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Guitar scale

C minor pentatonic scale

The C 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
C
Notes
CEbFGBb
Formula
m3-W-W-m3-W
Relative key
Eb major pentatonic
Learning path
Step 1 of 5
123456789101112131415EADGBeFGBbCEbFGBbCEbFGBbCEbFGBbCEbFGBbCEbFGBbCEbFGBbCFGBbCEbFG
All 15 frets, high e string on top. Orange marks a C root, the box is the one position to start with, and fret 0 is an open string.
Print or save the C minor pentatonic chart
C 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 C minor pentatonic scale is the five notes C, Eb, F, G and Bb. Read as scale degrees from C, 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 C, Eb, F, G and Bb sits under it without clashing. The same five notes are the Eb major pentatonic scale. Only the home note changes. On the guitar this is not one shape but overlapping positions: the lowest C sits at fret 1 on the B string. 3 of the 80 song sheets charted here are in Cm / Eb.

Start here: one C 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

12345EADGBeFGBbCCEbFG12345
Numbers 1 to 5 are the playing order, one note at a time. Letters are the other C minor pentatonic notes in this position; orange letters are roots.

C 1 → Eb ♭3 → F 4 → G 5 → Bb ♭7

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

Every C on the neck

low Efret 8
Afret 3
Dfret 10
Gfret 5
Bfret 1
high Efret 8

What notes are in the C minor pentatonic scale?

  1. C1Root
  2. m3
  3. Eb♭3Minor 3rd
  4. W
  5. F4Perfect 4th
  6. W
  7. G5Perfect 5th
  8. m3
  9. Bb♭7Minor 7th
  10. W
  11. C1octave

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

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

Chords that fit the C 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.

Csus410 uses hereCm9 uses hereCm74 uses hereEb1 uses hereEbsus2no uses yetEb6no uses yet

How to practise the C 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 C: low E string, fret 8. 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 Cm / Eb from the list below and improvise on these notes for two minutes. That is what the scale is for.

Songs in Cm / Eb on this site

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

EbThe GamblerKenny RogersEbYou're BeautifulJames BluntCmMy Funny ValentineRichard RodgersAllEvery song sheet

C minor pentatonic scale: common questions

What notes are in the C minor pentatonic scale?
The C minor pentatonic scale is C, Eb, F, G and Bb. Counting from the root C, the degrees are 1, ♭3, 4, 5, ♭7.
What is the formula for the C minor pentatonic scale?
The step pattern is m3-W-W-m3-W. Read left to right from C: 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 C minor pentatonic scale?
Any chord built only from these notes: C, Eb, F, G and Bb. The chords that fit are Csus4, Cm, Cm7 and Eb, and Csus4 is the one this site's library uses most, 10 times. Every note of the scale is a safe landing note over any of them.
How is the C minor pentatonic scale related to the C pentatonic scales?
The C blues scale is the C minor pentatonic with the flat 5th (G) added. The pentatonics work the other way: C major pentatonic takes F and B out of C major, leaving five notes that are hard to play wrong.
What is the easiest fingering for the C minor pentatonic scale?
The position above starts on the A string at fret 3 and stays inside frets 1 to 5: C at fret 3 on the A, then Eb at fret 1 on the D, then F at fret 3 on the D, then G at fret 5 on the D, then Bb at fret 3 on the G. Everything else on the neck is the same notes repeated in other positions.
How do I practise the C 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 C up the neck, at fret 8 on the low E string, and only then add a metronome at 60 BPM.

More C scales

C majorC natural minorC major pentatonicC blues

This scale in other keys

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