E Minor Pentatonic Scale — All 5 Box Positions on Guitar

E minor pentatonic has five notes — E, G, A, B and D — and a bluesy, soulful sound used across rock, blues and soul. Box 1 sits at the open strings, so the low and high E strings ring as the root — which is why so many rock riffs live here. It shares every note with G major pentatonic: treat E as home and it sounds minor, treat G as home and it sounds major.

E Minor Pentatonic on the Full Neck

Red dots are the root, E. Double-ringed dots are shared by two boxes — that is where you slide from one box into the next.

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E Minor Pentatonic chart (PDF)

All 5 boxes on one page with note names, plus a 7-day practice plan. Print it and keep it by your guitar.

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The 5 E Minor Pentatonic Box Positions

Each box holds all five notes in a four-to-five-fret span. New to the scale? Learn Box 1 first, then add the boxes on either side of it.

Box 1 — Open position · frets 0–3

The root box. Open position — the open strings are part of the box, so let them ring. E is at the open high e string, fret 2 on the D string and the open low E string.

Box 2 — Frets 2–5

E is at fret 5 on the B string and fret 2 on the D string.

Box 3 — Frets 4–8

The widest box — it spans five frets. E is at fret 5 on the B string and fret 7 on the A string.

Box 4 — Frets 7–10

E is at fret 9 on the G string and fret 7 on the A string.

Box 5 — Frets 9–12

E is at fret 12 on the high e string, fret 9 on the G string and fret 12 on the low E string.

How to Learn E Minor Pentatonic, Step by Step

1. Box 1 first (open position, frets 0–3). Play it up and down with a metronome at 60–80 BPM until you can do it without looking. Start and end on E.
2. Add Box 2 (frets 2–5). It shares notes with Box 1 — use those shared notes to slide between the two.
3. Learn Boxes 3, 4 and 5 the same way, one at a time, always connecting each new box to one you already know.
4. Use it over music. Put on a backing track in E minor or a blues in E and improvise with short phrases, ending them on E.

What Chords Does E Minor Pentatonic Work Over?

It fits over Em, Em7 and Em9, over a 12-bar blues in E (E7–A7–B7), and over minor-key progressions like Em–C–D. Because it is also G major pentatonic, it works over songs in G major too.

Progressions to Practice E Minor Pentatonic Over

Songs That Use E Minor Pentatonic

Frequently Asked Questions

What fret does E minor pentatonic start on?

Box 1 covers frets 0–3, with the root note E on the open low E string (and again at fret 12).

What notes are in E minor pentatonic?

E, G, A, B, and D — the intervals 1, ♭3, 4, 5, and ♭7.

Is E minor pentatonic the same as G major pentatonic?

They share the same five notes and the same box shapes. Treat E as home and it sounds minor; treat G as home and it sounds major.

What is the difference between E minor pentatonic and the E natural minor scale?

The E natural minor scale has seven notes (E F# G A B C D). The pentatonic drops F# and C, the two notes a half step from their neighbors, which is why it is hard to hit a wrong-sounding note with it.

Triads and Arpeggios in E Minor

The E minor triad (E · G · B) sits inside every E minor pentatonic box, so you can outline the chord without changing position. See its shapes in every inversion on the guitar triads page, and the minor 7 arpeggio across all six strings on the guitar arpeggios page. Full pages: E minor triads and the Em7 arpeggio.

CAGED Shapes in E Minor

Each E minor pentatonic box holds one shape of the Em chord: Box 1 the Em shape, Box 2 the Dm shape, Box 3 the Cm shape, Box 4 the Am shape and Box 5 the Gm shape. See how the five shapes connect up the neck in the CAGED system guide.

Explore Other Keys

See also: Minor pentatonic scale · Major pentatonic scale · Blues scale

← Read the full guide: How to Use Pentatonic Boxes