B Major Pentatonic

Character

The major scale with the 4th and 7th removed. Those two were the notes that formed major's half steps, so nothing you play here clashes.

That is why it is both the first scale a beginner learns and one that experienced players never stop using. A great deal of country, pop and rock melody lives inside these five notes.

With fewer notes the shape is simple: two notes per string, laid out regularly across a position. It sits in the hand quickly.

Relative key

Shares its notes with G# Minor Pentatonic. Only the root differs. G# Minor Pentatonic →

Practice

Five notes are forgiving, which also makes them easy to make dull. Bends, slides and vibrato — filling the space between notes — are what separate players here.

Try the same five notes as a minor pentatonic. Move the root down three semitones and the identical set of notes reads completely differently.