Looking for guitar scales tabs? You’re in the right place!
In this free ultimate guide you will learn:
- 2 quick and easy tips that will make you learn scales at lightening speed.
- 4 essential guitar scales tabs that will make you sound incredible!
- The top secret tip that will help you learn scales in ALL keys.
50,000+ guitar learners get our world-class guitar tips & tutorials sent straight to their inbox: Click here to join them
4 of the most popular scales used by all guitarists are:
- The Major Scale.
- The Minor Scale.
- The Minor Penatonic.
- The Blues Scale
For the purpose of these examples, we’re going to show you these scales in the key of A.
Let’s get cracking!
Guitar Scales Tabs | The Major Scale
The major scale is one of the most versatile scales you can learn. It can be used in a variety of genres such as rock, pop, blues, country and even jazz.
It has a bright and positive sound.
Here’s the guitar scales tabs:
When can I use this scale?
This scale works exclusively over major keys.
For example, if you were playing in the key of A major. The A major scale would work perfectly in this key.
Want to know how to learn guitar scales? go here: Learn Guitar Scales In 8 Easy Steps
Guitar Scales Tabs | The Minor Scale
The minor scale is the perfect scale to learn if you want to play rock, metal or even blues! It is less vibrant than the major scale, but its dark sound is perfect for creating tension and suspense.
You can use this scale in a minor key or over a minor chord.
To learn more about improvising in guitar keys go here: How To Play Lead Guitar
Here’s the guitar scales tabs:
Guitar Scales Tabs | The Minor Pentatonic Scale
The minor pentatonic scale is one of the easiest scales you can learn. Many people think that the minor scale and the minor pentatonic scale are two different scales.
This isn’t the case. Think of the minor pentatonic scale as the smaller brother of the minor scale.
They use the EXACT same notes, the minor pentatonic scale simply uses less.
If you’re familiar with rock or blues music, you have definitely heard this scale.
You can use this scale:
- Over any song which is in a minor key.
- Over a 12 bar blues.
- Over a minor chord.
Here’s the guitar scales tabs:
If you want to learn this scale in further detail, check out these articles:
Without guitar scales, guitar solos wouldn’t exist. Check out 50 of the greatest guitar solos here by the NME: 50 Greatest Guitar Solos | NME
Guitar Scales Tabs | The Blues Scale
This scale is popular amongst blues and rock guitarists as it has a great bluesy sound.
You can really spice up your guitar solos with this scale!
One of the best things about this scale is that it can be used over major and minor keys.
Here are a few examples of when you can use this classic scale:
- Over a major chord progression.
- Over a minor chord progression.
- Over a 12 bar blues.
To get the best out of the blues scale, experiment with using it in a variety of different musical situations.
Here’s the guitar scales tabs for this cool scale:
Try using this scale over this A blues backing track:
If you want to know more about blues guitar, go here:Blues Guitar Lessons For Beginners : 4 Ways To Sound Awesome Quickly
Do I need to learn guitar scales in different keys?
The short answer is, yes you do.
The 5 most common guitar keys are C, A, G, E and D.
We’re going to show you each of the guitar scales tabs for each of these keys.
The C Major Scale
Here’s the major scale tabbed out in the key of C:
You can use this scale over anything in the key of C major.
Want to know more about the key of C major? Go here: Understanding the chords in the key of C
We’ve already learnt the major scale in the key of A. So the next major scale key we must learn is the key of G.
The G Major Scale
Here’s the guitar scales tabs for the G major scale:
You can use this chord over anything in the key of G major.
Learn more about the key of G major here: Chords in the key of G and tips for understanding keys
The E Major Scale
Here’s the guitar scales tabs for the major scale in the key of E:
Learn this scale if you want to solo in the key of E major.
Learn more about the key of E major here: Chords In The Key Of E
The D Major Scale
The final major scale key you must know is the key of D major.
Here’s the guitar scales tabs:
Now we’ve learned the major scale in 5 of the most common keys. Let’s learn the minor scale equivalents.
When you learn the minor scale, the keys have to change.
Instead of the keys being C, A, G, E and D.
They are now:
- A minor.
- F#minor.
- E minor.
- C# minor.
- B minor.
These are known as relative keys.
Let’s learn each of the minor scales in these keys.
