Guitar scale · pentatonic & blues
Bb Minor Pentatonic Scale
The legendary 5-note scale most widely used for guitar solos. Essential for guitarists!
Tap any note to hear it.
Bb Minor 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.
e|---------------------6-9-| B|-----------------6-9-----| G|-------------6-8---------| D|---------6-8-------------| A|-----6-8-----------------| E|-6-9---------------------|
e|--------------------------9-11-| B|---------------------9-11------| G|----------------8-10-----------| D|-----------8-11----------------| A|------8-11---------------------| E|-9-11--------------------------|
e|----------------------------11-13-| B|-------------------------11-------| G|-------------------10-13----------| D|-------------11-13----------------| A|-------11-13----------------------| E|-11-13----------------------------|
e|-------------------------------13-16-| B|-------------------------14-16-------| G|-------------------13-15-------------| D|-------------13-15-------------------| A|-------13-16-------------------------| E|-13-16-------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------16-18-| B|-------------------------16-18-------| G|-------------------15-18-------------| D|-------------15-18-------------------| A|-------16-18-------------------------| E|-16-18-------------------------------|
How to play Bb Minor Pentatonic on guitar
Find the root first: Bb is at fret 6 on the low E string and fret 1 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every Bb on the neck; the gold ones are the rest of the scale's home chord (♭3, 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 6–9. 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.
Bb minor pentatonic has the same five notes as Db major pentatonic, so the same box shapes work for both. On the guitar those are the same frets as C# major pentatonic, the name it is listed under here. See the C# Major Pentatonic Scale.
Degrees
| Degree | Note |
|---|---|
| 1 | Bb |
| ♭3 | Db |
| 4 | Eb |
| 5 | F |
| ♭7 | Ab |
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Practise Bb Minor Pentatonic anywhere, even offline.
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Questions
- What notes are in the Bb Minor Pentatonic Scale?
- The Bb Minor Pentatonic Scale has 5 notes: Bb, Db, Eb, F, Ab.
- What is the formula of the minor pentatonic scale?
- 1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7, which is the step pattern W+H W W W+H W (W = whole step, H = half step).
- Where do I play Bb Minor Pentatonic on the guitar?
- The root Bb is at fret 6 on the low E string and fret 1 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 6–9, and four more positions connect it up the neck.