What is the pentatonic scale?

A scale of five notes instead of seven. The minor pentatonic in A is A, C, D, E and G.

Why is the pentatonic scale used for solos?

The two notes that clash most with the chords are left out, so almost anything you play fits. It is forgiving and it moves in one shape.

Should I learn the major or minor pentatonic first?

Minor. Start with E minor pentatonic in open position, then learn the movable box at the fifth fret.

Guide

Pentatonic scale

A pentatonic scale has five notes instead of the usual seven. Penta means five. It is the scale behind most rock, blues, folk and pop solos, because the two notes most likely to clash with the chords are simply left out. Here are the two shapes to learn, and how to move them into any key.

What is a pentatonic scale?

Take a normal seven note scale and drop two of them. What is left sounds good over almost any chord in the key, which is why it is the first scale people solo with.

Scale	Notes	Sounds
A minor pentatonic	A C D E G	Bluesy, serious
C major pentatonic	C D E G A	Bright, folky
E minor pentatonic	E G A B D	The easiest one on guitar, all open strings

The same five notes, named from a different home note, give you the minor or the major sound.

Tip

Minor and major pentatonic are the same five notes

A minor pentatonic and C major pentatonic use identical notes. What changes is which note feels like home, and that comes from the chords underneath.

E minor pentatonic, the easy one

E minor pentatonic in open position. Every string starts open, so your hand barely has to move.

In words: thick E string: open (E) and fret 3 (G). A string: open (A) and fret 2 (B). D string: open (D) and fret 2 (E). G string: open (G) and fret 2 (A). B string: open (B) and fret 3 (D). thin e string: open (E) and fret 3 (G).

Play it from the thick E string up to the thin one, then back down. Use finger 2 for fret 2 and finger 3 for fret 3, and let the open strings ring.

The pentatonic box

A minor pentatonic at the fifth fret. Two notes on every string: finger 1 on the lower note, finger 3 or 4 on the higher one.

In words: thick E string: fret 5 (A) and fret 8 (C). A string: fret 5 (D) and fret 7 (E). D string: fret 5 (G) and fret 7 (A). G string: fret 5 (C) and fret 7 (D). B string: fret 5 (E) and fret 8 (G). thin e string: fret 5 (A) and fret 8 (C).

The same box in tab, one note per beat, going up.

In words: In order: thick E string fret 5 (A), thick E string fret 8 (C), A string fret 5 (D), A string fret 7 (E), D string fret 5 (G), D string fret 7 (A), G string fret 5 (C), G string fret 7 (D), B string fret 5 (E), B string fret 8 (G), thin e string fret 5 (A), thin e string fret 8 (C).

This shape is called a box because it sits in one square of the neck. Nothing is open, so the whole thing slides. That is the trick: one shape, every key.

Moving the box to another key

The lowest note under finger 1 on the thick E string names the key. Put that finger on the note you want and the rest of the shape follows.

Fret	Key
3	G minor pentatonic
5	A minor pentatonic
7	B minor pentatonic
8	C minor pentatonic
10	D minor pentatonic
12	E minor pentatonic

Where finger 1 sits on the thick E string.

Watch out

Match the scale to the song

The shape only sounds right over chords from the same key. A minor pentatonic fits a song in A minor or in C major. Over a song in G it will sound wrong.

The major pentatonic

C major pentatonic in open position. Same five notes as A minor pentatonic, starting from C.

In words: A string: fret 3 (C). D string: open (D) and fret 2 (E). G string: open (G) and fret 2 (A). B string: fret 1 (C) and fret 3 (D). thin e string: open (E).

Use this one over happy sounding songs in C or G. Most folk melodies, including plenty on this site, live almost entirely in a major pentatonic.

How to practise it

1
Up and down, slowly
One note per beat, every note the same volume. Two minutes.
2
Start and end on the home note
For A minor pentatonic that is A. Your ear learns where home is.
3
Play it over a song
Open a song in A minor on this site and pick notes from the box while it plays.
4
Make short phrases
Three or four notes, then stop. Solos are sentences, not scales.

Tip

One more note makes it the blues scale

Add the note one fret below the middle note of the scale and you get the blues scale. Learn the five first.

Try it over a song

Try it now

Für Elise, melody mode

Für Elise is in A minor. Play it in Melody mode, then pick notes from the A minor pentatonic box over the top.

Open the song

Questions people ask

What is the pentatonic scale?: A scale of five notes instead of seven. The minor pentatonic in A is A, C, D, E and G.
Why is the pentatonic scale used for solos?: The two notes that clash most with the chords are left out, so almost anything you play fits. It is forgiving and it moves in one shape.
Should I learn the major or minor pentatonic first?: Minor. Start with E minor pentatonic in open position, then learn the movable box at the fifth fret.