B minor pentatonic scale
B minor pentatonic scale is B – D – E – F♯ – A, with F♯. Formula 1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7. Play it, then slow the tempo until every note is clear.
B minor pentatonic scale, note by note
The step pattern is W+H W W W+H W (W = whole step, H = half step, W+H = a step and a half). With no half steps, any two notes of it sound fine together. The wide steps are B–D and F♯–A.
| Degree | Note | Interval from B | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B | root | |
| ♭3 | D | minor third | |
| 4 | E | perfect fourth | |
| 5 | F♯ | perfect fifth | |
| ♭7 | A | minor seventh |
How the minor pentatonic scale sounds
The minor pentatonic is the most-used soloing scale in rock and blues. It keeps the 1, ♭3, 4, 5 and ♭7 of the minor scale, so over a B minor or B7 chord almost nothing can sound wrong.
Two bends define this box: E pushed up a whole step to F♯, and A pushed up to B.
B minor pentatonic scale is B natural minor scale without C♯ and G. Hear B natural minor scale and compare.
On piano and on guitar
F♯ is on black key; the rest are white.
The guitar box starts with the root at the 7th fret of the low E string and spans frets 5–11: 12 notes, low string to high, two per string.
What to play it over
Improvising in B minor pentatonic? It fits over Bm, Bm7, Bsus4, D, Dsus2, Esus2, Asus2, Esus4, Asus4, D6, Dadd9.
If you know B minor pentatonic scale, you already know the notes of D major pentatonic (starting on the 2nd note, D).
B minor pentatonic scale across the fretboard
The root, B, sits at fret 7 on the low E string and 2 and 14 on the A string. The five pentatonic boxes start on the low E string at frets 2, 5, 7, 10 and 12; each box overlaps the next, and together they cover the whole neck. The first box sits under one hand with two notes per string, the shape most rock and blues solos start from.
On the piano, B minor pentatonic scale uses 1 black key (F♯) and 4 white.
Try it in thirds to stop it sounding like an exercise: B–E, D–F♯, E–A, F♯–B, A–D, then back down.
Practice patterns for B minor pentatonic scale
Once B minor pentatonic is comfortable up and down, break the order. Each pattern below uses only its 5 notes.
- Three-note runs: B D E · D E F♯ · E F♯ A · F♯ A B.
- Land on E: B E B E B: the 4th and ♭7 give the rock and blues sound.
Scales to compare with B minor pentatonic
Minor pentatonic scale in every key
B minor pentatonic scale: questions
What are the notes of the B minor pentatonic scale?
B, D, E, F♯, A, B. As degrees: 1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7.
How many sharps or flats are in the B minor pentatonic scale?
One: F♯.
What's the difference between B minor pentatonic scale and B natural minor scale?
It leaves out C♯ and G.
What chords go with the B minor pentatonic scale?
Any chord built only from its notes, for example Bm, Bm7, Bsus4, D, Dsus2 and Esus2.
Every note on this page is computed from 1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7 and tested. Updated September 2026.