A major pentatonic scale
A major pentatonic scale is A – B – C♯ – E – F♯, with C♯ and F♯. Formula 1 2 3 5 6. Hit play and watch it light up on both instruments.
The notes, one step at a time
Counted in steps it goes W W W+H W W+H (W = whole step, H = half step, W+H = a step and a half). There are no half steps at all, which is why nothing in it clashes. The wide steps are C♯–E and F♯–A.
| Degree | Note | Interval from A | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | root | |
| 2 | B | major second | |
| 3 | C♯ | major third | |
| 5 | E | perfect fifth | |
| 6 | F♯ | major sixth |
How the major pentatonic scale sounds
A major pentatonic drops the two notes of A major that create half steps, the 4th and the 7th. What's left can't clash with itself, which is why it's the first scale many guitarists improvise with over a A chord.
Its relative minor pentatonic starts on F♯: same five notes, different home.
A major pentatonic scale is A major scale without D and G♯. Hear A major scale and compare.
Where your hands go
Keyboard players: two black (C♯ and F♯), three white.
On guitar the root sits at the 5th fret of the low E string. The box above covers frets 3–9 and holds 12 notes of the scale across all six strings; play it low string to high, two notes per string.
Chords that fit A major pentatonic scale
Five notes are too few to stack a chord on every degree, but these chords use only notes from the scale, so the scale fits over each of them: A, Asus2, A6, Aadd9, F♯m, F♯m7, Bsus2, Esus2, Bsus4, Esus4, F♯sus4.
Same notes, different home: F♯ minor pentatonic (starting on the 5th note, F♯). Play any of them over a drone on its first note and the mood changes, even though the keys you press don't.
Finding A major pentatonic on the neck
Anchor points for A: low E string fret 5, A string fret 0 and 12 (0 = open string). Starting frets for the five shapes: 2, 5, 7, 9 and 12. Each shape shares its top notes with the next one up. With no half steps there are no clashing notes to avoid, which is why it is the first scale many guitarists improvise with.
On the piano, A major pentatonic scale uses 2 black keys (C♯ and F♯) and 3 white.
A good drill once the scale is under your fingers: play it in thirds, skipping one note each time. Here that's A–C♯, B–E, C♯–F♯, E–A, F♯–B.
Drills for A major pentatonic
Running a scale straight up and down only teaches the order. These patterns use the same 5 notes and train your ear and fingers to jump around inside A major pentatonic scale.
- Groups of three: A B C♯ · B C♯ E · C♯ E F♯ · E F♯ A.
- Lean on F♯: A F♯ A F♯ A: the 6th keeps it sweet, with no half steps anywhere.
Close relatives of A major pentatonic scale
Major pentatonic scale in every key
A major pentatonic scale: questions
What are the notes of the A major pentatonic scale?
5 notes: A, B, C♯, E and F♯.
How many sharps or flats are in the A major pentatonic scale?
Two: C♯ and F♯.
What's the difference between A major pentatonic scale and A major scale?
It leaves out D and G♯.
What chords go with the A major pentatonic scale?
Any chord built only from its notes, for example A, Asus2, A6, Aadd9, F♯m and F♯m7.
Generated from the step pattern 2-2-3-2-3 and checked by the site's tests. Updated September 2026.