Pentatonic Scale Guitar: The Complete Guide to All 5 Positions

Watch Daniel connect the positions

Play this first. Play shape 1 low to high, two notes on each string, and listen for A at the bottom and the top, two octaves apart (computed).

Then watch the video from 3:46 to 4:54, where Daniel takes one idea, a fourth on one string, into the next position. His definition: “An idea can be just, um, a vibe, basically.”

The five shapes at a glance

Shapes are numbered by where they start on the 6th string, low to high: frets 5, 8, 10, 12 and 15. These are computed from standard tuning and the pentatonic formula.

In every chart the low E string is on the left, fret numbers run down the side, and each dot shows its note name.

Download the printable chart (PDF) (opens in a new tab)

What the pentatonic scale is

“Pentatonic” means five tones. The minor pentatonic is the root, b3, 4, 5 and b7; the major pentatonic is the root, 2, 3, 5 and 6.

Both are a seven-note scale with two notes taken out. Daniel’s way to say it:

“You learn your minor scales, you learn your major scales, and then you reduce it from seven to five. You have more space. That’s it.”

Daniel Weiss, in a lesson (8 March 2026)

Take A natural minor (A B C D E F G), remove B and F, and A, C, D, E, G is left. Take C major, remove F and B (the 4 and the 7), and C, D, E, G, A is left.

Why there are five shapes

Five notes give you five places to start on the 6th string, so the fretboard divides into five shapes. Each has two notes per string.

Daniel says he always comes back to the pentatonic: “You really want to meditate in it and come up with all those beautiful sounds and ideas.”

Find the roots

The root is the note a shape is named after. In A minor pentatonic it is A, the filled dot in every chart.

Daniel starts with the half steps E to F and B to C on every string: “After a few days, what you’re going to have on all the strings is these anchor points.” When you are not sure of a note, he has you count down from the 12th fret.

Shape 1 starts on the root on the 6th string. For G minor pentatonic it starts on fret 3 (computed, same shape).

“Now you’re getting out of the box, because after a while you will map out the entire fretboard.”

Daniel Weiss, in a lesson (6 September 2026)

How the five shapes connect

Neighboring shapes overlap (computed from standard tuning). Shape 1 and shape 2 share one note on every string, six notes in all, and shape 2 starts where shape 1 ends.

The six notes shapes 1 and 2 share: C (6th string, fret 8), E (5th, fret 7), A (4th, fret 7), D (3rd, fret 7), G (2nd, fret 8), C (1st, fret 8).

Shape 5 meets shape 1 the same way, twelve frets up, with all six shared notes on fret 17.

“I try to just connect those positions while keeping an idea going.”

Daniel Weiss, from the video above (4:46)

Play this. Take one idea in shape 1 (it can be as small as Daniel’s fourth on one string), then play the same idea in shape 2.

Listen for the shared notes, which sound the same in both shapes. Daniel: “So if you know you move to the next position of the pentatonic scale, you can bring the same kind of thing.”

10:49 Watch the full lesson10 Levels of Minor Pentatonic SoloingThe five positions over a loop, then one motif developed across the fretboard by connecting them.

The major pentatonic uses the same shapes

C major pentatonic has the same five notes as A minor pentatonic, so it lives in the same five shapes. Only the root moves.

Daniel makes the same move: “You can take this second position of A minor pentatonic, or you can look at it as a major, relative major pentatonic.”

After the five shapes

Next step: 5 Modern Pentatonic Scale Tricks, where Daniel plays and explains the ideas below.

• Three notes, then one. The first idea in his modern pentatonic lesson.
• Add the 2nd, B in A minor. In his words, it adds a “positive vibe to any minor chord.”
• Fourths on one string: root to 4th, or 5th to root.
• Skip a string: root, 4th, then the b7.
• Double stops: two notes at a time, then three, then arpeggiated.
• The blues note: one chromatic note between the 4 and 5, Eb in A.
• Dorian color: add the 2 and the 6, B and F# in A.
• Over chord changes: the tricks page picks a pentatonic for each chord of a ii-V-I.
• Follow the chord: its substitution map shows every choice note by note.
• Superimposition: a pentatonic from another root over one chord, on the same map.

Three of Daniel’s lessons on these ideas:

8:33 Add the 2ndCoolest Pentatonic Hacks EverReplace the root of each triad with the 9, then the fragments of a D minor pentatonic phrase.

9:34 Fourths and string skipsThese Pentatonic Scale Ideas Will Transform Your PlayingFourths on one string, a root, 4th, b7 string skip and sus sounds, all from E minor pentatonic.

4:43 Blues note and DorianEssential Pentatonic Scale Tricks for Advanced LinesMoving between positions, then the flat five, the Dorian natural six and chromatics around the chord tones.

Practice

1. Say the note names as you play a shape: A, C, D, E, G. Daniel’s habit for learning the fretboard is to say each name while you play it.
2. Play the scale on one string. On the A string in A minor (computed): open, 3, 5, 7, 10, 12. Daniel: “make sure you can play the pentatonic scale on one string.”
3. Move one idea from shape 1 to shape 2, then on to shape 3. Daniel: once you have an idea, you can start “developing it across the entire fretboard by connecting all of these positions.”

Frequently asked questions

What is the pentatonic scale on guitar?

A five-note scale. The minor pentatonic is the root, b3, 4, 5 and b7; in A minor that is A, C, D, E and G. On guitar it forms five shapes that together cover the fretboard.

How many pentatonic positions are there?

Five, one for each note of the scale, often called the five pentatonic boxes. Each shape has two notes per string, and the pattern repeats twelve frets higher.

How do you connect the pentatonic positions?

Neighboring shapes share one note on every string, six notes in all, so the shapes link up. Daniel’s advice is to keep one idea going as you move: “I try to just connect those positions while keeping an idea going.”

What is the difference between the major and minor pentatonic?

With the same root they are different notes: A minor pentatonic is R b3 4 5 b7 (A, C, D, E, G); A major pentatonic is R 2 3 5 6 (A, B, C#, E, F#). Relative pairs share notes: C major pentatonic is A minor pentatonic with C as the root, so it uses the same five shapes.

What is the difference between the pentatonic and the blues scale?

The blues scale adds one chromatic note, the b5, between the 4 and the 5. In A minor that note is Eb. The pentatonic without it has no chromatic note.

Next steps

• 5 Modern Pentatonic Scale Tricks, the next step
• Modern pentatonic guitar solos
• Upgrade your pentatonic licks
• The blues scale
• Guitar triads and arpeggios
• Guitar scales, improvisation and voice leading
• The diminished scale, a sound beyond the pentatonic