Pentatonic & Blues
A Minor Pentatonic Scale on Piano
A minor pentatonic is the five-note minor scale formed by removing the 2nd and 6th degrees of A natural minor. It is one of the most-used lead-guitar scales in rock, and just as useful at the piano for blues, rock, and pop improvisation.
Notes of the A Minor Pentatonic Scale
| Degree | Note | Interval from root |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | Root |
| 2 | C | Minor 3rd |
| 3 | D | Perfect 4th |
| 4 | E | Perfect 5th |
| 5 | G | Minor 7th |
| 6 | A | Octave |
1½-W-W-1½-W1½ · W · W · 1½ · WNatural minor with the 2nd and 6th removed — the gaps of a minor third are what give pentatonic its open sound.
W = whole step, H = half step, 1½ = one and a half whole steps (three half steps).
A Minor Pentatonic on the Staff
One octave ascending in bass clef with the key signature of A minor (no sharps, no flats).
Fingering
Pentatonic scales have only five unique notes; fingerings are flexible. This pattern passes the thumb under onto G on the way up.
- 1A
- 2C
- 3D
- 4E
- 1G
- 2A
- 5A
- 4C
- 3D
- 2E
- 1G
- 3A
Numbers indicate fingers: 1 = thumb, 2 = index, 3 = middle, 4 = ring, 5 = little. Both rows are shown in ascending order (low note to high note). Note the left hand starts on the pinky (5) at the lowest note and crosses the middle finger over the thumb to continue upward — that is why the left-hand numbers count down before cycling again.
Where You Hear This Scale
Most of Jimmy Page's guitar solo in Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" sits in this scale, and so do countless blues-rock lead lines. On piano it is a good first improvisation scale over an A minor chord. Try short phrases and end them on A, C, or E, the notes of the chord; D and G add color along the way. Adding the flat-5 blue note turns it into the A blues scale.
Train Your Ear to Recognize This Scale
Put what you learned into practice with Fortepian's free scale identification exercise. Hear a scale and identify it — 9 progressive levels, from major and minor to modes, pentatonic, blues, and exotic scales. No signup needed.
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