Minor Pentatonic Scale
The Minor Pentatonic Scale has a minor quality due to its minor Third E♭. The Minor Pentatonic Scale, like Minor Pentatonic, is similar to the Natural Minor Scale but without the Second and Sixth degrees. This produces a simpler melodic flow that is most commonly heard in blues music, especially when improvising solos. The Minor Pentatonic Scale has five notes, C, E♭, F, G, B♭.
Below you will find the Minor Pentatonic Scale notes, notation, patterns, degrees, intervals and more. You can also opt to see the Minor Pentatonic Scale on your preferred instrument.
Notes Ascending
C, E♭, F, G, B♭, C
Notes Descending
C, B♭, G, F, E♭, C
Notation Ascending
Notation Descending
Pattern Ascending
TS, T, T, TS, T
S = Semitone, T = Tone (2 Semitones)
Pattern Descending
T, TS, T, T, TS
S = Semitone, T = Tone (2 Semitones)
Degrees Ascending
| Note | Number | Name |
|---|---|---|
| C | 1 | Tonic |
| E♭ | ♭3 | Mediant |
| F | 4 | Subdominant |
| G | 5 | Dominant |
| B♭ | ♭7 | Subtonic |
| C | 8 | Tonic (Octave) |
Degrees Descending
| Note | Number | Name |
|---|---|---|
| C | 8 | Tonic (Octave) |
| B♭ | ♭7 | Subtonic |
| G | 5 | Dominant |
| F | 4 | Subdominant |
| E♭ | ♭3 | Mediant |
| C | 1 | Tonic |
Intervals Ascending
| Notes | Semitones | Interval |
|---|---|---|
| C > C | 0 | Perfect Unison (P1) |
| C > E♭ | 3 | minor 3rd (m3) |
| C > F | 5 | Perfect 4th (P4) |
| C > G | 7 | Perfect 5th (P5) |
| C > B♭ | 10 | minor 7th (m7) |
| C > C | 12 | Perfect Octave (P8) |
Intervals Descending
| Notes | Semitones | Interval |
|---|---|---|
| C > C | 0 | Perfect Unison (P1) |
| C > B♭ | 2 | Major 2nd (M2) |
| C > G | 5 | Perfect 4th (P4) |
| C > F | 7 | Perfect 5th (P5) |
| C > E♭ | 9 | Major 6th (M6) |
| C > C | 12 | Perfect Octave (P8) |
Scales related to C Minor Pentatonic Scale
Enharmonic Equivalent Scale
Scale with the same root and notes as the C Minor Pentatonic Scale but different spelling.
B♯ Minor Pentatonic Scale
Relative Major Scale
Major scale with the same notes as C Minor Pentatonic Scale but in a different order.
E♭ Major Pentatonic Scale
Chords related to C Minor Pentatonic Scale
Related Triads
The related chords cannot be built using the notes of C Minor Pentatonic Scale alone so they have been substituted with the chords of the C Natural Minor Scale. The chords are in degree order and shown in Roman numerals (lowercase = minor/diminished, uppercase = Major/Augmented).
i Chord - C Minor
iio Chord - D Diminished
♭III Chord - E♭ Major
iv Chord - F Minor
v Chord - G Minor
♭VI Chord - A♭ Major
♭VII Chord - B♭ Major
Learn to Play Minor Pentatonic Scale
If you want to learn what scales and modes are and much more, check out our free Fundamentals of Music Theory course. If you already know some of the basics, you can jump straight into the scales lesson.
