Lots of guitarists talk about using the minor pentatonic scale to improvise, so let’s look at how you play these in different keys.
Which Notes Are Played In The Minor Pentatonic Scale?
The minor pentatonic scale is based on the 1st note of the octave scale, followed by the flattened 3rd , the 4th, 5th and flattened 7th.
I like to find the 1st note of the octave scale and then count up the frets as shown in the table below:
| Note Of The Scale | Number Of Frets Above The First Note Of The Scale |
| 1 | 0 |
| b3 | 3 |
| 4 | 5 |
| 5 | 7 |
| 7 | 10 |
| 8 ( the octave) | 12 |
Of course, you may not want to play the whole scale on 1 string, but I find it is really helpful to find the notes on 1 string and then use my ears ( and knowledge of where the same note is on different strings) to help me find the notes on different strings.
You can use this formula to work out any minor pentatonic scale you want to play but I will go into a lot more detail for 3 examples: G,C and D minor pentatonic. There is a PDF download of this at the bottom of this page.
G Minor Pentatonic On Cigar Box Guitar
Version1: The Easiest G minor Pentatonic
Here is the simplest way, played over 2 strings with an easy to remember fingering:
The key of G minor has 2 flats so that’s why these ( Bb and Eb) are in the key signature at the beginning of the music. Just for clarity I’ve also included the flat sign in front of the Bb so that you don’t forget it ( normally it’s not shown in music because it’s already shown by the key signature)
It’s a nice easy pattern to remember.
I like to play the scale with a certain rhythm when I’m practicing. Try it and see if it helps you:
| 0 | 3 | 5 | rest |
| 0 | 3 | 5 | rest |
Also don’t forget to practice coming down the scale again e.g. :
| 5 | 3 | 0 | rest |
| 5 | 3 | 0 | rest |
Here is a video if you’d like to hear this scale:
Version 2: G minor Pentatonic Over 2 strings
Here is a 2 octave version, playing on the bass string for the lower octave and the top string for the higher octave:
You have the option of playing the G in the middle on either the open top string or the 12th fret of the bass string when you are playing 2 octaves. Personally I like to play the open top string because it gives me a little bit of time to get back to the lower frets for the next octave.
Version 3: The Notes Of The G minor Pentatonic On All 3 Strings
This next version is a bit more difficult to read as there are lots of alternative fret numbers shown but it includes the notes on all 3 strings:
You can use this to play across the strings e.g. 0 3 5 on the bass string, 0 3 5 on the middle string, 0 3 5 7 10 12 on the top string. This is a great way to learn all the notes on the fretboard that are included in the G minor pentatonic.
Starting To Use The Minor Pentatonic To Improvise Over The 12-Bar Blues
In another lesson I will show you how to turn the minor pentatonic scale into a blues scale with the addition of just one note. (See the bottom of the page for the link)
However you can use the minor pentatonic over a blues chord progression. This makes it a really useful scale for playing licks over a 12-bar blues played with power chords.
Try using the minor pentatonic with the 12-string blues. Use the open strings G power chord with the C and D power chords on the 5th and 7th frets.
The easiest way to do this is to record yourself, either on your phone or with a looper pedal, playing a simple 12 bar blues pattern of chords:
| G power | G power | G power | G power |
| C power | C power | G power | G power |
| D power | C power | G power | D power |
Then using just the 0 3 and 5 frets of the bass and middle strings, try playing a few notes and have fun.
If you really don’t know where to start try this:
This is a really easy beginner-friendly melody to play with the 12 bar blues in G and I’d like to encourage you to have a go at improvising yourself. You’ll find that some notes work better in some places than others.
When you are playing the C and D chords, try using the notes from these minor pentatonic scales as well as the ones from the G minor pentatonic. You will find that there is a fair amount of overlap between the scales.
Let’s move onto the D minor pentatonic first since the middle string is a D so to me it feels slightly easier.
D Minor Pentatonic On Cigar Box Guitar
Version 1: D minor Pentatonic On 1 String
You will see that this is the same fret numbers as the 1 string G minor pentatonic, but played on the middle string rather than the bass or top string:
Practice playing up and down this scale as I’ve shown you before.
Version 2: D minor Pentatonic On 2 Strings
I think this is one of the easiest ways to start to learn to play the D minor pentatonic across 2 strings:
There are several alternatives to this though:
- You could play the 3rd note, G, on the 5th fret of the middle string if you prefer.
- Also the 1st note, D, could be played on the 7th fret of the bass string.
- The 4th note can be played on the 7th fret of the middle string.
This also gives us 7 / 3 5 7/ 5 7 starting with the bass string and moving across all three strings.
None of these patterns is quite as easy to remember as the G minor pentatonic, according to the fret numbers, so experiment to see which you find easier.
This is the scale that the song Wayfaring Stranger uses. If you’d like to learn this song you can see the post here: Using The Minor Pentatonic Scale : Wayfaring Stranger and a YouTube video is to follow.
Version 3: Attempting 2 Octaves Of D minor Pentatonic
You will see that we can’t quite play 2 octaves of this scale on the 3-string guitar but I have included some of the lower notes that can be played as these are useful.
C Minor Pentatonic Scale On 3-String Guitar
By now, you might feel confident enough to work out the notes of the C minor pentatonic, but if not, here they are:
Version 1: Easy C minor Pentatonic On GDG Tuned Cigar Box Guitar
As you can see, there is an option of playing the 2nd note, Eb, on the 8th fret of the bass string or the 1st fret of the middle string.
Version 2: C Minor Pentatonic Scale Over 2 Octaves On 3-String Guitar
Again, this isn’t the easiest version to read because it has lots of fret numbers, but it does give you several ways of playing the notes:
That’s the last scale I will show you today, but here is a way to work out other minor pentatonic scales:
Other Minor Pentatonic Scales On the 3-String Cigar Box Guitar
Here is an example of how to use the table from the top of this page to work out other scales. Here is a reminder of the table with A minor pentatonic added:
| Note Of The Scale | Number Of Frets Above The First Note Of The Scale | Actual Fret Number On Bass ( and Top) String for A minor pentatonic |
| 1 | 0 | 2 |
| b3 | 3 | 5 |
| 4 | 5 | 7 |
| 5 | 7 | 9 |
| 7 | 10 | 12 |
| 8 ( the octave) | 12 | 14 |
Other Scales To Look At If You’ve Found This Helpful
I hope you see the value in learning different scales. They are good finger exercises for warming up before you play and good mental exercises to help you find your way around the fretboard.
Here are a couple of other posts you might be interested in:
Blues Scale On The Cigar Box Guitar
G, D and A Major Scales On Cigar Box Guitar In Open G