G Major Pentatonic Scale on Guitar — 2 Shapes to Play the Whole Neck
G Major Pentatonic is a 5-note scale from the pentatonic family, a staple for rock, blues, and pop soloing — its notes are G A B D E, from the formula 1 2 3 5 6. Computed live for G, it resolves to 2 repeating shapes across the whole fretboard.
G Major Pentatonic Scale Notes
| Degree | Note | Interval |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | G | 1 |
| 2 | A | 2 |
| 3 | B | 3 |
| 5 | D | 5 |
| 6 | E | 6 |
G Major Pentatonic Formula
Degree formula: 1 2 3 5 6
G Major Pentatonic on the Guitar Fretboard
The notes of Major Pentatonic repeat across the guitar fretboard in connected positions. Use the shape below to identify root notes, scale degrees, and neighboring shapes.
- Frets 3–12 (span 9 frets)
- Lowest note G, highest note E
- 3 G root notes, on the E string (fret 3), D string (fret 5), B string (fret 8)
How to practice this shape
- Start on the root — G at fret 3 on the E string. Play up to the highest note in the shape, then back down, staying inside frets 3–12.
- Your hand shifts 4 times as you cross strings: E→A (+2), D→G (+2), G→B (+1), B→E (+2). Those crossings — not the notes — are what this position is really asking you to learn.
- Once it feels automatic, move on to the next of the 2 shapes — together they cover the whole neck, and the same pattern repeats from there.
Diatonic chords
These are the 2 chords built from G Major Pentatonic's own notes — the ones that will sound like they belong when you're writing a progression, backing a melody, or jamming in this key. The Roman numeral shows each chord's role in the key: capital for major, lowercase for minor, ° for diminished, + for augmented. Not every scale produces a clean chord on every degree — where that happens, we show it honestly instead of forcing a name that doesn't fit.
G Major Pentatonic Scale
G Major Pentatonic is G Major (Ionian) with its 4th and 7th degrees removed.
G Major Pentatonic FAQ
G Major Pentatonic contains the notes G, A, B, D, E - 5 notes total.
G Major Pentatonic's formula is 1 2 3 5 6.
The diatonic chords in G Major Pentatonic are G, Em.