Quick question: I have been unable to find tabs for all three octaves of the major pentatonic scale. A friend of mine, noted harp meister Jim McLaughlin, says 95 percent of the improvisation he uses employ that scale. So can somebody please provide the tabs for all three octaves of the major pentatonic scale (first position)? I need to memorize it so I can more easily improvise.
Thanks,
Johnnie the K
For 1st position (aka “straight harp”) the notes given below are for a C blues harp:
C D E G A
+1 -1 +2 -2 -3”
+4 -4 +5 +6 -6
+7 -8 +8 +9 -10
+10
For harps in other keys, the tab for that key’s major pentatonic scale remain as above. Only the notes played are different and correspond to the new scale.
A little time invested in learning the basics of music scales and blues harp note layouts is well worth the effort !!
Maybe it’s a little overkill, but I put this tabbed out scales list together for each position on both Chromatic and Diatonic harmonica.
I KNOW that I have made a few errors on here, but I think it is 98% ok. Just double check if your writing a symphony or something 
.
https://www.harptabs.com/song.php?ID=30446
There is a PDF file I posted on harptabs as well, but I can’t seem to get a link.
Thnx…I know the pentatonic scale is the canvas most excellent harp players use to improvise and play the blues. That’s my goal. Also trying to learn some basic tunes to broaden my ability to perform…
Thanks…I have printed out the tabs I am looking for and will commit them to memory.
J the K
Hey @johnniethek the 2nd position Major Pentatonic scale is the one I use most often personally. They’re both here:
If you can’t do the -3” bend, you can just play it like this for now:
Think of the a major scale and leave out the 4 and 7 notes of this scale.
Some would say to include a b3rd note also.