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E minor pentatonic on Guitar

Also called: Aeolian Pentatonic

E minor pentatonic uses E, G, A, B and D: five notes that sit naturally around a guitar’s open strings. The missing second and sixth make this a compact starting point for minor-key riffs.

Scale on staff

Treble clef · Root to octave

Written notes: E4, G4, A4, B4, D5, and E5

Swipe across the staff to see every note.

Notation details

E natural minor signature: F♯. Other alterations are marked on the notes.

The 8 below the clef indicates that Guitar sounds one octave below these written notes. This example uses an octave close to the staff for easier reading, keeping the scale’s key and canonical spelling.

Find and hear notes

Flats and sharps can name the same pitch. Staff notes keep their canonical spelling.

Scale root: E. Square markers identify it across the neck.

Tap a note to hear it. Scroll along the neck to explore frets.

Keyboard controls

Keyboard: use arrow keys to move between notes, then Enter or Space to play.

Understand the scale

Minor pentatonic uses 1, ♭3, 4, 5 and ♭7. Its five notes omit the second and sixth of natural minor; compare the three-semitone gaps with its two-semitone steps.

Each note has an interval measured from the root. The graph spaces notes by semitones (one fret each); the numbers between markers show the steps to neighboring notes. The final note is the root one octave higher.

Scale intervals from E to its octave

Semitones from the root. Steps between neighboring notes (semitones).

E — Root (unison); 0 semitones from the root. Next step: 3 semitones G — Minor third; 3 semitones from the root. Next step: 2 semitones A — Perfect fourth; 5 semitones from the root. Next step: 2 semitones B — Perfect fifth; 7 semitones from the root. Next step: 3 semitones D — Minor seventh; 10 semitones from the root. Next step: 2 semitones E — Octave (root); 12 semitones from the root. E — Root (unison); 0 semitones from the root. Next step: 3 semitonesE1G — Minor third; 3 semitones from the root. Next step: 2 semitonesG♭3A — Perfect fourth; 5 semitones from the root. Next step: 2 semitonesA4B — Perfect fifth; 7 semitones from the root. Next step: 3 semitonesB5D — Minor seventh; 10 semitones from the root. Next step: 2 semitonesD♭7E — Octave (root); 12 semitones from the root. E8E — Root (unison); 0 semitones from the root. Next step: 3 semitones G — Minor third; 3 semitones from the root. Next step: 2 semitones A — Perfect fourth; 5 semitones from the root. Next step: 2 semitones B — Perfect fifth; 7 semitones from the root. Next step: 3 semitones D — Minor seventh; 10 semitones from the root. Next step: 2 semitones E — Octave (root); 12 semitones from the root. E — Root (unison); 0 semitones from the root. Next step: 3 semitonesE1G — Minor third; 3 semitones from the root. Next step: 2 semitonesG♭3A — Perfect fourth; 5 semitones from the root. Next step: 2 semitonesA4B — Perfect fifth; 7 semitones from the root. Next step: 3 semitonesB5D — Minor seventh; 10 semitones from the root. Next step: 2 semitonesD♭7E — Octave (root); 12 semitones from the root. E8
Read the intervals
  1. E — Root (unison); 0 semitones from the root. Next step: 3 semitones
  2. G — Minor third; 3 semitones from the root. Next step: 2 semitones
  3. A — Perfect fourth; 5 semitones from the root. Next step: 2 semitones
  4. B — Perfect fifth; 7 semitones from the root. Next step: 3 semitones
  5. D — Minor seventh; 10 semitones from the root. Next step: 2 semitones
  6. E — Octave (root); 12 semitones from the root.

How the fretboard repeats

Fret 12 has the same note name as the open string, one octave higher. The pattern repeats every 12 frets. Between E and F, and between B and C, there is one semitone; the other adjacent natural notes are two semitones apart.

Most neighboring strings are a perfect fourth apart. The G-to-B pair is a major third, so a shape crossing that pair shifts by one fret. The two E strings share note names at every fret, two octaves apart.

Try this

  • Begin on the low open E.
  • Play the open E string at the nut, then fret 3. Repeat with the open A and D strings, then fret 2 on each.
  • Find the next E at fret 2 on D. Pause on each E to hear the tonal center instead of treating the pattern as a speed exercise.

Put the notes into practice

Today’s Fretuodle uses the shared theme, which may differ from this reference. Your practice here does not affect Fretuodle results.

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