Mandolin pentatonic scales
Four five-note scales in GDAE tuning, with printable tab, playback and note names. Start with one chart and play it slowly in both directions.
By TradTabPublished Updated
G major pentatonic
G, A, B, D and E: the first, second, third, fifth and sixth degrees of G major. The chart leaves out C and F#.
E minor pentatonic
E, G, A, B and D: the first, third, fourth, fifth and seventh degrees of E natural minor. These are also the notes of G major pentatonic.
D major pentatonic
D, E, F#, A and B: D major with its fourth and seventh degrees, G and C#, left out. Notice the larger steps between F# and A and between B and D.
A minor pentatonic
A, C, D, E and G: A natural minor with B and F left out. Return to the tune’s full melody when it uses either missing note.
Practise five notes, then return to the tune
Play G, A, B, D and E, then come back down to G. Keep a steady pulse and notice the larger jumps from B to D and E to G. Listen with the Play button before trying the pattern yourself.
Next, compare the pattern with G major, which adds C and F#. Choose a familiar phrase and check which of those two notes it needs. Keep them when playing the melody. A five-note pattern does not guarantee that every note will suit the chord underneath it.
These diagrams use GDAE. Mandolin sounds an octave above Irish tenor banjo and octave mandola, while the fret numbers stay the same. Check the mandolin tuner before practising.
Questions about pentatonics
A scale with five notes per octave. Major pentatonic uses degrees 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 of a major scale. Minor pentatonic uses degrees 1, 3, 4, 5 and 7 of natural minor. These four charts give one low-fret fingering in GDAE tuning.
G, A, B, D and E. Drop the C and the F sharp from the G major scale and they are what remains. E minor pentatonic is the same five notes centred on E.
A tune may use five notes, a fuller scale or notes that change between phrases. Check its actual melody. A pentatonic exercise gives you a small set of notes to practise, but it cannot supply the missing notes or rhythm of a tune you have not learned.
The note names can be the same, but the fret positions depend on the tuning. These charts are drawn for GDAE. A five-string chart in open G uses different strings and frets. GDAE has a fifth between each adjacent pair of strings or courses.
Theory references: Open Music Theory on pentatonic collections and modes andnotes outside a chord. The charts and practice steps are TradTab’s own examples.