Guitar scales › Major Pentatonic Scale

A♭ Major Pentatonic Scale – Guitar

The bright, sweet-sounding pentatonic: country, pop and classic rock solos over major-key songs. Here it is in A♭: the notes, the whole neck, all five boxes with TAB, and a backing track to practise over.

Notes in the A♭ major pentatonic scale

Formula: 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 – 6. Use it to solo over songs in A♭ major.

Same five notes as the F minor pentatonic scale – the shapes are identical, only the home note changes.

A♭ major pentatonic scale on the whole neck

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Ab Major Pentatonic Scale on the whole neck, frets 0-15. Gold = the root (Ab).
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The 5 boxes (positions) with TAB

Each box is one hand position. Learn Box 1 first: play it up with the TAB, then back down, then move to the next box – together they cover the whole neck.

Box 1 · frets 3–6

EADGBe3456BbCEbFBbCEbFBb
Ab Major Pentatonic Scale, box 1
e|---------------------4-6-|
B|-----------------4-6-----|
G|-------------3-5---------|
D|---------3-6-------------|
A|-----3-6-----------------|
E|-4-6---------------------|

Box 2 · frets 5–9

EADGBe56789BbCEbFBbCEbFBbC
Ab Major Pentatonic Scale, box 2
e|---------------------6-8-|
B|-----------------6-9-----|
G|-------------5-8---------|
D|---------6-8-------------|
A|-----6-8-----------------|
E|-6-8---------------------|

Box 3 · frets 8–11

EADGBe891011CEbFBbCEbFBbCEb
Ab Major Pentatonic Scale, box 3
e|-------------------------------8--11-|
B|-------------------------9--11-------|
G|-------------------8--10-------------|
D|-------------8--10-------------------|
A|-------8--11-------------------------|
E|-8--11-------------------------------|

Box 4 · frets 10–13

EADGBe10111213EbFBbCEbFBbCEbF
Ab Major Pentatonic Scale, box 4
e|-------------------------------11-13-|
B|-------------------------11-13-------|
G|-------------------10-13-------------|
D|-------------10-13-------------------|
A|-------11-13-------------------------|
E|-11-13-------------------------------|

Box 5 · frets 1–4

EADGBe1234FBbCEbFBbCEbF
Ab Major Pentatonic Scale, box 5
e|---------------------1-4-|
B|-----------------1-4-----|
G|-------------1-3---------|
D|---------1-3-------------|
A|-----1-3-----------------|
E|-1-4---------------------|

A♭ major backing track

Play the boxes over this, starting and ending phrases on the gold root notes.

G# major Backing Track - G sharp - Slow Classic Rock Ballad Guitar Jam Backtrack | TS 94 – Tomas Sandanus

Songs in A♭ major

These songs are in A♭ major, so this is a scale that fits for soloing over them:

All songs in A♭ major →

Other scales in A♭

Major Pentatonic Scale in other keys

Put it to use: solo with it, step by step, starting with three notes.

FAQ

What notes are in the Ab major pentatonic scale?

Ab, Bb, C, Eb, F. The formula is 1 2 3 5 6.

Where do I start playing the Ab major pentatonic scale on guitar?

Start with Box 1, frets 3–6. The root note Ab is on the low E string at fret 4.

What is the relative minor of Ab major?

F minor – it uses the same notes.