Pentatonic Rock and Soul

The late Danny Federici was one of the most soulful keyboardists in rock. The parts he created and solos he played as a member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band are integral elements of every song. His B-3 solo on “Hungry Heart” from The River is no exception. This song is based on a I-vi-ii-V progression; in functional theory using Roman numerals, capital numerals are major chords, lowercase numerals are minor chords, and the numbers themselves refer to the degree of the major scale the chord is built on. This is one of the most common and beloved chord progressions in pop (Example 1).

Since the chords in this progression are made up of notes from the tonic chord’s major scale, it stands to reason that you can make melodies using that one scale over the whole progression. Your one-stop shop to make this happen: the pentatonic scale (cue the sound of a choir descending from blues heaven). The major pentatonic scale is made up of five tones from the major scale: 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 (Example 2). There’s something about this scale that lends itself to riffing. By leaving out the fourth and seventh tones of the major scale, you avoid two important tones that don’t always fit in, since they have specific functions, harmonically. In fact, you can use this one pentatonic scale to create melodies over the entire I-vi-ii-V progression (Example 3), and your chances of hitting on some sweet licks are good. Loop this progression and experiment with using notes from this scale. Check out how Danny Federici used notes from this pentatonic scale alone to create one of the most memorable and timeless moments in the Bruce Springsteen catalog: Listen and learn.

Ex. 1. This is the classic I-vi-ii-V progression, a mainstay of American pop music. The Boss uses it to great effect in “Hungry Heart,” making a universal topic even more appealing with familiar chords.

Ex. 2. What’s one of Danny Federici’s top rock organ soloing tools? The pentatonic scale corresponding to the tonic chord. Here’s a sample lick using the notes from the E pentatonic scale over an E major chord. Try it out using the fingering I’ve indicated.

Ex. 3. But wait, what about all those other chords in Example 1? No problem! Just use the same pentatonic scale over the entire progression. It works because all the chord tones come from the E major scale.