Lessons · Beginner
Pentatonic and Blues Scales: The 5 Guitar Boxes
The five-note scales behind rock, blues and folk soloing, mapped across the whole guitar neck.
Why the pentatonic scale is everywhere
A pentatonic scale has five notes per octave instead of seven. It leaves out the two notes of the major scale that form half steps (the 4th and 7th degrees), so there are no "clashing" notes: almost any combination sounds musical. That is why pentatonic melodies appear in folk music all over the world, and why it is the first scale most guitarists use for improvising.
Major and minor pentatonic
The major pentatonic takes degrees 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 of the major scale.
The minor pentatonic takes degrees 1, b3, 4, 5 and b7 of the natural minor scale.
| Scale | Formula | In C / A | In G / E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major pentatonic | 1 2 3 5 6 | C D E G A | G A B D E |
| Minor pentatonic | 1 b3 4 5 b7 | A C D E G | E G A B D |
Look closely: C major pentatonic and A minor pentatonic contain exactly the same five notes, just as C major and A minor share the same seven. They are relative scales. The difference is which note feels like home, and that depends on the chords underneath.
A – C – D – E – G
C – D – E – G – A
The blues scale and the major blues scale
The blues scale is the minor pentatonic plus one extra note, the b5 (the "blue note"). In A: A C D Eb E G. The b5 is a passing tone: it sounds great when you slide or bend through it, and tense if you sit on it.
The major blues scale is the major pentatonic plus the b3. In A: A B C C# E F#. The b3 is usually played as a quick passing note or bent up toward the major 3rd, creating the typical country and blues "major-minor" sound.
| Scale | Formula | In A |
|---|---|---|
| Blues (minor blues) | 1 b3 4 b5 5 b7 | A C D Eb E G |
| Major blues | 1 2 b3 3 5 6 | A B C C# E F# |
Notice that A major blues has the same notes as F# blues, again a relative pair.
The five pentatonic boxes on guitar
On guitar the minor pentatonic falls into five fingering patterns, called boxes or positions, each with two notes per string. They connect like puzzle pieces: the top notes of one box are the bottom notes of the next. Here they are for A minor pentatonic (A C D E G).
| Box | Frets | Lowest note (6th string) | Root positions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5–8 | A (fret 5) | 6th, 4th, 1st strings |
| 2 | 7–10 | C (fret 8) | 4th, 2nd strings |
| 3 | 9–13 | D (fret 10) | 5th, 2nd strings |
| 4 | 12–15 | E (fret 12) | 5th, 3rd strings |
| 5 | 14–17 | G (fret 15) | 3rd, 6th, 1st strings |
After box 5 the pattern repeats: box 1 starts again at fret 17, an octave higher, and the frets below 5 hold the same boxes an octave lower (box 5 at frets 2–5, box 4 starting at the open strings).
Box 1, the home position
Box 1 is the most important shape. Learn it first, ascending and descending, until you can play it without thinking.
Box 2
Box 2 starts on C, the second note of the scale. The 2nd string notes (frets 8 and 10, G and A) are a common place for bends.
Boxes 3, 4 and 5
- Box 3 (D on the 6th string): 6th string 10–12, 5th 10–12, 4th 10–12, 3rd 9–12, 2nd 10–13, 1st 10–12.
- Box 4 (E on the 6th string): 6th 12–15, 5th 12–15, 4th 12–14, 3rd 12–14, 2nd 13–15, 1st 12–15.
- Box 5 (G on the 6th string): 6th 15–17, 5th 15–17, 4th 14–17, 3rd 14–17, 2nd 15–17, 1st 15–17.
Adding the blue note
To turn box 1 into the blues scale, add Eb on the 5th string (fret 6) and on the 3rd string (fret 8).
Major pentatonic shapes for free
Because A minor pentatonic and C major pentatonic share the same notes, the five boxes are also the five shapes of C major pentatonic. To play A major pentatonic, take the A minor box 1 shape and move it down three frets so it starts on F# (fret 2): it is now F# minor pentatonic, which equals A major pentatonic. Same shape, different root.
Soloing over a 12-bar blues
A 12-bar blues in A uses A7, D7 and E7 (see chord progressions):
| Bars 1–4 | Bars 5–8 | Bars 9–12 |
|---|---|---|
| A7 – A7 – A7 – A7 | D7 – D7 – A7 – A7 | E7 – D7 – A7 – E7 |
Step 1: one scale for the whole form
A minor pentatonic (or the A blues scale) works over all three chords. The C in the scale rubs against the C# in A7, and that friction is the blues sound. Bend the C (3rd string, fret 5) slightly sharp toward C# for an even more vocal effect.
Step 2: target chord tones
Make your phrases land on notes that belong to the current chord:
| Chord | Chord tones | Good landing notes in A minor pentatonic |
|---|---|---|
| A7 | A C# E G | A, E, G (or C bent up toward C#) |
| D7 | D F# A C | D, A, C |
| E7 | E G# B D | E, D |
Landing on C over D7 (its b7) or D over E7 (its b7) sounds especially bluesy.
Step 3: mix major and minor
Over A7, try A major pentatonic (box 1 at fret 2, or the major blues scale) for a brighter, sweeter sound, then switch back to A minor pentatonic over D7 and E7. Mixing the two is the heart of classic blues lead guitar.
Here is a short phrase from box 1 that resolves to the root:
On the bass
On bass, A minor pentatonic fits in one position at fret 5 with no shifting: fingers 1 and 4 on string 4, then fingers 1 and 3 on the other strings. Adding the b5 (Eb, string 3, fret 6) turns it into the blues scale.
In a 12-bar blues, use these shapes for riffs and short fills, and play the root on beat 1 of each chord change. When you walk or play a boogie line under A7, the bass usually takes the major 3rd (C#) from the chord, because a sustained C in the bass makes the chord sound minor. See walking bass and the bass pentatonic exercise.
Practice
- Play box 1 up and down with alternate picking at 60 BPM on the metronome, then increase by 5 BPM each day.
- Learn one new box per week and connect it to the previous one: play box 1 ascending, slide into box 2 and descend.
- Work through the pentatonic sequences exercise in groups of three and four.
- Loop the 12-bar blues in the progression player and improvise using only box 1, then only box 2.
- Explore all five shapes and the blues scale in the scale explorer, and print a blank fretboard to draw the boxes from memory.
Related pages: A minor pentatonic, A blues scale, A major blues scale, E minor pentatonic, the CAGED system, guitar fretboard notes and the intermediate guitar path.