A Major Pentatonic Scale on guitar
The major pentatonic is a 5-note scale that sounds great over major chords. It removes the "tense" notes from the major scale, making it very forgiving for improvisation.
The notes of A Major Pentatonic Scale
Built on A, the scale degrees spell out like this. The degree is the number you would call that note relative to A:
RiffRoute writes every accidental as a sharp. A sharp and the flat above it are the same fret, so A♯ is B♭ and so on.
Where it lands on the fretboard
Every fret from the open string up to the 12th that belongs to the A Major Pentatonic Scale, string by string. Root notes are highlighted.
- Low E: 0, 2, 5, 7, 9, 12
- A: 0, 2, 4, 7, 9, 12
- D: 2, 4, 7, 9, 11
- G: 2, 4, 6, 9, 11
- B: 0, 2, 5, 7, 10, 12
- High E: 0, 2, 5, 7, 9, 12
Your anchor points: A is at fret 5 on the low E string and fret 0 on the A string. Start every pattern from one of those and you always know where home is.
This is one of the best scales for beginners to solo with. Try it in G or A!
Chords that fit
All 5 of these chords from RiffRoute's library use only notes inside the A Major Pentatonic Scale, so they will not clash with it:
Other A scales
Same starting note, different colour. Switching between these over one A chord is the quickest way to hear what each scale does:
- A Major Scale
- A Natural Minor Scale
- A Minor Pentatonic Scale
- A Blues Scale
- A Harmonic Minor Scale
- A Mixolydian Mode
The Major Pentatonic scale in other keys
Practise it in the app
A list of frets only gets you so far. RiffRoute shows the A Major Pentatonic Scale lit up on a full fretboard, plays it back and lets you practise it against a backing track.