Major pentatonic scale on guitar
The major pentatonic scale has the formula R 2 3 5 6. In G its notes are G A B D E. Below you see it on the whole neck, its five positions one by one and the chords it makes, in standard tuning or in Drop D, Drop C, Drop B and DADGAD. Check out all 13 guitar scales.
Position
- 1: frets 2 to 5, 14 to 17
- 2: frets 4 to 8, 16 to 20
- 3: frets 7 to 10, 19 to 22
- 4: frets 9 to 12
- 5: frets 0 to 3, 12 to 15
G Major Pentatonic
Degrees: R 2 3 5 6. Notes: G A B D E.
Same notes
Chords of G Ionian (Major)
Notes and formula of the major pentatonic scale
Degrees: R 2 3 5 6. Notes: G A B D E.
Its formula is R 2 3 5 6, the same in every key: learn it once and you can build the major pentatonic scale on any root. Players often use it for country, pop and major-key solos.
Its twin is the other pentatonic scale, the minor pentatonic scale: the same five notes from another root, and the same shapes on the neck.
A root on a black key goes by one name here: Db major pentatonic, never C# major pentatonic. To find each note on the neck on its own, see every note on the fretboard.
Major pentatonic scale positions on the neck
Nobody learns the whole neck at once. The major pentatonic scale comes in five boxes with two notes on each string: position 1 starts on your low string with the root, G at fret 3, and each next box starts on the next note of the scale. Know the E Minor Pentatonic boxes? They are the same five, numbered from another note.
Learn one box, then the next, and play across both: together they cover the neck. Where the neck has room, a box comes back twelve frets higher. These are two-notes-per-string shapes, not CAGED.
Position 1, frets 2 to 5
Position 2, frets 4 to 8
Position 3, frets 7 to 10
Position 4, frets 9 to 12
Position 5, frets 12 to 15
Scales with the same notes as the major pentatonic scale
Same notes, same frets, another home note: know the major pentatonic scale on the neck and you already have these under your fingers.
The major pentatonic scale in every key
Your song is in F#? Find its row: the notes of the major pentatonic scale in that key, and the fret where your first box starts. Click the key and the neck at the top jumps there.
| Key | Notes | Position 1 from fret |
|---|---|---|
| C major pentatonic scale | C D E G A | 7 |
| Db major pentatonic scale | Db Eb F Ab Bb | 8 |
| D major pentatonic scale | D E F# A B | 9 |
| Eb major pentatonic scale | Eb F G Bb C | 10 |
| E major pentatonic scale | E F# G# B C# | 11 |
| F major pentatonic scale | F G A C D | 0 |
| F# major pentatonic scale | F# G# A# C# D# | 1 |
| G major pentatonic scaleon this page | G A B D E | 2 |
| Ab major pentatonic scale | Ab Bb C Eb F | 3 |
| A major pentatonic scale | A B C# E F# | 4 |
| Bb major pentatonic scale | Bb C D F G | 5 |
| B major pentatonic scale | B C# D# F# G# | 6 |
The major pentatonic scale in Drop D, Drop C, Drop B and DADGAD
Tune down and the major pentatonic scale stays the same scale, it just sits on other frets. In Drop D only your low string changes, so every shape on the other five strings stays put. Drop C and Drop B take every string down, so the whole scale shifts, and DADGAD lowers three strings. Here is where its root G sits on the low string in each.
| Tuning | G on the low string |
|---|---|
| Standard | frets 3 and 15 |
| Drop D | frets 5 and 17 |
| Drop C | frets 7 and 19 |
| Drop B | frets 8 and 20 |
| DADGAD | frets 5 and 17 |
In the app
Practice the major pentatonic scale
Knowing a position is half the job. Turn it into an exercise in the free TabTunix app, play it to a click that speeds up step by step, rate each go, and see on your chart how close you are to your target tempo.
More on how to get a scale under your fingers in how to practice scales, and every other scale under guitar scales.
Questions about the major pentatonic scale
You know which lick it is. Go get it up to tempo. Free, for Mac and Windows.
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