F Minor Pentatonic Guitar Scale — 8-string
Guitar scale in 8-string tuning — fretboard diagram
F Minor Pentatonic in 8-string — Notes and Intervals
The F Minor Pentatonic scale is the most influential scale in the history of rock and guitar music. On Guitar, its notes are F, Ab, Bb, C, Eb. 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: F, Ab, Bb, C, Eb
Intervals: 1P, 3m, 4P, 5P, 7m
Degrees: 1 b2 3 4 b5
Formula: WH-W-W-WH-W
Number of notes: 5
Tuning: 8-string (F#-B-E-A-D-G-B-E)
Also known as: vietnamese 2
About 8-string Tuning
The 8-string guitar adds both a low B and a low F# string (F#-B-E-A-D-G-B-E), pushing the instrument's range almost into bass guitar territory. This massive tonal range has become the weapon of choice for djent, progressive metal, and experimental composers who need bone-crushing low-end and soaring highs in a single instrument.
With artists like Tosin Abasi, Meshuggah, and After the Burial leading the charge, the 8-string guitar has redefined what's possible in modern heavy music. The low F# string delivers subsonic heaviness that you can feel in your chest, while the upper strings maintain standard guitar voicings for leads and clean passages. Extended-range compositions often exploit the full span of the instrument, creating a wall of sound that covers bass, rhythm, and lead guitar roles simultaneously.
Notable artists: Meshuggah, Animals as Leaders, After the Burial, Intervals, Monuments
Best for: Djent polyrhythms, extended-range metal riffs, experimental compositions, and one-instrument arrangements spanning bass to lead
Explore This Scale in Other Tunings
- F Minor Pentatonic in Standard Tuning
- F Minor Pentatonic in Drop D
- F Minor Pentatonic in DADGAD
- F Minor Pentatonic in Open G
- F Minor Pentatonic in Baritone (B Standard)
- F Minor Pentatonic in 7-string
- F Minor Pentatonic in Drop C
- F Minor Pentatonic in Drop B
- F Minor Pentatonic in Open D
- F Minor Pentatonic in Half Step Down
- F Minor Pentatonic in Open E
- F Minor Pentatonic in Open A
- F Minor Pentatonic in Double Drop D
- F Minor Pentatonic in Open C