Minor Pentatonic scale · 5 notes
B♭ minor pentatonic scale on guitar
The B♭ minor pentatonic scale (B flat minor pentatonic scale) has 5 notes: B♭, D♭, E♭, F and A♭. Five notes, no wrong ones: the most-played lead guitar scale in rock and blues. You may also see it written as A♯ minor pentatonic, but B♭ is the usual spelling because it needs fewer accidentals.
Notes
- B♭
- D♭
- E♭
- F
- A♭
Formula
1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7
Steps
W+H – W – W – W+H – W
Sound
Bluesy, gritty and open
B♭ minor pentatonic on the whole fretboard
Every B♭ minor pentatonic note from the open strings to the 15th fret in standard tuning (E A D G B E). The root, B♭, is shown in red so you can always find home.
A shape to learn first
You don’t need the whole neck at once. This hand position is anchored on a root note on the 6th (low E) string, which is how most guitarists find a scale in any key.
Root on the 6th (low E) string
B♭ at fret 6. 6th position: frets 6–9.
In the Guitar Scale Finder app you also get the chords of B♭ minor pentatonic as chord diagrams, and can search all 1,860 scales for the notes you play.
Intervals and formula
Measured from B♭, the B♭ minor pentatonic scale is built from these intervals. It contains 4 flats (B♭, D♭, E♭ and A♭).
| Degree | Note | Interval | Semitones from root |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B♭ | root | 0 |
| ♭3 | D♭ | minor 3rd | 3 |
| 4 | E♭ | perfect 4th | 5 |
| 5 | F | perfect 5th | 7 |
| ♭7 | A♭ | minor 7th | 10 |
Chords that go with B♭ minor pentatonic
A 5-note scale doesn’t make a full set of triads, so guitarists use the chords of its parent scale, B♭ minor. Every note of B♭ minor pentatonic is in these chords’ key.
- iB♭mB♭ · D♭ · F
- ii°C°C · E♭ · G♭
- ♭IIID♭D♭ · F · A♭
- ivE♭mE♭ · G♭ · B♭
- vFmF · A♭ · C
- ♭VIG♭G♭ · B♭ · D♭
- ♭VIIA♭A♭ · C · E♭
Progressions to try
- B♭m – E♭m – Fm i–iv–v · minor blues, from the parent minor key
- B♭m – G♭ – A♭ i–♭VI–♭VII · rock
- B♭m – A♭ – G♭ – A♭ i–♭VII–♭VI–♭VII
How to use B♭ minor pentatonic
Reach for it over rock and blues solos, minor-key songs, and over dominant 7th chords in a blues. Its sound is bluesy, gritty and open.
Tip: Start with the “box 1” shape with the root on the 6th string. Bend the 4th degree up a whole step to the 5th: it is the most-used move in rock guitar.
- B♭ minor pentatonic uses the same five notes as D♭ major pentatonic, so the shapes are identical. See D♭ major pentatonic.
Where to find B♭ on every string
Knowing where the root sits lets you start this scale anywhere. Here is every B♭ between the open string and the 12th fret.
| String | Frets with B♭ |
|---|---|
| High E (1st) | 6 |
| B (2nd) | 11 |
| G (3rd) | 3 |
| D (4th) | 8 |
| A (5th) | 1 |
| Low E (6th) | 6 |
Same notes, different name
These scales from the Scale Finder library contain exactly the same notes as B♭ minor pentatonic. They sound different because a different note is treated as home.
B♭ minor pentatonic scale FAQ
What notes are in the B♭ minor pentatonic scale?
The B♭ minor pentatonic scale has 5 notes: B♭, D♭, E♭, F and A♭. Its formula is 1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7. It contains 4 flats (B♭, D♭, E♭ and A♭).
What chords go with the B♭ minor pentatonic scale?
The B♭ minor pentatonic scale is drawn from B♭ minor, whose chords are B♭m, C°, D♭, E♭m, Fm, G♭ and A♭. It also works over a B♭ blues built on dominant 7th chords.
Where do you play the B♭ minor pentatonic scale on guitar?
The root, B♭, is at fret 6 on the low E string and fret 1 on the A string. A good first shape covers frets 6–9, starting from the root on the 6th string.
Which scales share the same notes as B♭ minor pentatonic?
B♭ minor pentatonic uses the same five notes as D♭ major pentatonic, so the shapes are identical.