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A major pentatonic scale on guitar

Every note of the scale on the neck, 5 positions with tab, and the chords to play it over. Tap a note on the fretboard to hear it.

A Major pentatonic: A (1) · B (2) · C♯ (3) · E (5) · F♯ (6)

E1
B2
G3
D4
A5
E6

Swipe the neck sideways to see frets up to 15.

Tap any fret to hear its note.

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About the A major pentatonic scale

A major pentatonic is the A major scale without its fourth and seventh. Five notes, no half steps, and a bright, open sound you hear in country, pop, and southern rock. It has the same notes as F♯ minor pentatonic.

Notes of the A major pentatonic scale

A major pentatonic has 5 notes: A, B, C♯, E, F♯. Its formula is 1 2 3 5 6, and the steps between its notes are 2-2-3-2-3 frets.

  • A1
  • B2
  • C♯3
  • E5
  • F♯6

A major pentatonic scale positions

Five positions, or boxes, cover the whole neck. Each one joins the next: the top notes of one box are the bottom notes of the next. Position 1 starts on the root, A, on the low E string.

  1. Position 1

    Frets 4–7
    EADGBe4567ABC♯EF♯ABC♯EF♯AB
    e|---------------------5-7-5---------------------|
B|-----------------5-7-------7-5-----------------|
G|-------------4-6---------------6-4-------------|
D|---------4-7-----------------------7-4---------|
A|-----4-7-------------------------------7-4-----|
E|-5-7---------------------------------------7-5-|

  2. Position 2

    Frets 6–10
    EADGBe678910BC♯EF♯ABC♯EF♯ABC♯
    e|-------------------------------7--9--7--------------------------------|
B|-------------------------7--10----------10-7--------------------------|
G|-------------------6--9-----------------------9--6--------------------|
D|-------------7--9-----------------------------------9--7--------------|
A|-------7--9-----------------------------------------------9--7--------|
E|-7--9-----------------------------------------------------------9--7--|

  3. Position 3

    Frets 9–12
    EADGBe9101112C♯EF♯ABC♯EF♯ABC♯E
    e|-------------------------------9--12-9--------------------------------|
B|-------------------------10-12----------12-10-------------------------|
G|-------------------9--11----------------------11-9--------------------|
D|-------------9--11----------------------------------11-9--------------|
A|-------9--12----------------------------------------------12-9--------|
E|-9--12----------------------------------------------------------12-9--|

  4. Position 4

    Frets 11–14
    EADGBe11121314EF♯ABC♯EF♯ABC♯EF♯
    e|-------------------------------12-14-12-------------------------------|
B|-------------------------12-14----------14-12-------------------------|
G|-------------------11-14----------------------14-11-------------------|
D|-------------11-14----------------------------------14-11-------------|
A|-------12-14----------------------------------------------14-12-------|
E|-12-14----------------------------------------------------------14-12-|

  5. Position 5

    Frets 2–5
    EADGBe2345F♯ABC♯EF♯ABC♯EF♯A
    e|---------------------2-5-2---------------------|
B|-----------------2-5-------5-2-----------------|
G|-------------2-4---------------4-2-------------|
D|---------2-4-----------------------4-2---------|
A|-----2-4-------------------------------4-2-----|
E|-2-5---------------------------------------5-2-|

Filled notes are the root, A. The tab runs up the position and back down.

Chords that go with A major pentatonic

Play A major pentatonic over these chords from the key of A major. It fits the whole progression, and sounds sweetest over the major chords.

  1. AI
  2. DIV
  3. EV
  4. F♯mvi
  5. Bmii

Relative scale

A major pentatonic has the same notes as F♯ minor pentatonic. You can play the same shapes; what changes is the note you treat as home, F♯.

How to practise the A major pentatonic scale

  1. Learn position 1 first. Play it up and down slowly with a metronome until every note is even.
  2. Say or hear the root each time you pass it, so you always know where home is.
  3. Join two positions: slide from the top of one into the next until you can move across the neck.
  4. Improvise over the chords above with only three or four notes at first, then add more.

Hear A major pentatonic in a real song

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A major pentatonic scale FAQ

What notes are in the A major pentatonic scale?

A, B, C♯, E, F♯. The formula is 1 2 3 5 6.

How many positions does the A major pentatonic scale have?

Five. The five boxes of A major pentatonic link up to cover the whole neck, and the pattern repeats from fret 12.

What chords go with the A major pentatonic scale?

A, D, E, F♯m, Bm.

What is the difference between A major pentatonic and A major?

A major pentatonic leaves out two notes of A major: D, G♯. Without them there are no half steps, so every note sounds safe over the chords of the key. A major scale

More guitar scales

All guitar scales