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Guitar scale

Eb minor pentatonic scale (D# minor pentatonic)

The Eb 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 104 song sheets on openguitarchords.com

Root
Eb
Notes
EbGbAbBbDb
Formula
m3-W-W-m3-W
Relative key
F# major pentatonic
Learning path
Step 1 of 5
123456789101112131415EADGBeGbAbBbDbEbGbBbDbEbGbAbBbEbGbAbBbDbEbAbBbDbEbGbAbBbDbEbGbAbBbDbGbAbBbDbEbGb
All 15 frets, high e string on top. Orange marks an Eb root, the box is the one position to start with, and fret 0 is an open string.
Print or save the Eb minor pentatonic chart
Eb 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 Eb minor pentatonic scale is the five notes Eb, Gb, Ab, Bb and Db. Read as scale degrees from Eb, 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 Eb, Gb, Ab, Bb and Db sits under it without clashing. The same five notes are the F# major pentatonic scale. Only the home note changes. On the guitar this is not one shape but overlapping positions: the lowest Eb sits at fret 1 on the D string.

Start here: one Eb minor pentatonic position

The notes inside frets 1 to 5 sit in the highlighted box above. The diagram below isolates that position and numbers the run to play. Learn this box first; other positions contain the same scale notes with different fingerings.

Play the box in this order

12345EADGBeGbAbBbDbEbGbAb12345
Numbers 1 to 5 are the playing order, one note at a time. Letters are the other Eb minor pentatonic notes in this position; orange letters are roots.

Eb 1 → Gb ♭3 → Ab 4 → Bb 5 → Db ♭7

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

Every Eb on the neck

low Efret 11
Afret 6
Dfret 1
Gfret 8
Bfret 4
high Efret 11

What notes are in the Eb minor pentatonic scale?

  1. Eb1Root
  2. m3
  3. Gb♭3Minor 3rd
  4. W
  5. Ab4Perfect 4th
  6. W
  7. Bb5Perfect 5th
  8. m3
  9. Db♭7Minor 7th
  10. W
  11. Eb1octave

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

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

Chords that fit the Eb 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.

F#1 uses hereC#sus4no uses yetC#sus2no uses yetEbmno uses yetEbm7no uses yetEbsus4no uses yet

How to practise the Eb 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 Eb: A string, fret 6. Use the full neck diagram to find the scale notes around that root. Play root to root at 60 BPM, one note per beat; fingerings change when you move to a different string set.
  3. Then stop counting. Improvise on these notes for two minutes over any backing track in Ebm / D#m / F#. That is what the scale is for.

Eb minor pentatonic scale: common questions

What notes are in the Eb minor pentatonic scale?
The Eb minor pentatonic scale is Eb, Gb, Ab, Bb and Db. Counting from the root Eb, the degrees are 1, ♭3, 4, 5, ♭7.
What is the formula for the Eb minor pentatonic scale?
The step pattern is m3-W-W-m3-W. Read left to right from Eb: 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 Eb minor pentatonic scale?
The chords built only from Eb, Gb, Ab, Bb and Db are F#, C#sus4, C#sus2 and Ebm; F# appears 1 times in the library. Shared scale notes can still create tension over a chord, so use its chord tones for stable phrase endings.
How is the Eb minor pentatonic scale related to the Eb pentatonic scales?
The Eb blues scale is the Eb minor pentatonic with the flat 5th (Bb) added. The pentatonics work the other way: Eb major pentatonic takes Ab and D out of Eb major, leaving five notes that are hard to play wrong.
What is the easiest fingering for the Eb minor pentatonic scale?
The position above starts on the D string at fret 1 and stays inside frets 1 to 5: Eb at fret 1 on the D, then Gb at fret 4 on the D, then Ab at fret 1 on the G, then Bb at fret 3 on the G, then Db at fret 2 on the B. Everything else on the neck is the same notes repeated in other positions.
How do I practise the Eb minor pentatonic scale?
Play frets 1 to 5 up and back, naming each note. Then locate Eb at fret 6 on the A string. Use the neck diagram to learn that position, rather than copying the same grip across strings. Practise at 60 BPM.

More Eb scales

Eb majorEb natural minorEb major pentatonicEb blues

This scale in other keys

C minor pentatonicC# minor pentatonicD minor pentatonicE minor pentatonicF minor pentatonicF# minor pentatonicG minor pentatonicAb minor pentatonicAll 60 scale charts
Previous keyEb major pentatonicNext keyEb blues