Join 50,000+ other guitar learners and subscribe to our guitar-tips-by-email. (It's free.) We'll send you a series of lessons that will move you to the next level of your guitar journey. Learn how everything fits together quickly, easily and effectively. We share ninja tips (for instant fun) but also timeless fundamentals that will deepen your understanding. . Take our 60-second quiz and see your results now: Take The QuizWant free guitar tips and video lessons delivered to your inbox?
What Type of Guitarist Are You?
The F# Minor Scale
We’ve already learned the minor scale, minor pentatonic and the blues scale in the key of A minor.
So, let’s start with the key of F# minor.
Here’s the guitar scales tabs:
The F# Minor Pentatonic Scale
Here’s the guitar scales tabs for the F# minor pentatonic:
The F# Blues Scale
Here’s the tab for the F# blues scale:
All of these scales would work over the following chord progressions.
- Anything in the key of F# minor.
- A F# blues.
F# minor is the relative minor key of A major.
Therefore you could use any of these scales over the key of A major.
Now we’ve learned all of our scales in the key of F# minor, let’s move on to the next key, E minor.
The E Minor Scale
Here’s the guitar scales tabs for the E minor scale:
The E Minor Pentatonic Scale
Here’s the tab for the E minor pentatonic scale:
To learn how to use this scale in a musical context go here:E Minor Pentatonic Scale: The Ultimate Guide
The E Blues Scale
Here’s the guitar tab for the E blues scale:
You could use any of these scales over a:
- A 12 bar blues in the key of E.
- Anything in the key of E minor.
The E minor scale is the relative minor key of G major.
Therefore, you could use any of the E minor scales over:
- Anything in the key of G major.
Now, let’s look at our minor scales in the key of C# Minor.
Here are the guitar scales tabs for the minor scale, minor pentatonic and blues scale in the key of C# minor.
The C# Minor Scale
The C# Minor Pentatonic Scale
The C# Blues Scale
You could use any of these scales over a:
- C# minor chord progression.
- C# blues.
As C# minor is the relative minor key to E major. You could also use any of these scales over a chord progression in the key of E major.
Let’s take a look at our final minor key, the key of B minor.
Here are the guitar scales tabs for the minor scale, the minor pentatonic and the blues scale in the key of B minor.
The B Minor Scale
The B Minor Pentatonic Scale
The B Blues Scale
You could use these scales over:
- Anything in the key of B minor.
- A B blues
As D major is the relative major of B minor. You could also use these scales over anything in the key of D major.
Download our lead guitar cheat-sheet to make things easier
It can be disorientating for guitarists to understand which scales work with which keys.
With this in mind, we created a cheat-sheet; a key and scale-finder that you can use again and again. Click here to download your copy.
Listen to the Learn Guitar Podcast
Learn from the world's best guitar teachers: Listen to the Learn Guitar Podcast now
What’s a relative minor scale?
A relative minor scale is a scale which shares the same notes as a major scale from the same key.
Both scales use identical musical notes. However they both have different starting points.
Let’s take a look at an example to understand this further.
For this example, we’re going to use the key of C.
The C major scale consists of the following notes.
C D E F G A B
The relative minor of C major, is A minor.
The A minor scale is made up of these notes.
A B C D E F G
Can you see how both scales use the EXACT same notes. However, the C major scale starts on the note C.
The A minor starts on the note A.
- Therefore, C major is the relative major key of A minor.
- A minor is the relative minor key of C major.
How do I find relative minor and major keys on the guitar?
Luckily, for us guitarists, there’s a really simple way of finding the relative major and minor keys on your guitar.
This works for ANY key.
This is a really useful tip, so listen up.
- For every major scale, you can find the relative minor scale, 3 frets down.
- For every minor scale, you can find the relative major scale, 3 frets up.
Try this:
- Play a C major scale which starts on the 8th fret of the low E string. (6th string.)
- Move down 3 frets to the 5th fret of the low E string. (6th string.)
- Play a minor scale starting on the 5th fret. (5th string.)
- You should be playing the A minor scale!
As mentioned before, both of these scales are EXACTLY the same. They just have different starting points.
You can also do this from a minor perspective. Let’s use the key of B minor for this example.
Try this:
- Play a B minor scale starting on the 7th fret of the low E string.
- Move up 3 frets to the 10th fret of the low E string.
- Now play a major scale shape, starting on the 10th fret.
- You should be playing the D major scale!
That’s it, that’s how you find the relative major and minor scales on the guitar.
Why is this useful for guitarists?
This is SO useful to know, as you now have two options when improvising.
