B Minor Pentatonic
The key rock guitar keeps landing in.
B minor pentatonic is B, D, E, F# and A. It lives at the 7th fret, where bends take the least effort — which is a large part of why so much rock lead playing happens here.
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Minor pentatonic, two frets up from A
Same formula as always: 1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7. B minor pentatonic is the A minor shape moved up two frets, so if you know one you already have this one — the work is hearing it, not fingering it.
- B D E F# A — one sharp, F#.
- Box 1 at the 7th fret, root on the low E string.
- It is A minor pentatonic plus two frets, nothing more.
Why the 7th fret is where solos go
At the 7th fret the frets are still wide enough for control but close enough that a full-tone bend costs little effort. The open B and open E strings are both in the scale, so phrases can fall off the box and still land right.
- Bends are easier here than down at the 3rd fret.
- Open B and open E belong to the scale.
- The relative major is D — the same five notes, different home.
Where B minor pentatonic lives
B minor is the standard key for rock on a guitar in standard tuning, and for a great deal of metal too. Use it over Bm, over a B minor blues, or over a riff built on the low E and A strings.
- Fits Bm, Bm7 and a B minor blues.
- The home key of a lot of rock and metal lead playing.
- Add F for the B blues scale.
B minor pentatonic is the A minor shape two frets up, in the part of the neck where bending is easiest — which is why rock keeps coming back to it.
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