E Major Pentatonic Scale Guitar

E Major Pentatonic Scale Guitar: Play The Pentatonic Major Scale in E in Multiple Fretboard Positions, With TAB, Notation & Scale Patterns

E major pentatonic scale guitar tab, notation & fretboard patterns: a complete lesson on how to play the pentatonic scale in E on your guitar.

Page Index

E Major Pentatonic Scale Guitar TAB, Notation, Fretboard Pattern & Lesson

With its clean, folky sound, the major pentatonic scale is a common scale in folk, blues, country and pop music.

There are many different ways of playing an E major pentatonic scale on guitar; on this page you’ll find some of the best and most widely-used fingerings.

Use the TABs, notation and patterns below to play the scale in one and two octaves - all over the guitar neck.

Related Pages on Guitar Command

Play this scale in other keys:

1 Octave E Major Pentatonic Scale Guitar TAB in Open Position

The notation / TAB below shows you how to play a 1 octave E major pentatonic scale in open position.

E Major Pentatonic 1 Octave Open Position

... You can extend the scale to 2 octaves, as shown in the TAB below:

2 Octave E Major Pentatonic Scale Open Position

E Major Pentatonic 2 Octave Open Position

2 Octave E Major Pentatonic Scale Guitar TAB

The TAB below shows a 2 octave E major pentatonic scale starting with the E at the 12th fret of the 6th (bottom E) string.

This is one of the most common (and easiest) ways of playing this scale. It uses pattern 1 (see further down the page).

E Major Pentatonic Scale Guitar TAB 2 Octave

Use the TAB below to play a 2 octave E major pentatonic scale an octave lower. It uses pattern 2 extended downwards to include the low E of the (open) bottom E string.

E Major Pentatonic Scale Guitar 2 Octaves

E Major Pentatonic Scale Guitar Patterns

You can use the patterns below to play E major pentatonic scales all over the guitar neck. The figures by the side of the patterns tell you at which fret the patterns should be played.

The green circles represent the tonic notes (i.e. the 'E' notes) of the scale. Play from a green circle to the next green circle for a 1 octave scale.

Patterns 1 and 5, which each contain 3 tonic notes, can be used to play 2 octave E major pentatonic scales.

The other patterns, having only 2 green circles, can be used to play 1 octave E major pentatonic scales. (Pattern 2 can be extended to include the low E of the open bottom E string in order to play a 2 octave scale.)

All of the patterns contain additional notes allowing you to extend the scale without changing fretboard position. The TABs below each pattern show the scales represented by the patterns and omit these extra notes.

E Major Pentatonic Pattern 1

E Major Pentatonic Scale Guitar Pattern 1

2 Octave E Major Pentatonic TAB Using Pattern 1

E Major Pentatonic Scale Guitar TAB 2 Octave

E Major Pentatonic Pattern 2

E Major Pentatonic Scale Guitar Pattern 2

 

1 Octave E Major Pentatonic Scale TAB Using Pattern 2

E Pentatonic Major Scale TAB 1 Octave

2 Octave E Major Pentatonic Scale TAB Using Pattern 2

You can play a 2 octave scale using pattern 2 by extending the scale downwards to include the open bottom E string:

E Major Pentatonic Scale Guitar 2 Octaves

E Major Pentatonic Pattern 3

E Major Pentatonic Scale Guitar Pattern 3

1 Octave E Major Pentatonic Scale TAB Using Pattern 3

E Pentatonic Major Scale TAB 1 Octave Pattern 3

E Major Pentatonic Pattern 4

E Major Pentatonic Scale Guitar Pattern 4

1 Octave E Major Pentatonic Scale TAB Using Pattern 4

E Pentatonic Major Scale TAB 1 Octave Pattern 4

E Major Pentatonic Pattern 5

E Major Pentatonic Scale Guitar Pattern 5

2 Octave E Major Pentatonic Scale TAB Using Pattern 5

E Pentatonic Major Scale TAB

Play Other Major Pentatonic Scales Using The Above Patterns

The major pentatonic scale patterns above are 'movable' (transposable). The numbers by the sides of the patterns show you where to play E pentatonic major scales, but you can play the scales in other positions in order to play other pentatonic major scales.

For example, you could move any of the patterns 3 frets higher in order to play a G major pentatonic scale.

The green circles on the patterns represent the tonic note of the scale (i.e. the 'E' notes in an E scale). Move your fingers so that the green circles are positioned over the tonic note of the scale you want to play (i.e. if you want to play a D major pentatonic scale, position your hands so that the green notes are over D notes on the fretboard.)

Notes In The E Major Pentatonic Scale

An E pentatonic major scale contains the following notes:

E, F#, G#, B, C#

The scale formula of the scale is : 1, 2, 3, 5, 6

Related Pages on Guitar Command

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