Guitar scale · pentatonic & blues
F Major Pentatonic Scale
Sweet 5-note major scale used for uplifting melodies in country, southern rock, and acoustic pop.
Tap any note to hear it.
F Major 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|---------------1-3-| B|-----------1-3-----| G|---------2---------| D|-------3-----------| A|-----3-------------| E|-1-3---------------|
e|-------------------3-5-| B|---------------3-6-----| G|-------------5---------| D|---------3-5-----------| A|-----3-5---------------| E|-3-5-------------------|
e|---------------------5-8-| B|-----------------6-8-----| G|-------------5-7---------| D|---------5-7-------------| A|-----5-8-----------------| E|-5-8---------------------|
e|----------------------8-10-| B|-----------------8-10------| G|--------------10-----------| D|-----------10--------------| A|------8-10-----------------| E|-8-10----------------------|
e|-------------------------------10-13-| B|-------------------------10-13-------| G|-------------------10-12-------------| D|-------------10-12-------------------| A|-------10-12-------------------------| E|-10-13-------------------------------|
How to play F Major Pentatonic on guitar
Find the root first: F is at fret 1 on the low E string and fret 8 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every F on the neck; the gold ones are the rest of the scale's home chord (3, 5), 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 1–4. 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.
F major pentatonic has the same five notes as D minor pentatonic, so the same box shapes work for both. See the D Minor Pentatonic Scale.
Degrees
| Degree | Note |
|---|---|
| 1 | F |
| 2 | G |
| 3 | A |
| 5 | C |
| 6 | D |
Fretwise · Free on iPhone & Android
Practise F Major 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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One purchase
- 282 exercises that play as tab, and routines with a speed trainer
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Questions
- What notes are in the F Major Pentatonic Scale?
- The F Major Pentatonic Scale has 5 notes: F, G, A, C, D.
- What is the formula of the major pentatonic scale?
- 1 2 3 5 6, which is the step pattern W W W+H W W+H (W = whole step, H = half step).
- Where do I play F Major Pentatonic on the guitar?
- The root F is at fret 1 on the low E string and fret 8 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 1–4, and four more positions connect it up the neck.