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E♭ Minor Pentatonic Scale (E♭ G♭ A♭ B♭ D♭)

E♭ minor pentatonic is how half-step-down bands think. Tune every string down one fret, play your Em fingerings, and this is the sound that comes out. In standard it's E♭ G♭ A♭ B♭ D♭, nothing open to lean on.

Fretboard diagram

root left of the nut, open strings
E♭ minor pentatonic scale fretboard diagram, open strings to fret 22eBGDAE12345678910111213141516171819202122G♭♭3♭3A♭44B♭55D♭♭7♭7E♭RRG♭♭3♭3A♭44B♭55D♭♭7♭7B♭55D♭♭7♭7E♭RRG♭♭3♭3A♭44B♭55D♭♭7♭7E♭RRG♭♭3♭3E♭RRG♭♭3♭3A♭44B♭55D♭♭7♭7E♭RRG♭♭3♭3A♭44B♭55A♭44B♭55D♭♭7♭7E♭RRG♭♭3♭3A♭44B♭55D♭♭7♭7E♭RRD♭♭7♭7E♭RRG♭♭3♭3A♭44B♭55D♭♭7♭7E♭RRG♭♭3♭3A♭44G♭♭3♭3A♭44B♭55D♭♭7♭7E♭RRG♭♭3♭3A♭44B♭55D♭♭7♭7

Every E♭ minor pentatonic note from the open strings to fret 22. At fret 12 the map starts over an octave up.

Notes in this scale

SymbolIntervalNote
RrootE♭
♭3minor thirdG♭
4perfect fourthA♭
5perfect fifthB♭
♭7minor seventhD♭

Where to land

A lead that never touches its root is an exercise. In the first twelve frets E♭ sits on the low E string at fret 11, the A string at fret 6, the D string at fret 1, the G string at fret 8, the B string at fret 4, and the high E string at fret 11. End phrases on one of them until it's automatic, then start aiming for whichever chord tone the band is sitting on instead.

Over an E♭m chord, three of the five notes are chord tones, E♭, G♭, and B♭. 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 an E♭m7 the D♭ joins the settled list.

Keep exploring

Same root

Same notes

F♯ major pentatonic is these five notes with F♯ as home. Same frets, different landing spots.

Chords it fits over

E♭m, E♭m7, and, for the blues, plain E♭7.

Nearby keys

E♭ minor pentatonic FAQ

What notes are in the E♭ minor pentatonic scale?
E♭ minor pentatonic contains E♭, G♭, A♭, B♭, and D♭. That's the root, the minor third, the perfect fourth, the perfect fifth, and the minor seventh.

What fret does E♭ minor pentatonic start on?
The lowest root is E♭ at fret 11 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 E♭ minor pentatonic?
F♯ major pentatonic. E♭ is the relative minor of F♯, so the five notes are identical everywhere on the neck. Only the note you treat as home changes.