Ab Minor Pentatonic for Guitar
The Ab minor pentatonic scale contains Ab, Cb, Db, Eb and Gb. Cb sounds like B, so on the fretboard you are playing the same notes as G# minor pentatonic, just spelled with flats.
The root sits on the 4th fret of the low E string and on the 11th fret of the A string. Guitarists often read this key as G# minor because the sharp spelling is easier to follow in a chart, but the shapes are identical either way.
Play the Ab minor pentatonic scale
Use the step menu in the player to switch between the single-string run and the box shapes.
Notes of the Ab minor pentatonic scale
| Note | Degree | Interval | Semitones from root |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ab | 1 | Root | 0 |
| Cb | b3 | Minor 3rd | 3 |
| Db | 4 | Perfect 4th | 5 |
| Eb | 5 | Perfect 5th | 7 |
| Gb | b7 | Minor 7th | 10 |
Structure
Ab minor pentatonic scale notes:
How the minor pentatonic scale is built:
The minor pentatonic scale is built from the degrees 1 b3 4 5 b7, which gives the step pattern W+H-W-W-W+H-W (W = whole step, H = half step).
Counting in semitones from the root: 0, 3, 5, 7, 10. That makes it a 5-note scale.
Ab Minor Pentatonic Scale Guitar Patterns
Static diagrams of every position shown in the player above.
On one string (G)
Box pattern — position 1
Box pattern — position 2
Box pattern — position 3
Box pattern — position 4
Box pattern — position 5
3 notes per string — position 1
The minor pentatonic scale in other keys
Created by
Giancarlo is a musician (teaching guitar since 2000), software engineer, AI consultant and published researcher
