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Guitar scale · pentatonic & blues

Eb Minor Pentatonic Scale

The legendary 5-note scale most widely used for guitar solos. Essential for guitarists!

Notes EbGbAbBbDb
Formula 1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7
Steps W+H W W W+H W
Mood Bluesy, Powerful, Timeless
Heard in Rock Solos, Blues, Hard Rock, Funk

Interactive scale diagram

Eb Minor 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.

Eb 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.

Position 1 · E shape frets 11–14
e|-------------------------------11-14-|
B|-------------------------11-14-------|
G|-------------------11-13-------------|
D|-------------11-13-------------------|
A|-------11-13-------------------------|
E|-11-14-------------------------------|
Position 2 · D shape frets 13–16
e|-------------------------------14-16-|
B|-------------------------14-16-------|
G|-------------------13-15-------------|
D|-------------13-16-------------------|
A|-------13-16-------------------------|
E|-14-16-------------------------------|
Position 3 · C shape frets 15–18
e|----------------------------16-18-|
B|-------------------------16-------|
G|-------------------15-18----------|
D|-------------16-18----------------|
A|-------16-18----------------------|
E|-16-18----------------------------|
Position 4 · A shape frets 18–21
e|-------------------------------18-21-|
B|-------------------------19-21-------|
G|-------------------18-20-------------|
D|-------------18-20-------------------|
A|-------18-21-------------------------|
E|-18-21-------------------------------|
Position 5 · G shape frets 20–22
e|----------------21-|
B|-------------21----|
G|----------20-------|
D|-------20----------|
A|----21-------------|
E|-21----------------|

How to play Eb Minor Pentatonic on guitar

Find the root first: Eb is at fret 11 on the low E string and fret 6 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every Eb 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 11–14. 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.

Eb minor pentatonic has the same five notes as Gb major pentatonic, so the same box shapes work for both. On the guitar those are the same frets as F# major pentatonic, the name it is listed under here. See the F# Major Pentatonic Scale.

Degrees

DegreeNote
1 Eb
♭3 Gb
4 Ab
5 Bb
♭7 Db

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Questions

What notes are in the Eb Minor Pentatonic Scale?
The Eb Minor Pentatonic Scale has 5 notes: Eb, Gb, Ab, Bb, Db.
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 Eb Minor Pentatonic on the guitar?
The root Eb is at fret 11 on the low E string and fret 6 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 11–14, and four more positions connect it up the neck.

Minor Pentatonic Scale in every key

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