F Minor Pentatonic scale on guitar
Every note of the F Minor Pentatonic scale — F A♭ B♭ C E♭ — with the step pattern, what it sounds like, where it's used, and famous songs built on it. All scales are free in the interactive fretboard tool.
The scale on the neck
Here's F Minor Pentatonic over the first 12 frets of the guitar (standard EADGBE tuning). The pink notes are the root (F); tap any note to hear it, or play the whole scale ascending.
Press Make it interactive and the same scale opens across all 24 frets, with every other tuning and capo position, and with each note labelled by its interval from the root (R, ♭3, 4…) instead of by name. The numbers are the same in every key, so what you learn here transposes straight to G or E. (Note: the root shows there as R, not as F.)
The notes
Each note is labelled with its scale degree relative to the major scale — that formula (1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7) is the scale's fingerprint, identical in every key.
The step pattern
1½–W–W–1½–W — W is a whole step (two frets), H a half step (one fret), and 1½ a step and a half (three frets). Start on any Fon the neck, walk that pattern up one string, and you've played F Minor Pentatonic.
How it's built
F Minor Pentatonic is a five-note scale (not a mode) — probably the most-played scale on guitar. What makes it different: The natural minor scale with its two clash-prone notes — the 2nd and the ♭6 — removed. Five notes remain: 1, ♭3, 4, 5 and ♭7.
It's the natural minor scale minus the 2nd and ♭6 — and it shares its five notes with the major pentatonic three semitones up (A minor pentatonic = C major pentatonic).
What it sounds like & where it's used
The sound: Strong, bluesy, vocal. It sounds good loud.
Where you'll hear it: The backbone of rock and blues soloing. The famous “box shape” on guitar is this scale, and most iconic rock solos live inside it.
Famous music built on this scale
Jimmy Page's legendary solo is built on the A minor pentatonic.
riff and solo carved out of the E minor pentatonic.
the riff's fills and Angus Young's solo run on E minor pentatonic.
Minor Pentatonic in every key
Other scales on F
Song and artist names are mentioned for identification and educational commentary only — we don't reproduce lyrics, tabs or recordings. Scales and their formulas are shared facts of music theory.
See F Minor Pentatonic across the whole neck — colored by interval, with fingerings and audio, on guitar, bass and ukulele. Every scale and all 12 roots are free in the interactive tool.
Open F Minor Pentatonic on the fretboardFrequently asked
What notes are in the F Minor Pentatonic scale?
F Minor Pentatonic contains 5 notes: F, A♭, B♭, C, E♭.
What is the formula for the minor pentatonic scale?
The interval formula is 1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7, which is the step pattern 1½–W–W–1½–W (W = whole step, H = half step, 1½ = a step and a half). Start on F and apply those steps to get F, A♭, B♭, C, E♭.
When should I use F Minor Pentatonic?
The backbone of rock and blues soloing. The famous “box shape” on guitar is this scale, and most iconic rock solos live inside it. Sound-wise: Strong, bluesy, vocal. It sounds good loud.