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A Natural Minor Scale – Guitar

The seven-note minor scale (the Aeolian mode): darker and more melodic than the minor pentatonic. 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 natural minor scale

Formula: 1 – 2 – b3 – 4 – 5 – b6 – b7. Use it to solo over songs in A minor, and over A blues and rock progressions.

Same seven notes as the C major scale (its relative major).

A natural minor scale on the whole neck

EADGBe123456789101112131415EFGBCDEFGBCDEFGBCDEFGBCDEFGBCDEFGBCDEFGBCDEFGBCDEFG
A Natural Minor Scale on the whole neck, frets 0-15. Gold = the root (A).
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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 4–9

EADGBe456789BCDEFGBBCDEEFGBC
A Natural Minor Scale, box 1
e|---------------------------------5-7-8-|
B|---------------------------5-6-8-------|
G|-------------------4-5-7-9-------------|
D|-------------5-7-9---------------------|
A|-------5-7-8---------------------------|
E|-5-7-8---------------------------------|

Box 2 · frets 6–11

EADGBe67891011BCDEFGBCDEFFGBCD
A Natural Minor Scale, box 2
e|----------------------------------------------7--8--10-|
B|-------------------------------------6--8--10----------|
G|----------------------------7--9--10-------------------|
D|-------------------7--9--10----------------------------|
A|----------7--8--10-------------------------------------|
E|-7--8--10----------------------------------------------|

Box 3 · frets 8–14

EADGBe891011121314CDEFFGBBCDEEFGGBCCDEF
A Natural Minor Scale, box 3
e|-------------------------------------------------------------8--10-12-13-|
B|-------------------------------------------------8--10-12-13-------------|
G|-------------------------------------9--10-12-14-------------------------|
D|-------------------------9--10-12-14-------------------------------------|
A|-------------8--10-12-14-------------------------------------------------|
E|-8--10-12-13-------------------------------------------------------------|

Box 4 · frets 11–16

EADGBe111213141516EFGBCDEFGBBCDEFG
A Natural Minor Scale, box 4
e|----------------------------------------------12-13-15-|
B|-------------------------------------12-13-15----------|
G|----------------------------12-14-16-------------------|
D|-------------------12-14-15----------------------------|
A|----------12-14-15-------------------------------------|
E|-12-13-15----------------------------------------------|

Box 5 · frets 1–6

EADGBe123456EFGBCDDEFGGBCBCDEFEFG
A Natural Minor Scale, box 5
e|---------------------------------1-3-5-|
B|-------------------------1-3-5-6-------|
G|-------------------2-4-5---------------|
D|-------------2-3-5---------------------|
A|-------2-3-5---------------------------|
E|-1-3-5---------------------------------|

3 A minor licks to play with it

Box 1 licks from the JamEase lick library, written for A minor (h = hammer-on, p = pull-off, / = slide, b = bend, ~ = vibrato).

Repeat with a twist

Picking · Rock

Say a little idea twice. The second time, change the ending.

e|-----------------|
B|-----5-------5-8-|
G|-5-7---7-5-7-----|
D|-----------------|
A|-----------------|
E|-----------------|

Pull-off ladder

Pull-off · Rock

Two notes a string, pulling off, all the way down to the home note.

e|-8p-5-----------------|
B|-------8p-5-----------|
G|-------------7p-5-----|
D|-------------------7--|
A|----------------------|
E|----------------------|

Bend, hold, fall

Bend · Vibrato · Soulful

Bend up, hold it, let it fall back, and walk down to the root.

e|---------------------|
B|-8br-5---------------|
G|---------7---5-------|
D|-----------------7~--|
A|---------------------|
E|---------------------|

A minor backing track

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

A Minor Blues Backing Track - Best Backing Jam Tracks - Slow Minor Blues 80 BPM A Minor Pentatonic – Backing Jam Tracks

Songs in A minor

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

All songs in A minor →

Other scales in A

Natural Minor Scale in other keys

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

Learn to solo

FAQ

What notes are in the A natural minor scale?

A, B, C, D, E, F, G. The formula is 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7.

Where do I start playing the A natural minor scale on guitar?

Start with Box 1, frets 4–9. The root note A is on the low E string at fret 5.

What is the relative major of A minor?

C major – it uses the same notes.