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