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F Minor Pentatonic Scale (F A♭ B♭ C E♭)

F minor pentatonic is F A♭ B♭ C E♭, the low root at the first fret, where the strings resist the most. It's the relative minor territory of A♭, gospel and soul ground, and horn sections keep dragging guitarists onto it.

Fretboard diagram

root left of the nut, open strings
F minor pentatonic scale fretboard diagram, open strings to fret 22eBGDAE12345678910111213141516171819202122FRRA♭♭3♭3B♭44C55E♭♭7♭7FRRA♭♭3♭3B♭44C55B♭44C55E♭♭7♭7FRRA♭♭3♭3B♭44C55E♭♭7♭7FRRE♭♭7♭7FRRA♭♭3♭3B♭44C55E♭♭7♭7FRRA♭♭3♭3B♭44C55A♭♭3♭3B♭44C55E♭♭7♭7FRRA♭♭3♭3B♭44C55E♭♭7♭7FRRC55E♭♭7♭7FRRA♭♭3♭3B♭44C55E♭♭7♭7FRRA♭♭3♭3FRRA♭♭3♭3B♭44C55E♭♭7♭7FRRA♭♭3♭3B♭44C55

Every F 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
RrootF
♭3minor thirdA♭
4perfect fourthB♭
5perfect fifthC
♭7minor seventhE♭

Where to land

A lead that never touches its root is an exercise. In the first twelve frets F sits on the low E string at fret 1, the A string at fret 8, the D string at fret 3, the G string at fret 10, the B string at fret 6, and the high E string at fret 1. 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 Fm chord, three of the five notes are chord tones, F, A♭, and C. 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 Fm7 the E♭ joins the settled list.

Keep exploring

Same root

Same notes

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

Chords it fits over

Fm, Fm7, and, for the blues, plain F7.

Nearby keys

F minor pentatonic FAQ

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

What fret does F minor pentatonic start on?
The lowest root is F at fret 1 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 F minor pentatonic?
A♭ major pentatonic. F is the relative minor of A♭, so the five notes are identical everywhere on the neck. Only the note you treat as home changes.