Ab Major Pentatonic Fretboard Guide
The Ab major pentatonic scale contains Ab, Bb, C, Eb and F. There is no open string root in this key, so you find the shapes purely by locating Ab on the neck.
That note is on the 4th fret of the low E string and the 11th fret of the A string. F minor pentatonic holds the same five pitches. Chord tone exercises for blues are a good way to learn where the strong notes sit against each chord.
Play the Ab major pentatonic scale
Use the step menu in the player to switch between the single-string run and the box shapes.
Notes of the Ab major pentatonic scale
| Note | Degree | Interval | Semitones from root |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ab | 1 | Root | 0 |
| Bb | 2 | Major 2nd | 2 |
| C | 3 | Major 3rd | 4 |
| Eb | 5 | Perfect 5th | 7 |
| F | 6 | Major 6th | 9 |
Structure
Ab major pentatonic scale notes:
How the major pentatonic scale is built:
The major pentatonic scale is built from the degrees 1 2 3 5 6, which gives the step pattern W-W-W+H-W-W+H (W = whole step, H = half step).
Counting in semitones from the root: 0, 2, 4, 7, 9. That makes it a 5-note scale.
Ab Major 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 major pentatonic scale in other keys
Created by
Giancarlo is a musician (teaching guitar since 2000), software engineer, AI consultant and published researcher
