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
- A♭1
- B♭2
- C3
- E♭5
- F6
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

Know the scale?
Now solo with it.
A guitar soloing course: 81 short lessons, each one ends with you jamming over a real backing track.
- From 3 notes to your own solos
- Every note on the neck, with sound and TAB
- 379 backing tracks in every key
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
e|---------------------4-6-| B|-----------------4-6-----| G|-------------3-5---------| D|---------3-6-------------| A|-----3-6-----------------| E|-4-6---------------------|
Box 2 · frets 5–9
e|---------------------6-8-| B|-----------------6-9-----| G|-------------5-8---------| D|---------6-8-------------| A|-----6-8-----------------| E|-6-8---------------------|
Box 3 · frets 8–11
e|-------------------------------8--11-| B|-------------------------9--11-------| G|-------------------8--10-------------| D|-------------8--10-------------------| A|-------8--11-------------------------| E|-8--11-------------------------------|
Box 4 · frets 10–13
e|-------------------------------11-13-| B|-------------------------11-13-------| G|-------------------10-13-------------| D|-------------10-13-------------------| A|-------11-13-------------------------| E|-11-13-------------------------------|
Box 5 · frets 1–4
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:
- Perfect – Ed Sheeran
- Viva La Vida – Coldplay
- Night Changes – One Direction
- Goodness Of God – Bethel Music
- Line Without A Hook – Ricky Montgomery
- The Greatest Showman - Never Enough – Misc Soundtrack
- Somebody To Love – Queen
- Firework – Katy Perry
- Enchanted – Taylor Swift
- Love Me Like You Do – Ellie Goulding
- The Sound Of Music - Edelweiss – Misc Musicals
- American Idiot – Green Day
Other scales in A♭
- G♯ Minor Pentatonic Scale
- G♯ Blues Scale
- A♭ Major Blues Scale
- A♭ Major Scale
- G♯ Natural Minor Scale
- G♯ Dorian Mode
- A♭ Mixolydian Mode
- G♯ Phrygian Mode
- A♭ Lydian Mode
- G♯ Harmonic Minor Scale
- G♯ Melodic Minor Scale
Major Pentatonic Scale in other keys
- C Major Pentatonic Scale
- D♭ Major Pentatonic Scale
- D Major Pentatonic Scale
- E♭ Major Pentatonic Scale
- E Major Pentatonic Scale
- F Major Pentatonic Scale
- F♯ Major Pentatonic Scale
- G Major Pentatonic Scale
- A Major Pentatonic Scale
- B♭ Major Pentatonic Scale
- B Major Pentatonic Scale
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.