Scales
A Minor Pentatonic Scale
A · C · D · E · G
Five notes from the natural minor — the most played scale in rock, blues and pop lead guitar.
A Minor Pentatonic Scale
A · C · D · E · G
Fingering on the piano
| Hand | Fingering | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right hand | 1 2 3 1 2 3 | A · C · D · E · G · A | |
| Left hand | 4 3 2 1 2 1 | A · C · D · E · G · A |
One octave ascending; 1 is the thumb. A standard fingering, not the only one.
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Scale degrees
A Minor Pentatonic is made of the notes A · C · D · E · G. Each is a degree counted from the tonic, and the gaps between them are the step pattern W½ W W W½ W.
Read on: scale degrees · building any scale · pentatonic and blues scales
Related scales
A Minor Pentatonic is a selection of notes from larger scales rather than a seven-note scale of its own, so it has no chords of its own: it takes them from the scales that contain it, listed here with the scales it contains and its related keys.
Scales that contain it
A MinorA · B · C · D · E · F · G
Contains every note of A Minor Pentatonic.
A Minor BluesA · C · D · Eb · E · G
Contains every note of A Minor Pentatonic.
A DorianA · B · C · D · E · F# · G
Contains every note of A Minor Pentatonic.
A PhrygianA · Bb · C · D · E · F · G
Contains every note of A Minor Pentatonic.
A Dorian b2A · Bb · C · D · E · F# · G
Contains every note of A Minor Pentatonic.
A Spanish HeptatonicA · Bb · C · C# · D · E · F · G
Contains every note of A Minor Pentatonic.
Understanding A Minor Pentatonic
Names and spellings
The major and minor pentatonic scales share their five notes, like a major key and its relative minor. On guitar “the pentatonic scale” usually means the minor one; in method books for other instruments it usually means the major one.
How it is built
On A the scale is A · C · D · E · G, following the step pattern W½ W W W½ W. It is the natural minor without its second and sixth degrees.
Like its major counterpart it contains no semitones, so every note sits comfortably over a minor or a dominant chord.
How it is used
On guitar it is the five box shapes every player learns first, and it works over a minor key, a blues in a major key, and a modal vamp alike. Add the flattened fifth and it becomes the blues scale.
It shares its notes with the major pentatonic a minor third above, so switching between the two over the same chord is a standard way to move from dark to bright without changing position.
Learn this properly
Chapter 7: Scales: Major and MinorCommon questions
- What notes are in the A Minor Pentatonic?
- The A Minor Pentatonic contains A · C · D · E · G. Find every scale that contains these notes with the scale finder.
- What is the difference between minor pentatonic and the blues scale?
- One note. The blues scale adds the flattened fifth — the blue note — between the fourth and fifth degrees.
- Can I play minor pentatonic over major chords?
- Yes, and blues players do constantly. The flattened third rubbing against the chord’s major third is the blues sound.
- How do I play A Minor Pentatonic?
- On guitar start with the 1st position, played from the lowest string upward; the instrument panel on this page shows its frets and the positions further up the neck. On the piano the right hand ascends 1 2 3 1 2 3, with 1 as the thumb. Every position plays when you press it.
- What is the formula of A Minor Pentatonic?
- From A the steps run W½ W W W½ W, where a whole step is two frets or two keys and a half step one. Apply the same pattern from any other note and you get the same scale on that root, which is why every root of this scale has a page here.