Pentatonic Scale Guitar

The most essential guitar scale. Minor pentatonic patterns across all keys on the full fretboard.

Scale type

Root key

C Minor Pentatonic:
CD#FGA#
Root (C)
Scale notes
Open
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
e
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
B
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
G
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
D
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
A
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
E
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E

Standard tuning — E A D G B e (low to high)

About the Minor Pentatonic Scale

Five notes, endless expression. The most-played guitar scale in rock, blues, and pop. The interactive tool above shows the complete fretboard pattern for any key — select a root note from the key picker to see all scale note positions highlighted across all 6 strings.

Minor Pentatonic Scale Patterns Across All Keys

The shape of the minor pentatonic scale pattern stays the same regardless of the key — only the root note changes. This means once you learn the pattern in one key, you can move it to any other key by shifting to a different root note. Use the fretboard above to explore the pattern in each of the 12 keys and see how the positions shift up and down the neck. Cross-reference with the Guitar Fretboard map to understand which note names correspond to each highlighted position.

Minor Pentatonic Scale by Key

Writing a song? Build the chord sheet in Chordly and reference this scale as you go.

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