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A♭ pentatonic major scale

Pentatonic5 notes · A♭ + B♭ + E♭

A♭pentatonic major

KeyboardRight hand · 1 = thumb

RootIn scale

Fingering guideOne octave · both hands

Crossing
Fingering for A♭ pentatonic major, going up
HandA♭B♭CE♭FA♭
Right hand231thumb under21thumb under2
Left hand32122 over133 over

1 thumb · 2 index · 3 middle · 4 ring · 5 little

Right hand: the thumb tucks under onto C, then the thumb tucks under onto F. Left hand: finger 2 crosses over onto E♭, then finger 3 crosses over onto A♭.

Chords in the key

Chords are built by stacking every other note of a seven-note scale. Pentatonic major has 5, so try the major scale for its chords.

Hand
Tempo
100 BPM

How to read a scale

Steps, degrees, fingers.

  1. The step pattern

    Every scale is a pattern of whole and half steps. A♭ pentatonic major goes W–W–W+H–W–W+H: the step and a halfs between C and E♭, and between F and A♭ give it its colour.

  2. The degrees

    Number the notes from the root: 1 A♭, 2 B♭, 3 C, 5 E♭, 6 F. The degrees stay the same in every key, so a pattern learned in A♭ works in any other.

  3. The fingering

    Right hand: the thumb tucks under onto C, then the thumb tucks under onto F. Left hand: finger 2 crosses over onto E♭, then finger 3 crosses over onto A♭. Practise the crossings slowly; once they're smooth, raise the tempo.

All 216 scales

Every scale and mode on every root, each with its own page.

C

D♭

D

E♭

E

F

G♭

G

A♭

A

B♭

B

Practise it on a real keyboard.

Plug in a MIDI keyboard: the Melodio app shows every scale with its fingering and chords, and names what you play. Free, offline.

Download Melodio

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