Pentatonic Scale Guitar Guide: All 5 Positions With Diagrams

If you only learn one scale on guitar, make it the pentatonic. It is the scale behind most rock, blues and country solos, and it is the easiest scale to sound good with straight away. This guide takes you through all five positions of the minor pentatonic, shows how they link into one map of the neck, and explains the trick that gives you the major pentatonic for free.

What is the pentatonic scale?

“Penta” means five: a pentatonic scale has five notes per octave instead of the seven in a major or minor scale. The minor pentatonic keeps the root, ♭3, 4, 5 and ♭7 of the natural minor scale and drops the 2nd and ♭6.

In A, that gives five notes:

A – C – D – E – G

Those two missing notes are the ones most likely to clash with the chords underneath. Without them, there are no half steps in the scale at all, which is why it is so hard to hit a “wrong” note with the pentatonic. (See the full A minor pentatonic page for chords and both root shapes.)

The whole neck at once

Here is every note of A minor pentatonic from the open strings to the 17th fret, labelled by scale degree. The red dots are the root, A.

It looks like a lot, but it breaks down into five overlapping shapes, or positions. Each one fits under your hand without shifting, and each one starts on the next note of the scale.

Position 1: the “box”

This is the shape everyone learns first, with the root under your first finger on the 6th string. In A it sits at the 5th fret.

Two notes per string, two fingers per string. The roots are on the 6th, 4th and 1st strings. Play it up and down slowly, then try bending the D on the G string (7th fret) up a whole step to E: that single bend is half of all classic rock solos.

Position 2

Position 2 starts from the C, the next note of the scale, on the 6th string at the 8th fret.

Notice that the notes at frets 7 and 8 also belong to position 1. Neighbouring positions always share one edge; that shared edge is how you slide from one to the next mid-phrase.

Position 3

Position 3 starts from D on the 6th string (10th fret). Watch the B string: its notes sit one fret higher than you might expect. That is because the B string is tuned a major third above the G string, while every other pair of strings is a fourth apart. Every guitar scale bends at that point.

Position 4

Position 4 starts on E at the 12th fret. It has the root on the A string and the G string, which makes it a great home base for lead lines in the upper register.

Position 5

Position 5 starts on G and leads straight back into position 1 an octave higher, at the 17th fret. The same shape also exists an octave lower, at frets 2–5, which is why many players learn it as the bridge between the open position and the classic box.

How to practise the five positions

1. One position a week. Play it ascending and descending to a metronome at a slow tempo, saying the degree of each note (1, ♭3, 4, 5, ♭7).
2. Link pairs. Play position 1 ascending, slide up into position 2, descend in position 2. Then 2 into 3, and so on.
3. Play across, not up. Pick two strings and play the scale along the whole length of the neck. It shows you how the positions join horizontally.
4. Target the root. Improvise in one position and end every phrase on an A. Then do the same in another position.

The major pentatonic: same shapes, new home

Here is the trick. The A minor pentatonic (A C D E G) has exactly the same notes as C major pentatonic (C D E G A). The shapes are identical, only the home note moves.

So to play any major pentatonic, slide your minor pentatonic shapes down three frets. G major pentatonic uses the E minor pentatonic shapes, with position 1 at the open position. A major pentatonic uses F♯ minor pentatonic shapes, with position 1 at the 2nd fret.

Use the major pentatonic for sweeter, country and Southern-rock sounds over major chords, and the minor pentatonic for blues and rock grit.

From pentatonic to blues scale

Add one note, the ♭5, and the minor pentatonic becomes the blues scale: A C D E♭ E G. In position 1, the E♭ sits at the 6th fret of the A string and the 8th fret of the G string (it also falls at the 4th fret of the B string, just below the box). Slide through it between the 4th and 5th rather than resting on it.

Which pentatonic scale should I use?

• Over a minor key or minor chord: the minor pentatonic with the same root. Song in E minor? Use E minor pentatonic.
• Over a major key: the major pentatonic with the same root, or the minor pentatonic of the relative minor (same notes).
• Over a 12-bar blues in A: A minor pentatonic or A blues for the classic sound; mix in A major pentatonic for a sweeter, B.B. King-style flavour.

Not sure what key you’re in? Try the online scale finder: tap in the notes you hear and it lists every scale that contains them.

Frequently asked questions

How many pentatonic scale positions are there? Five. Each starts on a different note of the scale, and together they cover the whole neck before repeating an octave higher.

Is the pentatonic scale good for beginners? Yes. With only two notes per string and no half steps, it is the easiest scale to play and the hardest to make sound wrong.

What is the difference between major and minor pentatonic? The notes are identical for relative keys (A minor and C major pentatonic share A C D E G). The difference is which note feels like home, which changes the mood from bluesy to bright.

What’s the most common pentatonic scale on guitar? A minor and E minor pentatonic, because they fit the open strings and the most common rock and blues keys.