Guitar scale
E Minor Pentatonic Guitar Scale
E minor pentatonic is a five-note minor scale built from E, G, A, B, and D. It is one of the most common guitar scales for rock, blues, metal, and improvised solos.
- Notes
- EGABD
- Formula
- 1 b3 4 5 b7
- Semitones
- 0 3 5 7 10
How to read this scale
The notes are shown as pitch classes first. Square markers represent E root notes in the fretboard view, while circular markers represent the other notes in the scale.
Use the interactive fretboard to compare the E root notes with the remaining scale tones across standard tuning.
Fretboard diagram
Open this scale in the fretboard tool
Start with E Minor Pentatonic loaded, then adjust tuning, labels, colors, fret count, and orientation.
Open in interactive fretboardCommon chords and contexts
- Use E minor pentatonic over E minor chords, power-chord riffs, and many blues or rock solos.
- Its five-note layout removes the half-step tensions from natural minor, which makes it easy to phrase on guitar.