The A Minor Pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly used scales in blues, rock, and many other musical styles. It is often the first scale guitarists learn.
The Minor Pentatonic scale is based on the Natural Minor scale, which has seven notes. In the Key of A Minor, those notes are A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. The Minor Pentatonic scale simplifies things by having--as the "pent-" prefix implies--only five notes. In the Key of A Minor, those notes and their "degrees" (and abbreviations for the same) are these. The intervals (e.g., R, b3, 4, 5, b7) don't change when you move from one key to another, but the note names (e.g., A, C, D, E, G) do.
- Root (R) = A
- Minor 3rd (b3) = C
- Fourth (4) = D
- Fifth (5) = E
- Minor 7th (b7) = G
By avoiding the Natural Minor Scale's dissonant b2 and b6 degrees (in the Key of A Minor, these are B and F), the Minor Pentatonic makes soloing easier.
Don't Panic
I like to start by showing you all the scale patterns at once so you have an idea where we are going--and so you can see that the patterns are not isolated things but are, in fact, part of a bigger pattern. But, to learn this scale or any other, we will focus on one pattern at a time. So, study "The Entire Scale" for a bit, then hit the Next button to get started learning Pattern I of this scale. (Bonus points if you caught the literary reference.)
A Note about the Scale Diagrams
Through a bit of JavaScript and HTML 5 Canvas magic, the buttons below each scale diagram let you switch between viewing the dots on the neck as intervals or as notes. Both are important, but intervals are more important. Study both.
The Entire Scale
Last Update
This page was last updated on 07/06/2026.