D Minor Pentatonic Scale

What is the D Minor Pentatonic Scale?

The minor pentatonic is probably the single most-played scale on guitar — and for good reason. By stripping the natural minor down to just five notes (removing the 2nd and 6th), you eliminate the intervals most likely to clash, leaving a scale that sounds great over almost any minor or blues progression right out of the box. Here's how the D Minor Pentatonic Scale lays out on the fretboard.

Notes and Positions

The most popular guitar scale. Blues and rock foundation. On bass, this scale becomes a toolkit for strong roots, passing tones, and melodic fills that still support the groove. Think in root-on-E and root-on-A boxes, then adapt the same notes for 5-string bass when the low B string gives you another root below the pattern. In the key of D, the notes are: D, F, G, A, C.

How to Use It

You'll often hear it in Blues, Rock, Pop, and Jazz. A good way to internalize the sound is to sing the root, then sing a few scale degrees before you play them.

Loop a simple drum groove and keep every note locked to the subdivision before adding fills. Use the interactive fretboard above to spot repeats of the same note on different strings and frets.