Western · Open · consonant
Major Pentatonic Scale
A five-note scale with no semitone clashes, the major pentatonic sounds consonant over almost anything — the reason it is everywhere in folk, country, pop and rock. Remove the two notes most likely to clash and it is hard to play a wrong note.
Open the interactive Major Pentatonic scale →On the piano keyboard
Major Pentatonic scale shown on C
RootScale tone
Major Pentatonic scale — degrees on C
Shown on root C — the same interval pattern applies in every key.
| Degree | Note | Interval | Arabic solfège |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C | 1 | دو |
| 2 | D | 2 | ري |
| 3 | E | 3 | مي |
| 4 | G | 5 | صول |
| 5 | A | 6 | لا |
| 6 | C | 8 | دو (octave) |
Interval formula
1 2 3 5 6
Major Pentatonic scale on every key — keyboard diagrams
C
C#
D
Eb
E
F
F#
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
Major Pentatonic scale in every key
| Key | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | C | D | E | G | A |
| C# | C# | D# | E# | G# | A# |
| D | D | E | F# | A | B |
| Eb | Eb | F | G | Bb | C |
| E | E | F# | G# | B | C# |
| F | F | G | A | C | D |
| F# | F# | G# | A# | C# | D# |
| G | G | A | B | D | E |
| Ab | Ab | Bb | C | Eb | F |
| A | A | B | C# | E | F# |
| Bb | Bb | C | D | F | G |
| B | B | C# | D# | F# | G# |
Diatonic chords (key of C)
| Degree | Chord | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| I | Csus | C · E · A |
| II | Dsus | D · G · C |
| III | Esus | E · A · D |
| IV | Gsus | G · C · E |
| V | Asus | A · D · G |