C Minor Pentatonic Scale (C E♭ F G B♭)
C minor pentatonic is C E♭ F G B♭, the low root at the eighth fret. It's the minor side of the E♭ horn family, which parks it under soul and funk charts, where the guitar answers the section between hits.
Fretboard diagram
Every C minor pentatonic note from the open strings to fret 22. At fret 12 the map starts over an octave up.
Notes in this scale
| Symbol | Interval | Note |
|---|---|---|
| R | root | C |
| ♭3 | minor third | E♭ |
| 4 | perfect fourth | F |
| 5 | perfect fifth | G |
| ♭7 | minor seventh | B♭ |
Where to land
A lead that never touches its root is an exercise. In the first twelve frets C sits on the low E string at fret 8, the A string at fret 3, the D string at fret 10, the G string at fret 5, the B string at fret 1, and the high E string at fret 8. End phrases on one of them until it's automatic, then start aiming for whichever chord tone the band is sitting on instead.
Over a Cm chord, three of the five notes are chord tones, C, E♭, and G. Those always sound settled. The other two pull toward a chord tone a fret or two away, and hearing which way they pull is most of what practice is for. Over a Cm7 the B♭ joins the settled list.
Keep exploring
Same root
Same notes
E♭ major pentatonic is these five notes with E♭ as home. Same frets, different landing spots.
Chords it fits over
Cm, Cm7, and, for the blues, plain C7.
Nearby keys
C minor pentatonic FAQ
What notes are in the C minor pentatonic scale?
C minor pentatonic contains C, E♭, F, G, and B♭. That's the root, the minor third, the perfect fourth, the perfect fifth, and the minor seventh.
What fret does C minor pentatonic start on?
The lowest root is C at fret 8 on the low E string, and most players anchor there. The scale itself covers the whole neck, and everything repeats twelve frets higher.
What major scale has the same notes as C minor pentatonic?
E♭ major pentatonic. C is the relative minor of E♭, so the five notes are identical everywhere on the neck. Only the note you treat as home changes.