Major pentatonic or Arpeggio. When to use which?

JohnAnderson

Getting Better Now...
The difference between the major pentatonic and the arpeggio is that the maj pentatonic adds the 2nd and 6th. When would using the 2nd and 6th sound better, or more Bluesy, than just using the arpeggio notes over the chord??
 

mountain man

Still got the Blues!
I'm not sure if I have your question right or not. I generally don't play the Major arpeggio. I play the Dominant 7th arpeggio. I haven't jumped into the arpeggio course yet so maybe I'd say something different here if I had. What I like playing is the Dominant 7th arpeggio and then play either the Major pentatonic or the minor pentatonic over that. When you add the Major pentatonic scale over the Dominant 7th arpeggio that's when you are adding the 2nd and the 6th and you start to sound Bluesy. Probably because in the Dominant 7th arpeggio you play the b7 which is actually in the minor pentatonic. My rule of thumb is when I want to sound Bluesy, I add as much of the minor Blues scale as I can. I hope this helps. :Beer:
 
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