Guitar scale · pentatonic & blues
D Minor Pentatonic Scale
The legendary 5-note scale most widely used for guitar solos. Essential for guitarists!
Tap any note to hear it.
D 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|-------------------------------10-13-| B|-------------------------10-13-------| G|-------------------10-12-------------| D|-------------10-12-------------------| A|-------10-12-------------------------| E|-10-13-------------------------------|
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----------------------------|
e|-------------------------------17-20-| B|-------------------------18-20-------| G|-------------------17-19-------------| D|-------------17-19-------------------| A|-------17-20-------------------------| E|-17-20-------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------20-22-| B|-------------------------20-22-------| G|-------------------19-22-------------| D|-------------19-22-------------------| A|-------20-22-------------------------| E|-20-22-------------------------------|
How to play D Minor Pentatonic on guitar
Find the root first: D is at fret 10 on the low E string and fret 5 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every D 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 10–13. 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.
D minor pentatonic has the same five notes as F major pentatonic, so the same box shapes work for both. See the F Major Pentatonic Scale.
Degrees
| Degree | Note |
|---|---|
| 1 | D |
| ♭3 | F |
| 4 | G |
| 5 | A |
| ♭7 | C |
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Practise D Minor Pentatonic 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 D Minor Pentatonic Scale?
- The D Minor Pentatonic Scale has 5 notes: D, F, G, A, C.
- 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 D Minor Pentatonic on the guitar?
- The root D is at fret 10 on the low E string and fret 5 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 10–13, and four more positions connect it up the neck.