When I wrote the Five Note Dance, it was before I started my pentatonic journey which created a pentatonic piece for each of the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac. However, the Five Note Dance was not pentatonic, despite having five notes. Why not?
What is pentatonic
The word “pentatonic” does not just mean any five notes. It describes a passage or a piece that uses the notes from a pentatonic scale. So far, I have written pieces based on notes from “major pentatonic scales.”
A major pentatonic scale can be derived from a major scale using the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th degress of that seven-degree scale.
In other words, we skip the 4th and 7th notes to avoid half steps. The resulting major pentatonic scale have consecutive notes that are a minimum of a whole step apart, with no half steps.
Variation on a theme
The movement of “Thrive on Five” is exactly the same as its predecessor “Five Note Dance.” The notes are different, however.
Because the notes are different, the chords are different, too.
Pick! Pluck! Play!
“Thrive on Five” is one of the 12 pieces I’m writing for Level 1 of the new book “Pick! Pluck! Play! Fingerstyle Ukulele.”
The last page “Ukulele Chords” of the new book contains a table of ukulele chord diagrams ordered alphabetically for the chords used in the book.
I’m thrilled about releasing these two books as a precursors (prerequisite) to the 12 Chinese Zodiac Suite, which contains three skill levels.
I am recording all my new compositions in the 100 Days of Ukulele 2025 project. To me, this challenge means uploading a new video recording of a new piece each consecutive day from 1st March to 8th June 2025.
For other recent compositions and arrangements by Anne Ku, please visit the Daily Music Writing Project or scroll through the consecutive blog posts.
Pingback: Thrive on Five in Five (pentatonic) for high G ukulele – Anne KuAnne Ku