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|---------------2-4-| B|-----------2-4-----| G|---------3---------| D|-------4-----------| A|-----4-------------| E|-2-4---------------|
e|-------------------4-6-| B|---------------4-7-----| G|-------------6---------| D|---------4-6-----------| A|-----4-6---------------| E|-4-6-------------------|
e|---------------------6-9-| B|-----------------7-9-----| G|-------------6-8---------| D|---------6-8-------------| A|-----6-9-----------------| E|-6-9---------------------|
e|----------------------9-11-| B|-----------------9-11------| G|--------------11-----------| D|-----------11--------------| A|------9-11-----------------| E|-9-11----------------------|
e|-------------------------------11-14-| B|-------------------------11-14-------| G|-------------------11-13-------------| D|-------------11-13-------------------| A|-------11-13-------------------------| E|-11-14-------------------------------|
How to play F# Major Pentatonic on guitar
Find the root first: F# is at fret 2 on the low E string and fret 9 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 2–5. 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. On the guitar those are the same frets as Eb minor pentatonic, the name it is listed under here. See the Eb Minor Pentatonic Scale.
Degrees
| Degree | Note |
|---|---|
| 1 | F# |
| 2 | G# |
| 3 | A# |
| 5 | C# |
| 6 | D# |
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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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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 2 on the low E string and fret 9 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 2–5, and four more positions connect it up the neck.