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Guitar scale

Bb major pentatonic scale (A# major pentatonic)

The Bb major pentatonic scale is the major scale with the two notes that clash removed, leaving five notes that almost never sound wrong. Best for country, pop and classic-rock solos.

By Chiye · Updated · Counts from the 80 song sheets on openguitarchords.com

Root
Bb
Notes
BbCDFG
Formula
W-W-m3-W-m3
Relative key
G major pentatonic
Learning path
Step 3 of 5
123456789101112131415EADGBeFGBbCDFGBbCDFGBbCDFGBbCDFGBbCDFGBbCDFGBbCDFGBbCDFG
All 15 frets, high e string on top. Orange marks a Bb root, the box is the one position to start with, and fret 0 is an open string.
Print or save the Bb major pentatonic chart
Bb major pentatonic scale chart: every note from fret 0 to 15 across all six strings, root notes marked in orange

940 × 230 px version of the chart above, sized for a phone screen or a printed handout. Tap the image to save it.

The Bb major pentatonic scale is the five notes Bb, C, D, F and G. Read as scale degrees from Bb, that is 1, 2, 3, 5, 6. Every note is a fixed distance from the one before it: W-W-m3-W-m3, where W is a whole step (2 frets) and H is a half step (1 fret), and m3 is three frets. That pattern is the whole scale. Move it so the root lands on a different note and you are playing that key's major pentatonic scale. Having only five notes, it fits a narrow set of chords: any triad built entirely from Bb, C, D, F and G sits under it without clashing. The same five notes are the G major pentatonic scale. Only the home note changes. On the guitar this is not one shape but overlapping positions: the lowest Bb sits at fret 1 on the A string. 3 of the 80 song sheets charted here are in Bb / Gm.

Start here: one Bb major pentatonic position

Every note of the scale inside frets 1 to 5 sits in the box highlighted on the full neck above. The diagram below is that box on its own, numbered in the order to play it. Learn this one box first; the rest of the neck is the same shape repeated.

Play the box in this order

12345EADGBeFGBbCCDFG12345
Numbers 1 to 5 are the playing order, one note at a time. Letters are the other Bb major pentatonic notes in this position; orange letters are roots.

Bb 1 → C 2 → D 3 → F 5 → G 6

Plays exactly the run numbered above, one note at a time.

Every Bb on the neck

low Efret 6
Afret 1
Dfret 8
Gfret 3
Bfret 11
high Efret 6

What notes are in the Bb major pentatonic scale?

  1. Bb1Root
  2. W
  3. C2Major 2nd
  4. W
  5. D3Major 3rd
  6. m3
  7. F5Perfect 5th
  8. W
  9. G6Major 6th
  10. m3
  11. Bb1octave

W whole step (2 frets), H half step (1 fret), m3 minor 3rd (3 frets). The same pattern from any other root gives that key's major pentatonic scale.

This scale is the Bb major scale with Eb and A taken out, which is why it is so hard to play a wrong note in it. Every position you already know from Bb major still works here.

The same five notes, a different home: G major pentatonic uses exactly Bb, C, D, F and G. Learn one box and you already have both scales.

Chords that fit the Bb major pentatonic scale

A chord fits this scale when all of its notes are already in the scale, which is a test you can run yourself rather than a style guide. Ordered by real use in the library.

Gm713 uses hereCsus410 uses hereBb3 uses hereCsus2no uses yetFsus4no uses yetFsus2no uses yet

How to practise the Bb major pentatonic scale

  1. Frets 1 to 5, slowly. The position above, up and back, naming every note out loud. Naming is what turns a shape into a scale.
  2. Then find the next Bb: low E string, fret 6. Build the same shape from there and play root to root at 60 BPM, one note per beat.
  3. Then stop counting. Pick a song in Bb / Gm from the list below and improvise on these notes for two minutes. That is what the scale is for.

Songs in Bb / Gm on this site

3 of the 80 song sheets charted here are in Bb / Gm. Play this scale over any of them and every note lands inside the key.

BbA Thousand YearsChristina PerriGmAutumn LeavesJazz StandardBbMe and Bobby McGeeJanis JoplinAllEvery song sheet

Bb major pentatonic scale: common questions

What notes are in the Bb major pentatonic scale?
The Bb major pentatonic scale is Bb, C, D, F and G. Counting from the root Bb, the degrees are 1, 2, 3, 5, 6.
What is the formula for the Bb major pentatonic scale?
The step pattern is W-W-m3-W-m3. Read left to right from Bb: whole step (2 frets), then whole step (2 frets), then minor 3rd (3 frets), then whole step (2 frets), then minor 3rd (3 frets). Apply the same pattern from any other note and you get that note's major pentatonic scale.
What chords work with the Bb major pentatonic scale?
Any chord built only from these notes: Bb, C, D, F and G. The chords that fit are Gm7, Csus4, Bb and Csus2, and Gm7 is the one this site's library uses most, 13 times. Every note of the scale is a safe landing note over any of them.
How is the Bb major pentatonic scale related to the Bb pentatonic scales?
The Bb blues scale is the Bb minor pentatonic with the flat 5th (F) added. The pentatonics work the other way: Bb major pentatonic takes Eb and A out of Bb major, leaving five notes that are hard to play wrong.
What is the easiest fingering for the Bb major pentatonic scale?
The position above starts on the A string at fret 1 and stays inside frets 1 to 5: Bb at fret 1 on the A, then C at fret 3 on the A, then D at fret 5 on the A, then F at fret 3 on the D, then G at fret 5 on the D. Everything else on the neck is the same notes repeated in other positions.
How do I practise the Bb major pentatonic scale?
Play the position in frets 1 to 5 up and back, naming every note out loud. When the shape is automatic, build the same shape from the next Bb up the neck, at fret 6 on the low E string, and only then add a metronome at 60 BPM.

More Bb scales

Bb majorBb natural minorBb minor pentatonicBb blues

This scale in other keys

C major pentatonicC# major pentatonicD major pentatonicEb major pentatonicE major pentatonicF major pentatonicF# major pentatonicG major pentatonicAll 60 scale charts
Previous keyBb natural minorNext keyBb minor pentatonic