G♯ Minor Pentatonic Scale (G♯ B C♯ D♯ F♯)
G♯ minor pentatonic is the minor side of B. Piano charts spell it A♭m, guitarists almost never do. G♯ B C♯ D♯ F♯, the low root at the fourth fret.
Fretboard diagram
Every G♯ 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 | G♯ |
| ♭3 | minor third | B |
| 4 | perfect fourth | C♯ |
| 5 | perfect fifth | D♯ |
| ♭7 | minor seventh | F♯ |
Where to land
A lead that never touches its root is an exercise. In the first twelve frets G♯ sits on the low E string at fret 4, the A string at fret 11, the D string at fret 6, the G string at fret 1, the B string at fret 9, and the high E string at fret 4. 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 G♯m chord, three of the five notes are chord tones, G♯, B, and D♯. 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 G♯m7 the F♯ joins the settled list.
Keep exploring
Same root
Same notes
B major pentatonic is these five notes with B as home. Same frets, different landing spots.
Chords it fits over
A♭m, A♭m7, and, for the blues, plain A♭7.
Nearby keys
G♯ minor pentatonic FAQ
What notes are in the G♯ minor pentatonic scale?
G♯ minor pentatonic contains G♯, B, C♯, D♯, and F♯. That's the root, the minor third, the perfect fourth, the perfect fifth, and the minor seventh.
What fret does G♯ minor pentatonic start on?
The lowest root is G♯ at fret 4 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 G♯ minor pentatonic?
B major pentatonic. G♯ is the relative minor of B, so the five notes are identical everywhere on the neck. Only the note you treat as home changes.