale patterns (I think there's a better name for this, but it doesn't come to mind at the moment) are based off of the Major Scale (1,2,3,4,5,6,7).

So, the Minor Scale is 1,2,b3,4,5,b6,b7, the Pentatonic Minor is 1,b3,4,5,b7, the Bebop Major is 1,2,3,4,5,#5,6,7, etc.

So if you want to find those scales, take a Major Scale (C for example), then just alter it to fit the pattern. So in Natural Minor, you flat the 3rd, 6th and 7th notes. This works with Major scale more than Pentatonic because, you can take away notes or add notes as much as you want.

I hope I am being clear, but I can try to explain more if you wish. :)

where did it come from then?

The pentatonic comes from the Major scale...
If you remove the 4th and 7th (thus the tritone, which adding the flattened 5th generally gives you back) you have a pentatonic.

NO, pentatonic did NOT come from any scale.... pentatonic are ancient, they predate septatonic scales and most likely originated from the east, where they spread to africa through trading vessels. much ancient asian music is pentatonic.

it is probably coincidence that the major scale and pentatonic align so well; because the 6+9 form of a chord happens to be the relative minor pentatonic of that chord; C6add9 contains all the notes from the A minor pentatonic scale.

I've never heard the like! What's all this 'superior/inferior about'?
Surely it's about 'horses for courses.'
You wouldn't use the minor pentatonic to play the William Tell Overture any more than you'd consider using a major scale to play the Crossroads blues. But a great many people derive a tremendous amount of enjoyment from both pieces.
All this 'inferior/superior' crap just sounds like gross artistic snobbery to me, and doe's anyone on this site really think they're so good they can comment? If so, I've definitely picked the wrong site and might as well give UG a try, 'course this is beginning to sound just the same!

UG is much worse but if that floats your boat.........

Technically its inferior, thats for sure.

Pentatonic scale is unique, nothing evolved from it. The same as the Japanese scale, Chinese, Whole Tone, Diminished, and so on. They're made to creae their own individual sounds.

But the Pentatonic and Blues are very limited, if you're using it for solos. But it gives it that unique sound.