In this module, we’ll go over the five major pentatonic scale shapes for the chord of G major.

What is the Major Pentatonic Scale?

The pentatonic scale is a five note scale. It comes from the major scale, which is a seven note scale. In this lesson, we are going to be in the key of G major. The notes in a G major scale are G A B C D E F#. To turn our G major scale into a G major pentatonic scale, we just have to remove the 4th and 7th scale degrees. This leaves us with the notes G A B D E.

The Pentatonic Scale Shapes - shape 1 always starts root 6

Shape 1 - E major CAGED shape

The first major pentatonic scale shape starts with our G root note on the 3rd fret of the 6th string. With each of the shapes we learn, there will be a chord shape that will go along with it. In this case, it's an E major chord shape. We can also play this an octave higher using the same shape 12 frets up the neck.

Shape 1: Interactive TAB