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Guitar scale · suspended pentatonic

B Egyptian Pentatonic Scale

Pentatonic scale 1 2 4 5 ♭7, also called the suspended pentatonic. It has no 3rd and no half steps.

Notes BC#EF#A
Formula 1 2 4 5 ♭7
Steps W W+H W W+H W
Mood Open, Suspended, Floating
Heard in Modal Improvisation, Folk-inspired Melodies

Interactive scale diagram

B Egyptian Pentatonic Scale · Standard tuning

STR OP 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 E A D G B E

Tap any note to hear it.

B Egyptian Pentatonic Scale tab: all 5 positions

Each tab climbs from the low E string to the high e string. Play it up, then back down.

Position 1 · E shape frets 7–10
e|--------------------7-9-|
B|---------------7-10-----|
G|-------------9----------|
D|---------7-9------------|
A|-----7-9----------------|
E|-7-9--------------------|
Position 2 · D shape frets 9–12
e|---------------------------9-12-|
B|---------------------10-12------|
G|----------------9-11------------|
D|-----------9-11-----------------|
A|------9-12----------------------|
E|-9-12---------------------------|
Position 3 · C shape frets 11–14
e|-------------------------------12-14-|
B|-------------------------12-14-------|
G|-------------------11-14-------------|
D|-------------11-14-------------------|
A|-------12-14-------------------------|
E|-12-14-------------------------------|
Position 4 · A shape frets 14–17
e|-------------------------------14-17-|
B|-------------------------14-17-------|
G|-------------------14-16-------------|
D|-------------14-16-------------------|
A|-------14-16-------------------------|
E|-14-17-------------------------------|
Position 5 · G shape frets 16–19
e|-------------------------------17-19-|
B|-------------------------17-19-------|
G|-------------------16-18-------------|
D|-------------16-19-------------------|
A|-------16-19-------------------------|
E|-17-19-------------------------------|

How to play B Egyptian Pentatonic on guitar

Find the root first: B is at fret 7 on the low E string and fret 2 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every B on the neck; the gold ones are the rest of the scale's home chord (4, 5, ♭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 7–10. 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

DegreeNote
1 B
2 C#
4 E
5 F#
♭7 A

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Questions

What notes are in the B Egyptian Pentatonic Scale?
The B Egyptian Pentatonic Scale has 5 notes: B, C#, E, F#, A.
What is the formula of the egyptian pentatonic scale?
1 2 4 5 ♭7, which is the step pattern W W+H W W+H W (W = whole step, H = half step).
Where do I play B Egyptian Pentatonic on the guitar?
The root B is at fret 7 on the low E string and fret 2 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 7–10, and four more positions connect it up the neck.

Egyptian Pentatonic Scale in every key

More scales in B