A Minor Pentatonic Guitar Scale
Guitar scale — fretboard diagram
A Minor Pentatonic Scale — Notes and Intervals
The A Minor Pentatonic scale is the most influential scale in the history of rock and guitar music. On Guitar, its notes are A, C, D, E, G. It offers a gritty, powerful, and bluesy sound that is highly versatile, serving as the primary tool for improvising solos in rock, blues, and metal and providing a safe but expressive framework for beginners and pros alike. Commonly used in Blues, Rock, Metal, R&B, Funk. Notable players include Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, B.B. King, Slash, Angus Young. Use over minor chords, dominant 7th chords (in blues), and power chords. The backbone of rock and blues guitar for 70+ years.
Notes: A, C, D, E, G
Intervals: 1P, 3m, 4P, 5P, 7m
Degrees: 1 b2 3 4 b5
Formula: WH-W-W-WH-W
Number of notes: 5
Also known as: vietnamese 2
How to Play A Minor Pentatonic on Guitar
Place your index finger at fret 5 on the 6th (low E) to find your A root note. With only 5 notes, this scale fits comfortably in a two-notes-per-string pattern across all six strings. Focus on learning a single box shape first before connecting positions.
The A Minor Pentatonic scale uses no sharps or flats, consisting entirely of natural notes. This scale does not follow a traditional major or minor key signature, so reading from sheet music may require accidentals.
Practice Routine
Set a metronome to 80 BPM and play the A Minor Pentatonic scale in groups of four notes, shifting the starting note each repetition. This builds muscle memory across the entire scale range. After a week, try improvising short 4-bar phrases using only these notes.
This scale works well over simple power chord progressions or a 12-bar blues in A. Try a A5 - E5 - G5 progression.
Guitar Tips
On guitar, practice the A Minor Pentatonic scale on a single string from the open position to the 12th fret. This trains your ear to hear the intervals linearly and helps with slide guitar applications.
The A Minor Pentatonic scale contains 5 notes (A, C, D, E, G). Use the interactive fretboard above to explore this scale on Guitar with different tunings and fret ranges.
CAGED Positions & Patterns for A Minor Pentatonic
The A Minor Pentatonic scale can be played in 5 CAGED positions across the fretboard, each based on an open chord shape (C, A, G, E, D). As a 5-note pentatonic scale, 2-notes-per-string patterns are the most ergonomic way to traverse the fretboard. Use the pattern selector above to isolate each position.
Explore A Minor Pentatonic Further
- Harmonize the A Minor Pentatonic scale — triads & 7th chords
- Browse chord progressions
- A Minor Pentatonic on Ukulele
- A Minor Pentatonic on Bass
- A Minor Pentatonic on Piano
Explore A Minor Pentatonic in Other Tunings
- A Minor Pentatonic in Drop D (E-B-G-D-A-D)
- A Minor Pentatonic in DADGAD (D-A-G-D-A-D)
- A Minor Pentatonic in Open G (D-B-G-D-G-D)
- A Minor Pentatonic in Baritone (B Standard) (B-F#-D-A-E-B)
- A Minor Pentatonic in 7-string (E-B-G-D-A-E-B)
- A Minor Pentatonic in 8-string (E-B-G-D-A-E-B-F#)
- A Minor Pentatonic in Drop C (D-A-F-C-G-C)
- A Minor Pentatonic in Drop B (C#-G#-E-B-F#-B)
- A Minor Pentatonic in Open D (D-A-F#-D-A-D)
- A Minor Pentatonic in Half Step Down (Eb-Bb-Gb-Db-Ab-Eb)
- A Minor Pentatonic in Open E (E-B-G#-E-B-E)
- A Minor Pentatonic in Open A (E-C#-A-E-A-E)
- A Minor Pentatonic in Double Drop D (D-B-G-D-A-D)
- A Minor Pentatonic in Open C (E-C-G-C-G-C)