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Guitar scale · pentatonic & blues

F 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.

Notes FAbBbDbEb
Formula 1 ♭3 4 ♭6 ♭7
Steps W+H W W+H W W
Mood Dark, Bluesy, Open
Heard in Modal Improvisation, Blues-inspired Playing

Interactive scale diagram

F Man Gong 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.

F 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.

Position 1 · E shape frets 1–4
e|---------------------1-4-|
B|-----------------2-4-----|
G|-------------1-3---------|
D|---------1-3-------------|
A|-----1-4-----------------|
E|-1-4---------------------|
Position 2 · D shape frets 3–6
e|---------------------4-6-|
B|-----------------4-6-----|
G|-------------3-6---------|
D|---------3-6-------------|
A|-----4-6-----------------|
E|-4-6---------------------|
Position 3 · C shape frets 5–8
e|-----------------6-|
B|---------------6---|
G|-----------6-8-----|
D|-------6-8---------|
A|---6-8-------------|
E|-6-----------------|
Position 4 · A shape frets 8–11
e|--------------------------9-11-|
B|---------------------9-11------|
G|----------------8-10-----------|
D|-----------8-11----------------|
A|------8-11---------------------|
E|-9-11--------------------------|
Position 5 · G shape frets 10–13
e|----------------------------11-13-|
B|-------------------------11-------|
G|-------------------10-13----------|
D|-------------11-13----------------|
A|-------11-13----------------------|
E|-11-13----------------------------|

How to play F Man Gong 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, ♭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 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.

Degrees

DegreeNote
1 F
♭3 Ab
4 Bb
♭6 Db
♭7 Eb

Fretwise · Free on iPhone & Android

Practise F Man Gong anywhere, even offline.

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Questions

What notes are in the F Man Gong Scale?
The F Man Gong Scale has 5 notes: F, Ab, Bb, Db, Eb.
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 F Man Gong 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.

Man Gong Scale in every key

More scales in F