F# Minor Pentatonic Guitar Scale

F# Minor Pentatonic in Open C — Notes and Intervals

The F# Minor Pentatonic scale is the most influential scale in the history of rock and guitar music. On Guitar, its notes are F#, A, B, C#, E. It offers a gritty, powerful, and bluesy sound that is highly versatile, serving as the primary tool for improvising solos in rock, blues, and metal and providing a safe but expressive framework for beginners and pros alike. Commonly used in Blues, Rock, Metal, R&B, Funk. Notable players include Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, B.B. King, Slash, Angus Young. Use over minor chords, dominant 7th chords (in blues), and power chords. The backbone of rock and blues guitar for 70+ years.

Notes: F#, A, B, C#, E

Intervals: 1P, 3m, 4P, 5P, 7m

Degrees: 1 b2 3 4 b5

Formula: WH-W-W-WH-W

Number of notes: 5

Tuning: Open C (C-G-C-G-C-E)

Also known as: vietnamese 2

About Open C Tuning

Open C tuning (C-G-C-G-C-E) produces a C major chord when strummed open, with an enormous bass depth from the low C string (two whole steps below standard E). The tuning spans a vast tonal range that gives compositions an almost orchestral scope, making it a favorite for both delicate fingerstyle and crushing heavy music.

John Butler's 'Ocean' — one of the most famous modern fingerstyle compositions — is performed in Open C, showcasing the tuning's incredible dynamic range from thundering bass to shimmering harmonics. Devin Townsend uses Open C extensively across his catalog for its massive, wall-of-sound potential. Jimmy Page used it on Led Zeppelin's 'Friends' from Led Zeppelin III. Soundgarden also explored Open C. The three C strings and two G strings create powerful octave resonances that make even simple chord shapes sound huge.

Notable artists: John Butler, Devin Townsend, Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), Soundgarden, William Ackerman

Best for: Cinematic fingerstyle compositions, progressive metal walls of sound, post-rock textures, and any music that needs enormous tonal range from deep bass to bright treble

Musical Character

The most played scale in guitar history. Its 5 notes (1, b3, 4, 5, b7) outline a minor chord with a dominant 7th feel, which is why it works over both minor AND dominant chords in blues.

Chord Progressions Using This Scale

• bVI – bVII – I (Mario Cadence)World / Game Music — Triumph & Victory
• I – I – I – I – IV – IV – I – I – V – IV – I – V (12 Bar Blues)Blues — Grit & Soul
• i – iv – i – V (Minor Blues)Blues — Melancholy
• I – bVI – bIII – bVII (Epic Borrowed Chords)Contemporary / Film — Epic & Heroic
• i – VI – III – VII (Cinematic Minor)Contemporary / Film — Dramatic & Dark

Explore This Scale in Other Tunings

• F# Minor Pentatonic in Standard Tuning
• F# Minor Pentatonic in Drop D
• F# Minor Pentatonic in DADGAD
• F# Minor Pentatonic in Open G
• F# Minor Pentatonic in Baritone (B Standard)
• F# Minor Pentatonic in 7-string
• F# Minor Pentatonic in 8-string
• F# Minor Pentatonic in Drop C
• F# Minor Pentatonic in Drop B
• F# Minor Pentatonic in Open D
• F# Minor Pentatonic in Half Step Down
• F# Minor Pentatonic in Open E
• F# Minor Pentatonic in Open A
• F# Minor Pentatonic in Double Drop D

← All Guitar scales in Open C tuning