Emphasizing the root note

[ics1974]

Hi Desi,

In the Pentatonic DVD you mention emphasizing the root note when playing the pentatonic. I assume this means no matter what chord you are on you still emphasize the root note of the root chord. If this is the case do you need to think about emphasizing chord tones of the other chords in the progression or is the root note of the root chord the main focus?
I know you can chage pentatonic scales to match each chord change but I'm talking about playing one pentatonic scale over all chords.

Thanks

[DesiSerna]

You can do both.

Since the pentatonic scale corresponding to the root chord works over the whole progression, the root of the root chord works over the whole progression too. In fact, a very common composition technique is to use the root as a pedal tone over the changes in the chord progression. You can hear this done in "With or Without You" by U2. The bass plays D, A, Bm and G while the guitar holds notes from the root chord D.

Or you can outline the chord progression by targeting chord tones in the scale as the chords change. You may not always have a root to emphasize, but you can play any interval from a chord.

[ics1974]

Got it. Thanks