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On the question Minor Pentatonic scale, @user37496's answer includes a circular pie chart for major pentatonic scales built on the circle of 5ths/4ths which demos the 'outside' notes of each position in the chart (see below). I don't have the ability to recreate this chart for the A minor pentatonic. Would you be willing to create a chart with Am Pentatonic at the 12 o'clock position and the 'outside' notes for each of the other positions. If I could look at both charts, side by side, I would be able to compare the similarities and differences between the two scales instantly. I think I get the gist of your explanation, but ....

C Major pentatonic scale enter image description here

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  • User 1079505 mentioned 'several scales', of which I'm sceptical. Major pent., minor pent. are the ones most players are used to, but we'll wait to be enlightened.
    – Tim
    Nov 29, 2020 at 16:01

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Look carefully at the original chart. At the top is C major pent. Those exact same notes constitute Am pent.

So, do nothing! It's already all there! The note order is slightly different, no big deal. The order of neighbouring sets of notes will remain. You want Am pent at the top. It is!

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To recreate the C Major chart as an A Minor chart:

  1. Move all the pentatonic scale names 3 positions counter-clockwise. That is, A replaces C, E replaces G, and so on. Leave the other elements of the chart -- the notes in each scale and the number of "outside" notes -- as they currently are. Only the names of the scales are rotated.
  2. The notes for each scale are identical, the starting note need only be changed. For example, in the C major chart, D pentatonic is given as D E F# A B. After step 1) above, these notes will correspond to the B Minor pentatonic, which is B D E F# A. This will be true for every scale -- just rewrite the given major pentatonic starting on its last note.
  3. The number of "outside" notes will remain as given.

A minor pentatonic chart

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  • Or simply rotate the chart so whatever you want is at the top. Really nothing changes. Original chart has C major pent., same notes exactly as Am pent. In fact - do nothing! OP wants Am at top - it effectively was!
    – Tim
    Nov 29, 2020 at 8:07
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There are several scales called "minor pentatonic", I presume you mean the most common "blues pentatonic". Its notes are identical to its parallel (third above) major pentatonic, thus the chart in question would look identical.

  • C major pentatonic = A minor pentatonic
  • G major pentatonic = E minor pentatonic

...and so on.

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  • Several 'minor pentatonic' scales? What are they all? It's always means it is!! No such thing as 'blues pentatonic'. The (minor) blues scale is generally considered minor pent. + flat 5.
    – Tim
    Nov 29, 2020 at 15:41
  • @Tim yes, this is the most common one, but some people use the name also for hemitonic pentatonic 1 2 b3 5 6 (I also saw name "japanese" for this one).
    – user1079505
    Nov 29, 2020 at 18:53

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