Get familiar with the minor pentatonic scale

In this article, I’m going to introduce you to the minor pentatonic scale, explain where it comes from (and why you should care), and give you some tips on how to use and recognise it in the real world.

The minor pentatonic scale is a staple of rock and blues guitar, which is also quite common in metal, punk, and other genres of music influenced by those styles. As implied by ‘pentatonic’ in the name, the minor pentatonic scale is a five note scale which shares its scale notes with the natural minor scale.

While the two scales share notes, the use and overall sound of the minor pentatonic scale is quite different from the natural minor scale. The examples below show the A natural minor scale and A minor pentatonic scale.

A Natural Minor Scale (click to enlarge)

Listen to the A Natural Minor Scale
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