Penta what?

Music is a foreign language, and it's too easy to forget we are all at different levels in our progression of learning that language. In light of that, I've had several teachers ask me what pentatonic means. 

The nutshell answer: pentatonic is a scale with five notes. 

A little more detailed definition: 

There are different types of pentatonic scales. When we refer to pentatonic in singing and teaching singing in a general elementary music setting, we are usually referring to a song that uses a pentatonic scale consisting of five notes that all sound good together. (For you music geniuses, this type of scale takes out the semi-tones, the half steps, or the fa and the ti. It just uses do, re, me, so, and la. In other words, it takes out any dissonances.) For the rest of this post, please assume I am referring to this type of pentatonic scale. 

Here's an example on the piano:

Becuase all of these notes sound great together, it makes this scale, or songs that use this scale, really versatile. Here are some ways that using pentatonic scales, or even just parts of the pentatonic scale, offer advantages in teaching:

• they are a great tool for composition. None of the notes ever sound wrong, so students can feel confident in their choices.
• songs lend themselves easily to being sung as rounds
• ostinatos (repeating patterns, usually short) can easily be drawn out of pentatonic songs to offer an easy opportunity for singing in multiple parts or adding harmony to a melody. 

Back in college, I had to analyze my song collection based on the pitches in songs. I'll paste the list below, or you are welcome to email me (vrobinson@dsdmail.net) if you'd like me to send it to you in a word document. Many of these songs are in the Davis Music Curriculum or the USOE 100 Favorite songs. Any of the categories that are part or all of a pentatonic scale I indicated with green text describing the name of the category.

Happy Singing!

Bitonal (TWO TONES)

Cherry Pie – M S - Mi

Chucu – M S (Eb) - Mi

Coo coo, who are you? – M S (Eb) - Mi

Fall is here – M S (Eb)

Hey Hey Look at Me – S M - Mi

North, South, East, West – M S – Mi

No You Mean Old Witch – M S – Sol?

Pease Porridge Hot – M S – Sol

Pumpkin, Pumpkin – M S - Sol

Sea Shells – M S - Mi

Slahal – Salish Indian Bone game – L D – La

Starlight, starbright – M S – Mi

Thread Follows Needle – M S - Mi

Tritonic (THREE TONES)

Bells in the Steeple – D M S (G) - Do

Bobby Shaftoe – M SL (Eb) - Mi

Bounce high, bounce low – M SL (Eb) - Mi

Bye, Baby Bunting – M SL (Eb) - Mi

Doggie, doggie – M SL (Eb) - Mi

Down in the Valley 2 – D M S (Eb) - Mi

Frog in the Middle – D M S (G) – Do

Green Sally Up – L DR (Bb or g) - La

Hawaiian stick song – M SL – Sol

Icka Backa – M SL – Sol

I Got Bananas – S D M S - Mi

Johnny Over The Ocean – M SL – Mi

Lucy locket – M SL - Mi

Mill Wheel – M SL – Mi

Mouse Mousie – D M S – Do

No Robbers Out Today – M SL - Mi

Oliver Twist – M SL - Mi

Picaflor – D M S – Do

Rattlesnake (Boston Street Game) – M SL – Mi

See Saw Margery – M SL - Mi

Snail, snail – M SL – Mi (add Eb)

Strawberry Shortcake – M SL - Sol

Step Back, Baby – L DR – Re

A Tisket, A Tasket – M SL - Mi

We Are Dancing in the Forest – M SL - Mi

Trichordal

Hop, old squirrel – DRM – Do

Hot cross buns – DRM - Do

Long-legged sailor – DRM - Do

Sailor, Sailor, on the Sea – DRM – Do

Shoheen sho – DRM - Do

Tetratonic (FOUR TONES)

