Pentatonic

The Pentatonic Scale is a 5-note scale. It is used in some Asian, American Indian, Medieval, Celtic, early folk music It is found in classical music of Ravel and Debussy.  

The note pattern is 12356 in any key – such as CDEGA .  The easiest one to find on the harp is based on G and is played by ignoring the colored strings. GABDE.

You can get the same effect by playing only on the black notes on the piano.  Pentatonic scales are easy to start improvising because 99% of the note combinations sound good together. There are no "avoid" notes.

If you tune all your colored strings one half tone lower so they are the same as the note below (C becomes B, and F becomes E), you can improvise without looking at your harp. You can't hit a wrong note – even when you play both hands together. Arpeggios sound neat when you adjust your harp in this way.

Some pentatonic music that may be familiar to you:

Old Man River, Deep River 

Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen

The Parting Glass 

Auld Lang Syne

 Amazing Grace, Swing Lo, Sweet Chariot

Give Me Your Hand, Ye Banks and Braes

Wayfaring Stranger, Motherless Child

Morning - from Peer Gynt Suite by Grieg

Annie Laurie, Loch Lomond

                                Summertime (except for one note)