Guitar scale · pentatonic & blues
F Minor Pentatonic Scale
The legendary 5-note scale most widely used for guitar solos. Essential for guitarists!
Tap any note to hear it.
F 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|---------------------1-4-| B|-----------------1-4-----| G|-------------1-3---------| D|---------1-3-------------| A|-----1-3-----------------| E|-1-4---------------------|
e|---------------------4-6-| B|-----------------4-6-----| G|-------------3-5---------| D|---------3-6-------------| A|-----3-6-----------------| E|-4-6---------------------|
e|-------------------6-8-| B|-----------------6-----| G|-------------5-8-------| D|---------6-8-----------| A|-----6-8---------------| E|-6-8-------------------|
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-------------------------------|
How to play F Minor 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, ♭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.
F minor pentatonic has the same five notes as Ab major pentatonic, so the same box shapes work for both. See the Ab Major Pentatonic Scale.
Degrees
| Degree | Note |
|---|---|
| 1 | F |
| ♭3 | Ab |
| 4 | Bb |
| 5 | C |
| ♭7 | Eb |
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Practise F Minor Pentatonic anywhere, even offline.
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Questions
- What notes are in the F Minor Pentatonic Scale?
- The F Minor Pentatonic Scale has 5 notes: F, Ab, Bb, C, Eb.
- 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 F Minor 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.