Alcitron – S, DRM (G) - Do

Baker Baker [Kuchenbachen] – D M SL (D) - Do

Bought me A Cat – DRM S (G) - Do

Charlie Over the Ocean – R SLT (C) – So

Chicka-hanka [Cap’n, go side track yo’ train] – La

Come and Follow Me – S  DRM (A) - Do

Deedle, deedle dumpling – DRM S (G) - Do

Down Came A Lady – DRM S (G) - Do

Down in the Meadow – M SL D (Bb) - La

Draw A Bucket of Water – S DRM (C) - Sol

Frosty Weather – DRM S (G) – Do

Grandma’s Grunts – L DRM S (G) – Do

Hambone – L DRM – Do

Head and Shoulders, Baby – SL DR – Do

Hush, little baby 1 – S DRM – Do

Johnny Caught a Flee – D M SL - Do

Johnny Works With One Hammer – SLT R – Sol

Kitty Casket – SL D M – Sol

Let us chase the squirrel – DRM S – Do

Mary Had a Little Lamb – DRM S – Do

My Paddle’s Keen and Bright – M L DRM L – La

Old Blue – DRM S – Do

Old House – L DRM – La

Poor Little Kitty – L DRM – Do

Rain Come Wet Me – DRM S – Do

Sally Saucer – D M SL – Do

Shanghai Chicken – S DRM – Do (add F#)

Skin and Bones – L DRM – La

Sleep, baby, sleep – DRM S - Do

Swing a Lady Umptom – DRM S - Do

Valentine – DRM S – Do

Where is the Pebble? – L DRM – Re

Who’s That Tapping at the Window – DRM S – Do

Wind up the Apple Tree – RM SL - Sol

Tetrachordal

Bile Them Garbage – DRMF (G) - Do

Do Pentatonic (FIVE TONES, Do is the home base)

Alabama Gal – SL DRM  S (G) - Do

Angel Band – SL DRM S (G) - Do

Arirang – SL DRM S (G) - Do

Billy, Billy – DRM SL (G) - Do

Black Snake – DRM SL (G) - Do

Bow wow wow – DRM SL (G) - Do

Button You Must Wander – DRM SL (G) - Do

Chatter with the angels – SL DRM (G) - Do

Circulo al Zero – DRM SL D (D)  - Do

Cotton Eye Joe – SL DRM (G) – Do

Floating Down the River – SL DRM SL (G) – Do

Great Big House in New Orleans – DRM SL – Do

Green Gravel – DRM SL (C) – Do

Hanukkah latkes – DRM SL – Do

Here Comes a Bluebird – DRM SL – Do

Hey, Betty Martin – SL DRM – Do (needs an F#)

Hogs in the Cornfield 2 – DRM SL D – Do

Hush little Minnie [variant of Hush Little Baby] – DRM SL – Do

I Got a Shoe – SL DRM – Do

I’ve been to Harlem 2

The Jolly Miller – SL DRM – Do

Knock the Symbols – DRM SL – Do

Kreely Kranky – SL DRM – Do

Little Birdie – SL DRM – Do

Little Red Bird – DRM SL - Do

Mama Buy Me a China Doll – DRM SL – Do

Mary Wore Her Red Dress – SL DRM S – Do

Now Let Me Fly! – SL DRM SL - Do

Old Brass Wagon – SL DRM - Do

Old Lady Goose – L DRM S – Do

Old Roger – SL DRM – Do

The Owl and the Mice – SL DRM – Do

Page’s Train – DRM SL – Do

Rocky Mountain – DRM SL – Do

Sailing on the Ocean 2 – SL DRM SL – Do

Shake Them ‘Simmons Down

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear – DRM SL – Do

There Was an Old Woman Who Had A Little Pig – DRM SL D – Do

Tue Tue – DRM SL – Do

Uncle Reuben’s Raccoon is Gone – DRM SL D – Do

Walk, Daniel – L DRM S – Do

Weevily Wheat 1 – SL DRM SL - Do

Re pentatonic (FIVE TONES, Re is the home base)

I Wonder Where Mariah’s Gone? – DRM SL D – Re

Old Betty Larkin – RM SL DR – Re

Sara Watashi – L DRM S

Sol Pentatonic (FIVE TONES, Sol is the home base)

