Also written Blues Pentatonic, Yu or Sen-Yo
A♭ minor pentatonic contains A♭, C♭, D♭, E♭, and G♭. Box 1 roots on string 4, fret 1 and string 2, fret 4 for a low-position start.
A♭ minor pentatonic drops the second and sixth degrees from A♭ natural minor, leaving 1, ♭3, 4, 5, ♭7. The intervals are 0, 3, 5, 7, 10 semitones, with steps of 1½, whole, whole, 1½, whole. Adding a ♭5 creates the A♭ blues minor scale.
A♭ minor pentatonic fits A♭ minor and A♭ 5th chords, and suits blues, rock, and jazz in A♭ minor. The flat third and seventh give a classic minor pentatonic sound.
Learn Box 1 first: the root sits on string 4, fret 1, covering frets 1–4 with an easy reach to the open first string.
A♭ minor pentatonic in box 1 runs from fret 1 to fret 4, 8 notes across 4 strings, from D♭ on the C string at fret 1 up to D♭ on the A string at fret 4. The root falls on the G string at fret 1 and the E string at fret 4.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (G) | 1, 4 | A♭, C♭ |
| 3 (C) | 1, 3 | D♭, E♭ |
| 2 (E) | 2, 4 | G♭, A♭ |
| 1 (A) | 2, 4 | C♭, D♭ |
A♭ minor pentatonic in box 3 runs from fret 6 to fret 9, 8 notes across 4 strings, from G♭ on the C string at fret 6 up to G♭ on the A string at fret 9. The root falls on the C string at fret 8.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (G) | 6, 8 | D♭, E♭ |
| 3 (C) | 6, 8 | G♭, A♭ |
| 2 (E) | 7, 9 | C♭, D♭ |
| 1 (A) | 6, 9 | E♭, G♭ |
A♭ minor pentatonic in box 4 runs from fret 8 to fret 11, 8 notes across 4 strings, from A♭ on the C string at fret 8 up to A♭ on the A string at fret 11. The root falls on the C string at fret 8 and the A string at fret 11.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (G) | 8, 11 | E♭, G♭ |
| 3 (C) | 8, 11 | A♭, C♭ |
| 2 (E) | 9, 11 | D♭, E♭ |
| 1 (A) | 9, 11 | G♭, A♭ |
Every chord here uses only notes from the scale. Tap one to open it.
A♭ minor pentatonic contains A♭, C♭, D♭, E♭, and G♭. The scale drops the second and sixth degrees from A♭ natural minor. This five-note set is widely used in blues and rock. It is also spelled G♯ in enharmonic notation for the same sounding root.
A♭ minor pentatonic fits A♭ minor and A♭ 5th chords. It also works over C♭ major and D♭ 5th in a progression. The scale avoids notes that clash with these chords.
A♭ minor pentatonic adds a ♭5 to become A♭ blues minor. The blues scale has six notes instead of five. That extra note is the blue note between the fourth and fifth.