Scales
E Minor Pentatonic Scale
E · G · A · B · D
Five notes from the natural minor — the most played scale in rock, blues and pop lead guitar.
E Minor Pentatonic Scale
E · G · A · B · D
Fingering on the piano
| Hand | Fingering | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right hand | 1 2 3 1 2 3 | E · G · A · B · D · E | |
| Left hand | 4 3 2 1 2 1 | E · G · A · B · D · E |
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
E Minor Pentatonic is made of the notes E · G · A · B · D. 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
E 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
E MinorE · F# · G · A · B · C · D
Contains every note of E Minor Pentatonic.
E Minor BluesE · G · A · Bb · B · D
Contains every note of E Minor Pentatonic.
E DorianE · F# · G · A · B · C# · D
Contains every note of E Minor Pentatonic.
E PhrygianE · F · G · A · B · C · D
Contains every note of E Minor Pentatonic.
E Dorian b2E · F · G · A · B · C# · D
Contains every note of E Minor Pentatonic.
E Spanish HeptatonicE · F · G · G# · A · B · C · D
Contains every note of E Minor Pentatonic.
Understanding E 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 E the scale is E · G · A · B · D, 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 E Minor Pentatonic?
- The E Minor Pentatonic contains E · G · A · B · D. 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 E 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 E Minor Pentatonic?
- From E 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.