E minor pentatonic scale on guitar

E · G · A · B · D

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

The notes

  1. E1
  2. G♭3
  3. A4
  4. B5
  5. D♭7

The E minor pentatonic scale is E, G, A, B, D.

You may also see it called 1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7.

On the staff

EF♯GABCDE

On a treble staff, the E minor pentatonic scale is written E G A B D.

The solid notes are the E minor pentatonic scale. The pale notes are the rest of E natural minor, the larger scale it is carved out of, so you can see which notes it leaves out.

Why the E minor pentatonic scale has no sharps or flats

  1. E1
  2. T+S
  3. G♭3
  4. T
  5. A4
  6. T
  7. B5
  8. T+S
  9. D♭7
  10. T
  11. E8

A scale is a pattern of steps, and this one is T+S T T T+S T: a tone and a half, a tone, a tone, 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 E minor 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 E natural minor with some notes taken out, and it keeps that scale's spelling exactly.

Every letter already falls where the pattern needs it, so E minor pentatonic is written with no sharps or flats at all.

The E minor pentatonic scale needs no sharps or flats, because every letter already falls where the T+S T T T+S T pattern of steps needs it.

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

♭6C♭7D1EF♭3G4A5B♭6C♭7D1EF♭3G4A5B♭6C♭7D1EF♭3G4A5B♭6C♭7D1EF♭3G4A5B♭6CC♯D♯2F♯G♯A♯C♯D♯2F♯G♯A♯C♯D♯2F♯G♯A♯C♯D♯2F♯G♯A♯C2C3C4C5C6

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

E minor pentatonic scale on the whole neck

EADGBE123456789101112131415E1G♭3A4B5D♭7E1G♭3A4B5D♭7E1G♭3A4B5D♭7E1G♭3A4B5D♭7E1G♭3A4B5D♭7E1G♭3A4B5D♭7E1G♭3A4B5D♭7E1G♭3A4B5D♭7E1G♭3

60 notes of the E minor pentatonic scale are marked across six strings.

This is every place the notes of the E minor pentatonic scale fall on the guitar, 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 ♭7
EADGBE910111213♭71♭345♭71♭345♭71
Box 1 — starts on the 1
EADGBE12131415161♭345♭71♭345♭71♭3
Box 2 — starts on the ♭3
EADGBE1415161718♭345♭71♭345♭71♭34
Box 3 — starts on the 4
EADGBE16171819202145♭71♭345♭71♭345
Box 4 — starts on the 5
EADGBE19202122235♭71♭345♭71♭345♭7

The E minor pentatonic scale has five playable positions, at frets 9–12, 12–15, 14–17, 16–20 and 19–22.

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

EADGBE1234567891011121314151617181♭345♭71♭345♭71♭345♭71♭34TAB0352575797912101215121517

The climb runs from fret 0 to fret 17 and plays eighteen 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 three notes on every string. The widest stretch on any one string is five frets.