Guitar scale · pentatonic & blues
C 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.
C 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|--------------------------8-11-| B|---------------------9-11------| G|----------------8-10-----------| D|-----------8-10----------------| A|------8-11---------------------| E|-8-11--------------------------|
e|-------------------------------11-13-| B|-------------------------11-13-------| G|-------------------10-13-------------| D|-------------10-13-------------------| A|-------11-13-------------------------| E|-11-13-------------------------------|
e|-------------------------13-| B|----------------------13----| G|----------------13-15-------| D|----------13-15-------------| A|----13-15-------------------| E|-13-------------------------|
e|-------------------------------16-18-| B|-------------------------16-18-------| G|-------------------15-17-------------| D|-------------15-18-------------------| A|-------15-18-------------------------| E|-16-18-------------------------------|
e|----------------------------18-20-| B|-------------------------18-------| G|-------------------17-20----------| D|-------------18-20----------------| A|-------18-20----------------------| E|-18-20----------------------------|
How to play C Man Gong on guitar
Find the root first: C is at fret 8 on the low E string and fret 3 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every C 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 8–11. 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 | C |
| ♭3 | Eb |
| 4 | F |
| ♭6 | Ab |
| ♭7 | Bb |
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Practise C 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 C Man Gong Scale?
- The C Man Gong Scale has 5 notes: C, Eb, F, Ab, Bb.
- 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 C Man Gong on the guitar?
- The root C is at fret 8 on the low E string and fret 3 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 8–11, and four more positions connect it up the neck.