Home / Scales / A Minor Pentatonic

A Minor Pentatonic Scale for Guitar

The first scale most lead guitarists learn — five notes, no wrong turns.

Position 1 — 5th fret box
eBGDAE56789ACDEGACDEGAC
Root3rd4th5th7th

Notes: A – C – D – E – G  ·  Formula: 1 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭7

Across the Fretboard — Full Neck
eBGDAE3579121517EGACDEGACDEGACDEGACDEGACDEGACDEGACDEGACDEGACDEGAPOSITION 403POSITION 525POSITION 158POSITION 2710POSITION 31012POSITION 41215POSITION 51417
Root3rd4th5th7th

One common CAGED approach; positions vary between teachers/methods.

Every A Minor Pentatonic note from the open strings to the 17th fret — the root (white ring) repeats every octave.

Hear It For Yourself

This scale sounds even better than it looks.

Light up A Minor Pentatonic across the whole fretboard and hear every note in context.

Play Am Pent in the Studio →

Questions about A Minor Pentatonic

What notes are in the A Minor Pentatonic scale?

The A Minor Pentatonic scale contains the notes A, C, D, E, G. Its interval formula is 1 - ♭3 - 4 - 5 - ♭7, built from A as the root.

Why is the minor pentatonic scale so easy to solo with?

Because it removes the two notes most likely to clash. A full minor scale has seven notes including two half-steps; the pentatonic drops those, leaving five notes that sit comfortably over almost any minor or blues progression — which is why it's so hard to play an obviously wrong note.

Related scales

A BluesScaleC Maj PentScaleA MinorScaleD DorianScale A Minor chordChord page Grunge RockGenre preset

How it compares

Blues vs Minor PentatonicComparisonNatural Minor vs Minor PentatonicComparisonMajor Pentatonic vs Minor PentatonicComparison Compare any two scalesInteractive tool