F♯ major pentatonic scale (G♭ major pentatonic)
F♯ major pentatonic scale is F♯ – G♯ – A♯ – C♯ – D♯, with F♯, G♯, A♯, C♯ and D♯. Formula 1 2 3 5 6. Hit play and watch it light up on both instruments.
Notes and steps
The step pattern is W W W+H W W+H (W = whole step, H = half step, W+H = a step and a half). Not one half step, so no two notes rub against each other. The wide steps are A♯–C♯ and D♯–F♯.
| Degree | Note | Interval from F♯ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | F♯ | root | |
| 2 | G♯ | major second | |
| 3 | A♯ | major third | |
| 5 | C♯ | perfect fifth | |
| 6 | D♯ | major sixth |
What F♯ major pentatonic sounds like
Country licks, folk melodies and a lot of bright rock solos come from this shape. Over a F♯ major chord every note of F♯ major pentatonic is safe to land on.
Its relative minor pentatonic starts on D♯: same five notes, different home.
F♯ major pentatonic scale is F♯ major scale without B and E♯. Hear F♯ major scale and compare.
On piano and on guitar
F♯, G♯, A♯, C♯ and D♯ are on black keys; the rest are white.
The guitar box starts with the root at the 2nd fret of the low E string and spans frets 0–6: 12 notes, low string to high, two per string.
What to play it over
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: F♯, F♯sus2, F♯6, F♯add9, E♭m, E♭m7, A♭sus2, C♯sus2, A♭sus4, C♯sus4, E♭sus4.
If you know F♯ major pentatonic scale, you already know the notes of E♭ minor pentatonic (starting on the 5th note, E♭).
F♯ major pentatonic scale across the fretboard
Anchor points for F♯: low E string fret 2 and 14, A string fret 9. Starting frets for the five shapes: 2, 4, 6, 9 and 11. 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, every note of F♯ major pentatonic scale is a black key.
Thirds make the scale sound musical instead of step-by-step: F♯–A♯, G♯–C♯, A♯–D♯, C♯–F♯, D♯–G♯.
Three ways to practise F♯ 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 F♯ major pentatonic scale.
- Groups of three: F♯ G♯ A♯ · G♯ A♯ C♯ · A♯ C♯ D♯ · C♯ D♯ F♯.
- Lean on D♯: F♯ D♯ F♯ D♯ F♯: the 6th keeps it sweet, with no half steps anywhere.
Try next, from F♯
Major pentatonic scale in every key
F♯ major pentatonic scale: questions
What are the notes of the F♯ major pentatonic scale?
F♯, G♯, A♯, C♯ and D♯, then F♯ again at the octave. Formula: 1 2 3 5 6.
How many sharps or flats are in the F♯ major pentatonic scale?
Five: F♯, G♯, A♯, C♯ and D♯.
What's the difference between F♯ major pentatonic scale and F♯ major scale?
It leaves out B and E♯.
What chords go with the F♯ major pentatonic scale?
Any chord built only from its notes, for example F♯, F♯sus2, F♯6, F♯add9, E♭m and E♭m7.
Generated from the step pattern 2-2-3-2-3 and checked by the site's tests. Updated September 2026.