G♯ minor pentatonic scale (A♭ minor pentatonic)
G♯ minor pentatonic scale is G♯ – B – C♯ – D♯ – F♯, with G♯, C♯, D♯ and F♯. Formula 1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7. Press play and follow the keys.
Notes and steps
From G♯ upward the gaps are W+H W W W+H W (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 G♯–B and D♯–F♯.
| Degree | Note | Interval from G♯ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | G♯ | root | |
| ♭3 | B | minor third | |
| 4 | C♯ | perfect fourth | |
| 5 | D♯ | perfect fifth | |
| ♭7 | F♯ | minor seventh |
What G♯ minor pentatonic sounds like
Bend the 4th up to the 5th, slide into the ♭3, and you have most of the vocabulary of blues-rock soloing in G♯. It's five notes that forgive almost anything.
Two bends define this box: C♯ pushed up a whole step to D♯, and F♯ pushed up to G♯.
G♯ minor pentatonic scale is G♯ natural minor scale without A♯ and E. Hear G♯ natural minor scale and compare.
Where your hands go
G♯, C♯, D♯ and F♯ are on black keys; the rest are white.
The guitar box starts with the root at the 4th fret of the low E string and spans frets 2–8: 12 notes, low string to high, two per string.
Chords that fit G♯ minor pentatonic scale
These chords are built only from the scale's notes, so it sits over any of them: G♯m, G♯m7, A♭sus4, B, Bsus2, C♯sus2, F♯sus2, C♯sus4, F♯sus4, B6, Badd9.
If you know G♯ minor pentatonic scale, you already know the notes of B major pentatonic (starting on the 2nd note, B).
Finding G♯ minor pentatonic on the neck
The root, G♯, sits at fret 4 on the low E string and 11 on the A string. Starting frets for the five shapes: 2, 4, 7, 9 and 11. Each shape shares its top notes with the next one up. The first box sits under one hand with two notes per string, the shape most rock and blues solos start from.
On the piano, G♯ minor pentatonic scale uses 4 black keys (G♯, C♯, D♯ and F♯) and 1 white.
Try it in thirds to stop it sounding like an exercise: G♯–C♯, B–D♯, C♯–F♯, D♯–G♯, F♯–B, then back down.
Three ways to practise G♯ minor pentatonic
Once G♯ minor pentatonic is comfortable up and down, break the order. Each pattern below uses only its 5 notes.
- Up in threes: G♯ B C♯ · B C♯ D♯ · C♯ D♯ F♯ · D♯ F♯ G♯.
- Land on C♯: G♯ C♯ G♯ C♯ G♯: the 4th and ♭7 give the rock and blues sound.
Try next, from G♯
Minor pentatonic scale in every key
G♯ minor pentatonic scale: questions
What are the notes of the G♯ minor pentatonic scale?
G♯, B, C♯, D♯ and F♯, then G♯ again at the octave. Formula: 1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7.
How many sharps or flats are in the G♯ minor pentatonic scale?
Four: G♯, C♯, D♯ and F♯.
What's the difference between G♯ minor pentatonic scale and G♯ natural minor scale?
It leaves out A♯ and E.
What chords go with the G♯ minor pentatonic scale?
Any chord built only from its notes, for example G♯m, G♯m7, A♭sus4, B, Bsus2 and C♯sus2.
Notes and fingering generated from the scale formula and checked automatically against the step pattern. Updated September 2026.