C Minor Pentatonic Guitar Scale — 7-string
Guitar scale in 7-string tuning — fretboard diagram
C Minor Pentatonic in 7-string — Notes and Intervals
The C Minor Pentatonic scale is the most influential scale in the history of rock and guitar music. On Guitar, its notes are C, Eb, F, G, Bb. 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: C, Eb, F, G, Bb
Intervals: 1P, 3m, 4P, 5P, 7m
Degrees: 1 b2 3 4 b5
Formula: WH-W-W-WH-W
Number of notes: 5
Tuning: 7-string (B-E-A-D-G-B-E)
Also known as: vietnamese 2
About 7-string Tuning
The 7-string guitar adds a low B string below the standard 6-string tuning (B-E-A-D-G-B-E), extending the instrument's range into bass territory. This extra low end has become essential in progressive metal, djent, and modern heavy music, enabling crushing low-end riffs while maintaining access to standard guitar voicings on the upper strings.
Pioneered by jazz guitarist George Van Eps and later brought into the metal mainstream by Steve Vai and Korn, the 7-string guitar has become a staple of modern heavy music. Players like Tosin Abasi, Misha Mansoor, and John Petrucci have pushed the instrument's capabilities into new territory, using the extended range for complex harmonic progressions, polyrhythmic riffs, and sweeping arpeggios that span an enormous tonal range.
Notable artists: Dream Theater, Periphery, Animals as Leaders, Korn, Meshuggah
Best for: Progressive metal riffs, extended-range chord voicings, djent rhythms, and jazz fusion harmony
Explore This Scale in Other Tunings
- C Minor Pentatonic in Standard Tuning
- C Minor Pentatonic in Drop D
- C Minor Pentatonic in DADGAD
- C Minor Pentatonic in Open G
- C Minor Pentatonic in Baritone (B Standard)
- C Minor Pentatonic in 8-string
- C Minor Pentatonic in Drop C
- C Minor Pentatonic in Drop B
- C Minor Pentatonic in Open D
- C Minor Pentatonic in Half Step Down
- C Minor Pentatonic in Open E
- C Minor Pentatonic in Open A
- C Minor Pentatonic in Double Drop D
- C Minor Pentatonic in Open C