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E minor 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.

E Minor pentatonic: E (1) · G (♭3) · A (4) · B (5) · D (♭7)

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 E minor pentatonic scale

E minor pentatonic is a five-note scale: the E minor scale without its second and sixth. With no half steps between its notes, it is hard to play a wrong note, which is why it is the first scale most guitarists learn for rock and blues solos.

Notes of the E minor pentatonic scale

E minor pentatonic has 5 notes: E, G, A, B, D. Its formula is 1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7, and the steps between its notes are 3-2-2-3-2 frets.

  • E1
  • G♭3
  • A4
  • B5
  • D♭7

E minor 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, E, on the low E string.

  1. Position 1

    Frets 0–3
    EADGBe1234EGABDEGABDEG
    e|---------------------0-3-0---------------------|
B|-----------------0-3-------3-0-----------------|
G|-------------0-2---------------2-0-------------|
D|---------0-2-----------------------2-0---------|
A|-----0-2-------------------------------2-0-----|
E|-0-3---------------------------------------3-0-|

  2. Position 2

    Frets 2–5
    EADGBe2345GABDEGABDEGA
    e|---------------------3-5-3---------------------|
B|-----------------3-5-------5-3-----------------|
G|-------------2-4---------------4-2-------------|
D|---------2-5-----------------------5-2---------|
A|-----2-5-------------------------------5-2-----|
E|-3-5---------------------------------------5-3-|

  3. Position 3

    Frets 4–8
    EADGBe45678ABDEGABDEGAB
    e|---------------------5-7-5---------------------|
B|-----------------5-8-------8-5-----------------|
G|-------------4-7---------------7-4-------------|
D|---------5-7-----------------------7-5---------|
A|-----5-7-------------------------------7-5-----|
E|-5-7---------------------------------------7-5-|

  4. Position 4

    Frets 7–10
    EADGBe78910BDEGABDEGABD
    e|-------------------------------7--10-7--------------------------------|
B|-------------------------8--10----------10-8--------------------------|
G|-------------------7--9-----------------------9--7--------------------|
D|-------------7--9-----------------------------------9--7--------------|
A|-------7--10----------------------------------------------10-7--------|
E|-7--10----------------------------------------------------------10-7--|

  5. Position 5

    Frets 9–12
    EADGBe9101112DEGABDEGABDE
    e|-------------------------------10-12-10-------------------------------|
B|-------------------------10-12----------12-10-------------------------|
G|-------------------9--12----------------------12-9--------------------|
D|-------------9--12----------------------------------12-9--------------|
A|-------10-12----------------------------------------------12-10-------|
E|-10-12----------------------------------------------------------12-10-|

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

Chords that go with E minor pentatonic

Play E minor pentatonic over these chords from the key of E minor. It fits the whole progression, so you can solo with it from the first chord to the last.

  1. Emi
  2. Amiv
  3. Bmv
  4. GIII
  5. DVII

Relative scale

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

G major pentatonic scale

How to practise the E minor 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 E minor pentatonic in a real song

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E minor pentatonic scale FAQ

What notes are in the E minor pentatonic scale?

E, G, A, B, D. The formula is 1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7.

How many positions does the E minor pentatonic scale have?

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

What chords go with the E minor pentatonic scale?

Em, Am, Bm, G, D.

What is the difference between E minor pentatonic and E blues?

E blues adds one note to E minor pentatonic: the flat five, B♭. It is a passing note that gives the scale its blues sound. E blues scale

More guitar scales

All guitar scales