Major Pentatonic Scale Piano & Guitar Reference
🎹 Avisual + interactive piano and guitar reference to the major
Pentatonic scale. The major Pentatonic scales have 5 notes per octave and are
constructed from the
major scale by omitting the
4th and 7th scale degrees .
The Pentatonic scales are generally easy to play and naturally sound good as
they are composed of stable tones and omit the more unstable tones from their
major scale counterpart.
You may also want to check out the
pentatonic exploration tool.
→ see also: minor pentatonic scale
Major Pentatonic Scale Formula
From the Major scale:
To the Major Pentatonic scale:
Let's start with a reference table of the major Pentatonic scales. Hit play on any scale to play its pitches up and down:
| C | D | E | G | A | C | |
| C♯ | D♯ | F | G♯ | A♯ | C♯ | |
| D | E | F♯ | A | B | D | |
| D♯ | F | G | A♯ | C | D♯ | |
| E | F♯ | G♯ | B | C♯ | E | |
| F | G | A | C | D | F | |
| F♯ | G♯ | A♯ | C♯ | D♯ | F♯ | |
| G | A | B | D | E | G | |
| G♯ | A♯ | C | D♯ | F | G♯ | |
| A | B | C♯ | E | F♯ | A | |
| A♯ | C | D | F | G | A♯ | |
| B | C♯ | D♯ | F♯ | G♯ | B |
Major Pentatonic Scale on Guitar
Here you can visualize the different keys of the major pentatonic scale on the guitar fretboard. You can highlight the notes in each of the major pentatonic scales using the CAGED or the Three Notes Per String (TNPS) systems.
Select a Key:
Scale:
Major Pentatonic Scale on Piano
And now for each of the Pentatonic major scales in more detail and illustrated on the piano keyboard. Again, you can hit play to play the scales up and down:
