Piano scales · Pentatonic
Pentatonic scales
Five notes, no half steps, and nothing that clashes: the pentatonic is the scale for making things up. Pick major or minor and a key, hear it, then jam over a loop where every note you play fits.
Jam: start the loop, then play the computer keys A S D F G H J K L: each one is the next note of the scale, so nothing you play is wrong. Or click the lit keys.Jam: start the loop and tap the lit keys. They’re all in the scale, so nothing you play is wrong.
What the pentatonic scale is
“Penta” means five. Take the major scale, leave out its 4th and 7th notes (the two that sit a half step from a neighbour) and you have the major pentatonic: in C, C D E G A. Start the same five notes from A and you have the minor pentatonic: A C D E G.
With no half steps, there's nothing to rub. That's why the pentatonic turns up all over the world, in folk songs from Scotland to China and West Africa, and why it's where nearly everyone starts improvising: you can play its notes in any order and it sounds like music.
Major pentatonic: 1 2 3 5 6
Bright, open and singable. The steps are whole – whole – one and a half – whole – one and a half. Amazing Grace and Auld Lang Syne use only these five notes: play either one and every note is in the scale.
Minor pentatonic: 1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7
Darker and bluesy: the sound of rock and blues solos. The steps are one and a half – whole – whole – one and a half – whole. Add one more note, the ♭5, and it becomes the blues scale.
Relative pentatonics
Every major pentatonic shares its five notes with a minor pentatonic three half steps lower: C major and A minor, G major and E minor, F major and D minor. Same notes, different home, so a different mood. Switch between Major and Minor in the tool above, on A and then on C, to hear it.
Play only the black keys
The five black keys are a pentatonic scale on their own: G♭ major pentatonic, or E♭ minor pentatonic if you treat E♭ as home. It's the oldest piano trick there is: anyone can sit down, play only black keys, and sound like they're improvising.
Every major pentatonic
| Scale | Notes |
|---|---|
| C major pentatonic | C – D – E – G – A |
| D♭ major pentatonic | D♭ – E♭ – F – A♭ – B♭ |
| D major pentatonic | D – E – F♯ – A – B |
| E♭ major pentatonic | E♭ – F – G – B♭ – C |
| E major pentatonic | E – F♯ – G♯ – B – C♯ |
| F major pentatonic | F – G – A – C – D |
| F♯ major pentatonic | F♯ – G♯ – A♯ – C♯ – D♯ |
| G major pentatonic | G – A – B – D – E |
| A♭ major pentatonic | A♭ – B♭ – C – E♭ – F |
| A major pentatonic | A – B – C♯ – E – F♯ |
| B♭ major pentatonic | B♭ – C – D – F – G |
| B major pentatonic | B – C♯ – D♯ – F♯ – G♯ |
Every minor pentatonic
| Scale | Notes |
|---|---|
| C minor pentatonic | C – E♭ – F – G – B♭ |
| C♯ minor pentatonic | C♯ – E – F♯ – G♯ – B |
| D minor pentatonic | D – F – G – A – C |
| E♭ minor pentatonic | E♭ – G♭ – A♭ – B♭ – D♭ |
| E minor pentatonic | E – G – A – B – D |
| F minor pentatonic | F – A♭ – B♭ – C – E♭ |
| F♯ minor pentatonic | F♯ – A – B – C♯ – E |
| G minor pentatonic | G – B♭ – C – D – F |
| G♯ minor pentatonic | G♯ – B – C♯ – D♯ – F♯ |
| A minor pentatonic | A – C – D – E – G |
| B♭ minor pentatonic | B♭ – D♭ – E♭ – F – A♭ |
| B minor pentatonic | B – D – E – F♯ – A |
How to practise it
- Play it up and down in one key until your hand knows the shape, then move it to another.
- Start the jam and play only three notes of it for a whole loop. Limits make better tunes than freedom does.
- Copy what you hear in “Hear it improvise”, a bar at a time, then change one note.
- End your phrases on the root (the first note) and they'll sound finished.
Making it up on a real piano? Ivory listens to you play and tells you what's off: a note that's missing, a hand that lands late, a rhythm that drifts. Then it shows you how it should go.
Keep learning
Questions people ask
What are the notes of the A minor pentatonic scale?
A, C, D, E, G. They're the same five notes as C major pentatonic, starting from A.
What are the notes of the C major pentatonic scale?
C, D, E, G, A: the C major scale without F and B.
What is the difference between the major and minor pentatonic?
The major pentatonic is the major scale's notes 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6; the minor pentatonic is the natural minor's 1, ♭3, 4, 5 and ♭7. Each major pentatonic has a relative minor pentatonic with the same five notes, three half steps below: C major and A minor, G major and E minor.
Why does the pentatonic scale always sound good?
It has no half steps, so no two of its notes rub against each other. Whatever order you play them in, and whatever you play them over in the same key, nothing clashes. That's why it's the first scale for improvising.
Are the black keys a pentatonic scale?
Yes. The five black keys are the G♭ major pentatonic (F♯, G♯, A♯, C♯, D♯), and the E♭ minor pentatonic (E♭, G♭, A♭, B♭, D♭). Play only the black keys and you can't play a wrong note.
What songs use the pentatonic scale?
Amazing Grace and Auld Lang Syne use only the five notes of the major pentatonic, as do many folk tunes around the world. The minor pentatonic is the basis of most blues and rock guitar solos.