PRESENTING... THE SECOND
It’s been used by everyone from T-Bone Walker to Hendrix, Rory Gallagher, Gary Moore... You name it, they often threw in this sneaky addition to the pentatonic scale! I have mentioned “the second” multiple times in past issues, but today, I wanted to delve in and make it the whole subject!
The major second is simply the note two frets above the root note, or first note of your scale. All examples are played at 100 beats per minute.
EXERCISE #1
This is just a pentatonic scale with the second added. Can you see it? You’ll see it’s placed right after the root note, which appears three times in this position. It’s worth noting that in the key of A, it changes over to the note B. When you hit the third string, you will have to reach back a touch to grab the ‘second’, appearing on the fourth fret of the third string. I elect to shift back and use my second and fourth finger to play the fifth and seventh fret, before shifting my first finger back to the fifth fret on the second string. At the first string, you see the root note once more on the fifth fret, followed by the second, and then our minor third to end the position. Practice this exercise up and down, of course!
EXERCISE #2
Let’s get into some licks! This reminds me a bit of something like Gallagher’s “Philby”. Essentially it’s pentatonic, but takes on a more natural minor feel with the second added. The cool thing is that even over a typical blues, which may not sound as dark, these notes work well. Again, you’ll want to employ your fourth finger to make easier work of the shape on these middle two strings. Take note of the semiquaver triplet to get the right timing.
EXERCISE #3
Nothing too complex here, in theory – once again just a pentatonic lick with the addition of the second. We start out by alternating between the minor third and the second against the root, before descending quickly using pull-offs from the second. For this lick, I wanted to resolve on the second – it makes for a good alternative to the minor third or the root, and leaves the listener hanging. You’re welcome to slide off the fifth fret down to the four with your first finger to end this one, rather than switch to your fourth finger as you reach for the third string initially.
EXERCISE #4
This is very T-Bone Walker-esque. Do a little bit of bending and picked-out double stopping before playing around with the second once more. Two more things I decided to incorporate here: the half-beat rest at the start of the second bar – which is very common amongst blues players – and ending by bending up from the second to the more common minor third. Just a few little tweaks can make a huge difference to your licks.
EXERCISE #5
By adding the extra note into your pentatonic scale, you can completely alter the rhythmic dynamic of the scale. In this example, I’m setting up the shift to the fourth chord with a lowdown twangy riff that walks up the pentatonic with the addition of the second, then comes back, skipping it to land flush on the A at the end of the bar, which rolls smoothly into the D. The extra note facilitates this placement in a way that would be totally different if we used straight pentatonics.
SUMMARY
I’m always a big believer that you don’t need to reinvent the wheel – 1/1 just add a second! Y’know, as in a second wheel, or the second in this particular example being the note. Great joke, hey?