Scales · Minor Pentatonic Key of C

C Minor Pentatonic Scale on guitar · notes, intervals & diagram

The C Minor Pentatonic scale contains the notes C, D♯, F, G, A♯. The scale that built rock and blues. Bluesy, plaintive, and easy to play in five connected positions across the neck.

Standard tuning · 15 frets

Open in interactive tool →
EADGBE 35791215 F G A♯ C D♯ F G A♯ C D♯ F G A♯ C D♯ F G A♯ C D♯ F G A♯ C D♯ F G A♯ C D♯ F G A♯ C F G A♯ C D♯ F G Root Scale note

Notes & intervals.

# Degree Note
1 1 C root
2 b3 D♯
3 4 F
4 5 G
5 b7 A♯

Sound & use

The scale that built rock and blues. Bluesy, plaintive, and easy to play in five connected positions across the neck.

Rock, blues and pop solos — the workhorse improvisation scale. Add the b5 for the blues scale.

Common in: blues, rock, pop, metal, funk

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Other scales

Other scales in the key of C.

Scale

C Major

Bright, resolved, optimistic — the default sound of Western pop, folk and most children's music.

Scale

C Natural Minor

Melancholy, introspective, serious — but not desperately sad. The classic "minor key" sound.

Scale

C Major Pentatonic

The major scale with the 4 and 7 removed — five notes that "always work" over a major chord. Sweet, melodic, never dissonant.

Scale

C Blues

Minor pentatonic plus the "blue note" (b5). Gritty, vocal, instantly recognisable as the blues.

Scale

C Dorian

Minor with a major 6th — darker than major, warmer than natural minor. Sophisticated, hopeful-melancholy.

Scale

C Phrygian

Minor with a flat 2nd — exotic, Spanish, slightly menacing. The b2 is the defining sound.

Scale

C Lydian

Major with a raised 4th — dreamy, suspended, otherworldly. The sound of film-score wonder.

Scale

C Mixolydian

Major with a flat 7th — bright but bluesy. The "rock major scale".

Scale

C Locrian

The "weird one" — minor with both a flat 2nd and a flat 5th. Restless, dissonant, hard to resolve.

Scale

C Harmonic Minor

Natural minor with a raised 7th — creates the dramatic 1.5-step gap between b6 and 7. Classical, neo-classical, Middle-Eastern flavours.

Scale

C Melodic Minor

Minor scale with a major 6th and 7th going up (jazz/ascending form). Sophisticated, slippery, modern.

Scale

C Phrygian Dominant

Phrygian with a major 3rd — the iconic flamenco/Middle-Eastern sound. Major flavour, minor tension.

Scale

C Hungarian Minor

Two augmented seconds (between b3–#4 and b6–7) give this scale its distinctive Eastern European / Romani drama.

Scale

C Whole Tone

Six equally-spaced notes, no semitones — the symmetrical "dreamlike" scale. No clear tonic; ambiguous and weightless.

Scale

C Hirajoshi

Traditional Japanese pentatonic — austere, contemplative, instantly evocative of koto music.

All keys

Minor Pentatonic scale in every key.

C♯ Minor Pentatonic

D Minor Pentatonic

D♯ Minor Pentatonic

E Minor Pentatonic

F Minor Pentatonic

F♯ Minor Pentatonic

G Minor Pentatonic

G♯ Minor Pentatonic

A Minor Pentatonic

A♯ Minor Pentatonic

B Minor Pentatonic

FAQ

About the C Minor Pentatonic scale
on guitar.

What notes are in the C Minor Pentatonic scale?

The C Minor Pentatonic scale contains the notes C, D♯, F, G, A♯. The intervals from the root are 1, b3, 4, 5, b7.

Where does the C Minor Pentatonic scale come from?

It's the Minor Pentatonic scale rooted on C. The scale that built rock and blues. Bluesy, plaintive, and easy to play in five connected positions across the neck. Rock, blues and pop solos — the workhorse improvisation scale. Add the b5 for the blues scale.

How do I practise the C Minor Pentatonic scale on guitar?

Start with the diagram on this page — find the root notes (the orange dots) and play through the pattern slowly, alternating picking. Once the shape is in your hands, set a metronome at around 60 BPM and play it ascending and descending in eighth-notes. Use the free metronome to keep yourself honest.

Which genres use the C Minor Pentatonic scale?

The Minor Pentatonic scale is found across blues, rock, pop, metal, funk. The character of the key — C — affects how it feels rather than how it works: a C Minor Pentatonic solo has the same intervals and the same emotional shape as any other Minor Pentatonic solo, just transposed.

Can I print the C Minor Pentatonic fretboard diagram?

Yes. Use your browser's print function (Cmd/Ctrl + P) — the diagram on this page is a vector SVG that prints crisply at any size. Or use the interactive scale generator to export the same diagram as a standalone SVG or PNG file.