- If something is in a major key. You can use the relative minor scale.
- If a piece of music is an a minor key, you could use the relative major scale.
One the hardest things about improvising is creating interesting sounds with a new scale.
However, if you understand relative minor and major keys, you can use ANY type of scale over ANY chord progression.
This comes in handy when you’re faced with playing in a uncomfortable key.
For example, if you find major keys hard but know how to use minor scales. You can use the relative minor scale over a major key.
- So, if you’re playing in the key of C major, you can use a A minor scale.
Or, if you find minor keys difficult, but find major scales easy. You can use the relative major scales over a minor key.
- So, if you were playing in the key of D major, you could use a B minor scale.
Here’s a list of ALL of the relative major and minor keys.
How do I play guitar scales in all keys?
To play guitar scales in all keys, you MUST change your starting note.
The great thing about guitar scales is that they are moveable patterns. Once you’ve learned one pattern, you’ve automatically learned 12 others too.
By changing your starting note, you’re changing what key the scale is in.
99% of all scales start on the low E string.
Here are ALL of the notes on the low E string:
By starting a scale on a different fret, you are changing the key.
For example, if you wanted to play a scale in the key of C. You would start it on the 8th fret of the low E string.
So each of your scales would become:
- The C Major Scale.
- The C Minor Scale.
- The C Minor Pentatonic.
- The C Blues Scale.
Let’s say you wanted to play a scale in the key of F#/Gb. You would start your scales on the 2nd fret of the low E string.
So each of your scales would become:
- The F# Major Scale.
- The F# Minor Scale.
- The F# Minor Pentatonic.
- The F# Blues Scale.
Here’s a really fun challenge that will take your guitar playing to the next level:
- Try playing the major scale in all 12 keys.
- Try playing the minor scale in all 12 keys.
- Try playing the minor pentatonic in all 12 keys.
- Try playing the blues scale in all 12 keys.
Find Out What You Should Learn Next With Our Guitar Map
If you want to understand where you’re up to in your guitar journey you should take a look at our Guitar Map. It will show you what you ‘should’ know by now (and also what you need to learn next to move forward as a guitarist).
Most people find that the Guitar Map shows them how everything fits together and best of all, it will help you identify gaps in your knowledge that are holding you back.
(There is often just one piece of information that holds people back, 1 key insight that they need to know so they can continue moving forward and improving in their guitar journey.)
We made the Guitar Map so people like you can quickly identify what you don’t know, that you need to know next. We hope that makes sense!?
NOTE: The Guitar Map is now included in our free special report: 'The 7 Steps To Guitar Mastery'.
What Type of Guitarist Are You?
Take our 60-second quiz and see your results now: Take The Quiz
Want free guitar tips and video lessons delivered to your inbox?
Join over 30,000 other guitar learners and subscribe to our guitar-tips-by-email service. (It's free.)
We'll send you a series of lessons that will move you to the next level of your guitar journey.
Learn how everything fits together quickly, easily and effectively. We share ninja tips (for instant fun!) but also timeless fundamentals that will deepen your understanding.
If You're Struggling, Try Something NEW.
Are you tired of trying to learn guitar from YouTube with no structure and poor-quality videos?
As I often tell my students: “If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got”. (That sounds trite, but it’s true.)
To move to the next stage of your guitar journey you need to try something new.
Here’s 2 new things you can try NOW:
1) Join our email list and get our 7 best guitar lessons sent straight to your inbox today. (We will never send you spam & you can unsubscribe in 1-click.)
2) Spend some money on your guitar education. The best stuff isn’t free. You have to pay for it. Do you want to learn or not?
I always recommend JamPlay to my students and I do this for 2 reasons:
- Their lessons are fantastic. They have great teachers who communicate clearly. Their videos film each hand separately which I love.
- The second reason I recommend JamPlay is they offer a 7-day money-back guarantee, so you can check it out and get your money back immediately if it’s not for you. I like that kind of freedom & it makes them easy to recommend: Check out JamPlay here
Popular Lessons
How To Learn Guitar: An 11-Step Programme For Beginners
How To Choose The Perfect Beginner Guitar
Guitar Notes Explained: A Guide For Beginners
More Cool Stuff
Learn about the National Guitar Academy: About Us
Join us on Facebook for daily guitar tips.
Listen to our Learn Guitar Podcast for rapid guitar progress.
Check out our free chord lessons.
Thanks for stopping by, speak soon! 🙂