I Gave My Love – SL DRM SL – Sol

Once I Had an Old Gray Mare – SL DRM - Sol

Squirrel is a pretty thing 2 – SL DRM - Sol

La Pentatonic (FIVE TONES, La is the home base...these songs often sound minor)

Chickalileelo – SL DRM – (Bb) - La

Big-eyed Rabbit – SL DRM (Bb) – La

Land of the silver birch – L DRM SL – La

My Good Old Man – L DRM SL – La

Nottamun Town – SL DRM SL – La

Passamaquoddy Rain Chant – L DRM SL – La (does the grace note (sol) not count)

Pentachordal

Girls and Boys – DRMFS (C) – Do

Go Tell Aunt Rhody 1 – DRMFS (Eb) – Do

A Hunting We Will Go – S DRMFS – Sol

The Keys of Canterbury – LTDRM – La

Love Somebody – DRMFS – Do

Mama Llama – S DRMFS – Do (add f#)

Oh, When the Saints Go Marching In – DRMFS – Do (add F#)

Oats, Peas, Beans, and Barl – DRMFS – Do

There Were Three Jolly Fishermen – S DRMFS – Do

Whistle, Daughter, Whistle – DRMFS - Do

Hexatonic

By the Wayside – S TDRMF – Sol

Captains and Ships – SLTDR FS – Sol

The Little birch tree – LTDRM S – La

Little Johnny Brown – L DRMFS – Do

Revolutionary Tees – S TDRMF - Do

On The Mountain – DRMFSL – Do

Hextachordal

Bluebird – DRMFSL – (G) - Do

Fly Away Little Birdie – TDRMFS – (Eb) – Do

Hogs in the Cornfield 1 – DRM SL D – Do

In a fine castle – SLTDRM – Sol

Johnny Get Your hair – LSTDRM – Do

The Keeper – DRMFSL D – Do

Lavender’s blue – DRMFSL – Do

Little Bird 2 – DRMFSL – Do

London Bridge is Broken Down – SLTDRM S – Do

Obwisana – DRMFSL – Do

Roll That Brown Jug – S TDRMFS – Do

Soldier Boy – M SLTDRM – La

Tideo – DRMFSL D – Do

Trois p’tits chats – LTDRMF - La

Ionian Mode

Dorian Mode

As I Roved Out – DRMFSLTDR (F) – Re

Carrion Crow 1 – DRMFSLTDR (F) - Re

Carrion Crow 2 – DRMFSLTDR (F) – Re

Drunken Sailor 2 – DRMFSLTDR (F) - Re

He-Back, she-back – L DRMFSLTD – Re

O Belinda! – DRMFSLTDR – Re

Tailor and the Mouse – LTDRMFSL – Re

Yonder Stands a Handsome Lady - Re

Phrygian Mode

Down in the Valley 1 – MFSLTDRM  (Eb) – Mi

Squirrel is a pretty thing, A – RMFSLTD - Mi

Lydian Mode

Mixolydian Mode

Drunken Sailor 1 – FSLTDRMFS (C) – Sol

Old Joe Clark – RM SLTDRMF – Sol

The Tarry Trousers – FSLTDRMF - Sol

Aeolian Mode

I will give my love an apple – SRMFSLTDRM – La

Paddy Works on the Railway – MFSLTDR - La

Major

Cut the Cake – DRMFSL D (D) - Do

Good King Wenceslas – SLTDRMFS (Ab) – Do

Head Shoulders Knees – SLTDRM S – Do

High Stepping Horses – SLTDRM S – Do – Hextachordal

I’s d’ B’y – S T DRMFS – Do

Mazoo – S TDRMFSL - Do

O No John – SLTDRMFS – Do

Oranges and Lemons 1 – SLTDRMFS - Do

Paw Paw Patch – S TDRMFSL – Do

Samsa Kroma – DRMFSLTD - Do

Harmonic Minor

Other

Rig a Jig Jig – RMFFSLTD – Do

Cherry Blossoms  - TD MF LTD

Step We gaily – hextachordal/incomplete mixolydian

There Was a Pig – M Si LTDRM L