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Guitar scale

Bb minor pentatonic scale (A# minor pentatonic)

The Bb minor pentatonic scale is the first scale most guitarists solo with, and the backbone of blues, rock and metal lead playing. Best for first solos, blues and rock lead.

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

Root
Bb
Notes
BbDbEbFAb
Formula
m3-W-W-m3-W
Relative key
C# major pentatonic
Learning path
Step 1 of 5
123456789101112131415EADGBeFAbBbDbEbFBbDbEbFAbBbEbFAbBbDbEbFAbBbDbEbFAbBbDbEbFAbBbDbFAbBbDbEbF
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 minor pentatonic chart
Bb minor 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 minor pentatonic scale is the five notes Bb, Db, Eb, F and Ab. Read as scale degrees from Bb, that is 1, ♭3, 4, 5, ♭7. Every note is a fixed distance from the one before it: m3-W-W-m3-W, 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 minor pentatonic scale. Having only five notes, it fits a narrow set of chords: any triad built entirely from Bb, Db, Eb, F and Ab sits under it without clashing. The same five notes are the C# 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. 1 of the 80 song sheets charted here is in Bbm.

Start here: one Bb minor 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

12345EADGBeFAbBbDbEbFAb12345
Numbers 1 to 5 are the playing order, one note at a time. Letters are the other Bb minor pentatonic notes in this position; orange letters are roots.

Bb 1 → Db ♭3 → Eb 4 → F 5 → Ab ♭7

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 minor pentatonic scale?

  1. Bb1Root
  2. m3
  3. Db♭3Minor 3rd
  4. W
  5. Eb4Perfect 4th
  6. W
  7. F5Perfect 5th
  8. m3
  9. Ab♭7Minor 7th
  10. W
  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 minor pentatonic scale.

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

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

Chords that fit the Bb minor 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.

C#no uses yetC#sus2no uses yetC#6no uses yetEbsus4no uses yetEbsus2no uses yetAbsus4no uses yet

How to practise the Bb minor 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 Bbm from the list below and improvise on these notes for two minutes. That is what the scale is for.

Songs in Bbm on this site

1 of the 80 song sheets charted here are in Bbm. Play this scale over any of them and every note lands inside the key.

BbmRiptideVance JoyAllEvery song sheet

Bb minor pentatonic scale: common questions

What notes are in the Bb minor pentatonic scale?
The Bb minor pentatonic scale is Bb, Db, Eb, F and Ab. Counting from the root Bb, the degrees are 1, ♭3, 4, 5, ♭7.
What is the formula for the Bb minor pentatonic scale?
The step pattern is m3-W-W-m3-W. Read left to right from Bb: minor 3rd (3 frets), then whole step (2 frets), then whole step (2 frets), then minor 3rd (3 frets), then whole step (2 frets). Apply the same pattern from any other note and you get that note's minor pentatonic scale.
What chords work with the Bb minor pentatonic scale?
Any chord built only from these notes: Bb, Db, Eb, F and Ab. The chords that fit are C#, C#sus2, C#6 and Ebsus4. Every note of the scale is a safe landing note over any of them.
How is the Bb minor 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 minor 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 Db at fret 4 on the A, then Eb at fret 1 on the D, then F at fret 3 on the D, then Ab at fret 1 on the G. Everything else on the neck is the same notes repeated in other positions.
How do I practise the Bb minor 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 major pentatonicBb blues

This scale in other keys

C minor pentatonicC# minor pentatonicD minor pentatonicEb minor pentatonicE minor pentatonicF minor pentatonicF# minor pentatonicG minor pentatonicAll 60 scale charts
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