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C Major Pentatonic vs C Minor Pentatonic

Five safe notes in two opposite moods — and why they share everything at one pair of roots but almost nothing at the same root.

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A

C Major Pentatonic

eBGDAE3579121517EGACDEGACDEGACDEGACDEGACDEGACDEGACDEGACDEGACDEGA
Root2nd3rd5th6th

Notes: C – D – E – G – A  ·  Formula: 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 – 6

B

C Minor Pentatonic

eBGDAE3579121517FGBbCEbFGCEbFGBbCEbGBbCEbFGBbCEbFGBbCEbFGBbCEbFGBbCFGBbCEbFG
Root3rd4th5th7th

Notes: C – Eb – F – G – Bb  ·  Formula: 1 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭7

What's the difference?

Shared notesC1G5
Only in Major PentatonicD2E3A6
Only in Minor PentatonicEb♭3F4Bb♭7
Why it matters: The parallel bright/dark pentatonic pair: at the same root they share only the root and 5th. Major pentatonic (2nd, major 3rd, 6th) is bright and sweet; minor pentatonic (♭3, 4th, ♭7) is dark and bluesy — the same idea of 'five safe notes', in opposite moods.
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C Major PentatonicScale page
Related comparisons
Blues vs Minor PentatonicComparisonMajor vs Major PentatonicComparisonNatural Minor vs Minor PentatonicComparison
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