Guitar scale · pentatonic & blues
A Man Gong Scale
Pentatonic scale 1 ♭3 4 ♭6 ♭7. It is the third mode of the major pentatonic, a minor pentatonic with the 5th replaced by a ♭6.
Tap any note to hear it.
A Man Gong Scale tab: all 5 positions
Each tab climbs from the low E string to the high e string. Play it up, then back down.
e|---------------------5-8-| B|-----------------6-8-----| G|-------------5-7---------| D|---------5-7-------------| A|-----5-8-----------------| E|-5-8---------------------|
e|--------------------------8-10-| B|---------------------8-10------| G|----------------7-10-----------| D|-----------7-10----------------| A|------8-10---------------------| E|-8-10--------------------------|
e|-------------------------10-| B|----------------------10----| G|----------------10-12-------| D|----------10-12-------------| A|----10-12-------------------| E|-10-------------------------|
e|-------------------------------13-15-| B|-------------------------13-15-------| G|-------------------12-14-------------| D|-------------12-15-------------------| A|-------12-15-------------------------| E|-13-15-------------------------------|
e|----------------------------15-17-| B|-------------------------15-------| G|-------------------14-17----------| D|-------------15-17----------------| A|-------15-17----------------------| E|-15-17----------------------------|
How to play A Man Gong on guitar
Find the root first: A is at fret 5 on the low E string and fret 0 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every A on the neck; the gold ones are the rest of the scale's home chord (♭3, ♭7), the safest notes to land on at the end of a phrase.
Learn it one box at a time. Position 1, the E shape, sits at frets 5–8. Once it's under your fingers, move to position 2 (the D shape) and play the notes the two boxes share, then keep going up the neck. After all five, the scale joins up into one pattern across the whole fretboard.
Degrees
| Degree | Note |
|---|---|
| 1 | A |
| ♭3 | C |
| 4 | D |
| ♭6 | F |
| ♭7 | G |
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Practise A Man Gong anywhere, even offline.
This page is a small slice of Fretwise. The app adds practice: exercises that play as tab, a new routine every day, and the tools to tune and keep time. On iPhone, iPad and Android, no sign-up.
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Questions
- What notes are in the A Man Gong Scale?
- The A Man Gong Scale has 5 notes: A, C, D, F, G.
- What is the formula of the man gong scale?
- 1 ♭3 4 ♭6 ♭7, which is the step pattern W+H W W+H W W (W = whole step, H = half step).
- Where do I play A Man Gong on the guitar?
- The root A is at fret 5 on the low E string and fret 0 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 5–8, and four more positions connect it up the neck.