B♭ major pentatonic scale on 5-string bass

B♭ · C · D · F · G

The course explains what this page shows in Lesson 16 · The minor pentatonic.

The notes

  1. B♭1
  2. C2
  3. D3
  4. F5
  5. G6

The B♭ major pentatonic scale is B♭, C, D, F, G.

You may also see it called 1 2 3 5 6.

On the staff

B♭CDE♭FGAB♭

On a bass staff, the B♭ major pentatonic scale is written B♭ C D F G.

The solid notes are the B♭ major pentatonic scale. The pale notes are the rest of B♭ major, the larger scale it is carved out of, so you can see which notes it leaves out.

Why the B♭ major pentatonic scale has this flat

  1. B♭1
  2. T
  3. C2
  4. T
  5. D3
  6. T+S
  7. F5
  8. T
  9. G6
  10. T+S
  11. B♭8

A scale is a pattern of steps, and this one is T T T+S T T+S: a tone, a tone, a tone and a half, and so on. T stands for a tone, which is two semitones. T+S stands for a tone and a half, which is three semitones. The pattern is what gives B♭ major pentatonic its sound, and it stays the same whichever note you start on.

This scale has only five notes, so it does not use every letter. It is B♭ major with some notes taken out, and it keeps that scale's spelling exactly.

Apart from the tonic, no note needs a sharp or a flat, because every other letter already falls where the pattern needs it.

The B♭ major pentatonic scale is written with B♭. Only the tonic carries an accidental, and that comes from the key you picked rather than from the T T T+S T T+S pattern of steps.

The pattern of steps is the part of a scale that never changes. The letter names take sharps or flats to fit that pattern, and a key signature is a record of those sharps or flats.

On the piano

2C3DE5F6G7AB2C3DE5F6G7AB2C3DE5F6G7AB2C3DE5F6G7AB2CC♯4E♭F♯G♯1B♭C♯4E♭F♯G♯1B♭C♯4E♭F♯G♯1B♭C♯4E♭F♯G♯1B♭C0C1C2C3C4

The keyboard shows the same five notes as a shape you can see. The coloured keys are the B♭ major pentatonic scale, the pale keys are the rest of B♭ major, and you can click any key to hear it.

B♭ major pentatonic scale on the whole neck

BEADG123456789101112131415C2D3F5G6B♭1C2D3F5G6B♭1C2D3F5G6B♭1C2D3F5G6B♭1C2D3F5G6B♭1C2D3F5G6B♭1C2D3F5G6B♭1

45 notes of the B♭ major pentatonic scale are marked across five strings.

This is every place the notes of the B♭ major pentatonic scale fall on the 5-string bass, with each note's name and its scale degree. The roots are marked so you can find your bearings.

The five boxes

Box 5 — starts on the 6
BEADG7891011126123561235
Box 1 — starts on the 1
BEADG10111213141235612356
Box 2 — starts on the 2
BEADG12131415162356123561
Box 3 — starts on the 3
BEADG15161718193561235612
Box 4 — starts on the 5
BEADG17181920215612356123

The B♭ major pentatonic scale has five playable positions, at frets 7–11, 10–13, 12–15, 15–18 and 17–20.

There are five shapes, and each one starts on a different note of the scale. Once you know one shape you can slide it along the neck, and once you know all five they join up to cover the whole neck.

One climb up the neck

BEADG111213141516171819201235612356123TAB11131513151315171517151719

The climb runs from fret 11 to fret 19 and plays thirteen notes.

This is one path from the lowest root to the top of the neck, and it plays each note once, never on two strings. It takes a different number of notes on different strings. The widest stretch on any one string is four frets.