HearmonyThe Pentatonic Scale: Major and Minor, Explained
A pentatonic scale is a scale with five notes per octave. The major pentatonic uses steps 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 of the major scale (C D E G A in C), and the minor pentatonic uses 1, ♭3, 4, 5 and ♭7 (A C D E G in A minor). Because it leaves out the two notes that form half steps, any combination of its notes sounds consonant, which is why folk melodies, rock solos and beginner improvisers all lean on it.
What is a pentatonic scale?
A pentatonic scale is any scale with five different notes before the octave repeats: "penta" means five, "tonic" means tone. Seven-note scales such as the major scale have two more notes, so a pentatonic scale always has gaps in it.
Many five-note scales exist around the world, including the Japanese in scale, which does contain half steps. In Western pop, rock, folk, blues and jazz, though, "the pentatonic scale" almost always means one of two forms: the major pentatonic or the minor pentatonic. Both have no half steps at all, which is the secret to their easy sound. The Wikipedia overview of pentatonic scales covers the other types if you want to go further.
How do you build a major pentatonic scale?
To build a major pentatonic scale, take the major scale and remove the 4th and 7th notes. In C major (C D E F G A B), that removes F and B and leaves C D E G A. In solfège, the major pentatonic is do, re, mi, sol, la.
| Key | Major scale | Remove 4 and 7 | Major pentatonic |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | C D E F G A B | F, B | C D E G A |
| G | G A B C D E F♯ | C, F♯ | G A B D E |
| D | D E F♯ G A B C♯ | G, C♯ | D E F♯ A B |
| A | A B C♯ D E F♯ G♯ | D, G♯ | A B C♯ E F♯ |
| E | E F♯ G♯ A B C♯ D♯ | A, D♯ | E F♯ G♯ B C♯ |
| F | F G A B♭ C D E | B♭, E | F G A C D |
If the major scale itself is still shaky, the guide to the major scale and its whole-step, half-step pattern builds it from any starting note.
Why those two notes go
The 4th and 7th are the notes that cause friction. Each sits a half step from a note of the home chord: F rubs against E, and B rubs against C. Together, F and B also form a tritone, the most unstable interval in the key. Take them out and the scale moves only by whole steps and minor thirds (C–D–E, then a jump of three semitones to G, then G–A, then three semitones up to C). Nothing left can clash with anything else, so you can play the notes in any order over the home chord and it still sounds like music.
What is the minor pentatonic scale?
The minor pentatonic scale uses steps 1, ♭3, 4, 5 and ♭7. A minor pentatonic is A C D E G. You can also think of it as the natural minor scale with the 2nd and ♭6th removed: A B C D E F G loses B and F.
| Minor pentatonic | Notes | Same notes as |
|---|---|---|
| A minor pentatonic | A C D E G | C major pentatonic |
| E minor pentatonic | E G A B D | G major pentatonic |
| D minor pentatonic | D F G A C | F major pentatonic |
| G minor pentatonic | G B♭ C D F | B♭ major pentatonic |
| C minor pentatonic | C E♭ F G B♭ | E♭ major pentatonic |
The right-hand column shows the key relationship: every minor pentatonic shares its five notes with the major pentatonic a minor third higher, just as A minor shares its key signature with C major. The article on the relative minor explains that pairing for full keys. What decides whether A C D E G sounds major or minor is which note feels like home and which chord plays underneath.
Why do the black keys make a pentatonic scale?
The five black keys on a piano form a pentatonic scale on their own. Starting on G♭, they spell G♭ A♭ B♭ D♭ E♭, the G♭ major pentatonic (the same keys can be named F♯ G♯ A♯ C♯ D♯). Starting on E♭, the same five keys give E♭ G♭ A♭ B♭ D♭, the E♭ minor pentatonic.
