A C major pentatonic scale consists of the notes
C D E G A C. An A minor pentatonic scale is the same notes, just
in a different order....A C D E G A. The relationship between
these 2 scales is called "relative". Just think....same
blood....same notes. They are relatives of each other. Whether
you call these same notes a major pentatonic or minor pentatonic
just depends on how they are being used.
A is the relative minor of C major, and C is the
relative major of A minor.
Below you will see a basic pentatonic scale form.
First it is shown as an A minor pentatonic scale with the root
A represented in red.
Then below that you see the same scale form, but this time it
is represented as a C major pentatonic with the root C
in blue.
So as you learn to play various pentatonic scale
forms, it is going to be important to learn where the roots are
within a particular form. And since the same fingering can be
thought of as major pentatonic, or minor pentatonic, there are
2 sets of roots to learn for each scale fingering. One for major,
and one for minor.
For a reference page with all pentatonic scale forms
with the roots for both major and minor highlighted, click the
button below.
Page 3, Minor pentatonic scales