That is why anyone can sit at a piano, play only black keys and sound like they are improvising on purpose. Try it with a left-hand anchor: hold G♭ and D♭ low in the left hand for a major color, or E♭ and B♭ for a minor color, and wander over the black keys with the right hand.
Which songs use the pentatonic scale?
Many traditional melodies use only pentatonic notes, which is part of why they are so easy to sing. Three you probably know:
- "Amazing Grace" uses only the five notes of the major pentatonic. In G it opens D, G, B, G, B, A, G, E, D, all from G A B D E.
- "Auld Lang Syne" stays inside the major pentatonic for the whole tune; in F it uses only F G A C D.
- "Mary Had a Little Lamb" needs just four notes, E D C D E E E and later G, all within C D E G A.
In blues and rock, the minor pentatonic is the standard starting scale for guitar solos. Add one note, the ♭5, and it becomes the blues scale, which gives those solos their grittier color.
How do you play the A minor pentatonic on guitar?
The most common shape is the "box" at the 5th fret, which covers two octaves of A minor pentatonic with two notes per string. Every note in it is A, C, D, E or G.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (low E) | 5, 8 | A, C |
| 5 (A) | 5, 7 | D, E |
| 4 (D) | 5, 7 | G, A |
| 3 (G) | 5, 7 | C, D |
| 2 (B) | 5, 8 | E, G |
| 1 (high E) | 5, 8 | A, C |
The root A sits on the 6th, 4th and 1st strings. Slide the whole box so the 6th-string root lands on another note and you have that minor pentatonic instead: start at the 12th fret for E minor pentatonic, or at the 3rd fret for G minor pentatonic. The box is only one of five connected shapes, but it is the one most solos start from.
How do you hear the pentatonic scale?
You hear the pentatonic scale as open and calm: nothing in it pulls hard toward anything else. Without ti (the 7th), there is no leading tone straining up to do, and without fa (the 4th), no note leans down onto mi. These short exercises make that sound familiar.
- Compare with the full scale. Play C D E F G A B C, then C D E G A C. Notice the two gaps (E to G, A to C) where the pentatonic jumps a minor third.
- Improvise over a drone. Hold a low C and play C major pentatonic notes in any order for a minute. Then add F and B and listen for the moments that suddenly need to resolve.
- Change the home note. Play A C D E G over a held A, then the same notes over a held C. Same five notes, minor feel and then major feel.
- Find the degrees. Hum "Amazing Grace" slowly and name each note as do, re, mi, sol or la. If you hear fa or ti, check again: there aren't any.
Self-test: which of these are pentatonic, and which kind? G A B D E · D F G A C · C D E F G · E G A B D · F G A C D. Answers: G major pentatonic; D minor pentatonic; not pentatonic (E–F is a half step); E minor pentatonic; F major pentatonic (or D minor pentatonic, if D is home).
Common mistakes
- Playing the right notes but ending on the wrong one. Phrases that stop on the root (A in A minor pentatonic) sound finished; phrases that stop on D or G sound like questions. Aim for the root at the end of each idea.
- Mixing up major and minor shapes. On guitar, the A minor box also contains C major pentatonic. If your solo is over a C major chord, treat C as home, not A.
- Calling it the blues scale. The minor pentatonic has five notes; the blues scale adds a sixth (♭5).
Practice the pentatonic sound in Hearmony
Hearmony has no lesson called "pentatonic", but several parts of it train exactly the notes this scale is made of. Home Key Harbor plays a I–IV–V–I cadence, then a single note that you name in solfège; its first units teach do, mi and sol, then add re, and the major pentatonic is simply those four plus la. In Melody Meadow you hear short tunes and play them back on an on-screen keyboard, and the Campfire Folk shelf in Song Studio includes "Amazing Grace" and "Auld Lang Syne".
If you want to know what each of those degrees should feel like before you start, read the guide to scale degrees and how each one sounds, and for where this skill fits in a wider routine, see ear training for beginners. Hearmony is an iPhone app, available on the App Store.