Guitar scale · pentatonic & blues
Bb Man Gong Scale
Pentatonic scale 1 ♭3 4 ♭6 ♭7. It is the third mode of the major pentatonic, a minor pentatonic with the 5th replaced by a ♭6.
Tap any note to hear it.
Bb Man Gong Scale tab: all 5 positions
Each tab climbs from the low E string to the high e string. Play it up, then back down.
e|---------------------6-9-| B|-----------------7-9-----| G|-------------6-8---------| D|---------6-8-------------| A|-----6-9-----------------| E|-6-9---------------------|
e|--------------------------9-11-| B|---------------------9-11------| G|----------------8-11-----------| D|-----------8-11----------------| A|------9-11---------------------| E|-9-11--------------------------|
e|-------------------------11-| B|----------------------11----| G|----------------11-13-------| D|----------11-13-------------| A|----11-13-------------------| E|-11-------------------------|
e|-------------------------------14-16-| B|-------------------------14-16-------| G|-------------------13-15-------------| D|-------------13-16-------------------| A|-------13-16-------------------------| E|-14-16-------------------------------|
e|----------------------------16-18-| B|-------------------------16-------| G|-------------------15-18----------| D|-------------16-18----------------| A|-------16-18----------------------| E|-16-18----------------------------|
How to play Bb Man Gong on guitar
Find the root first: Bb is at fret 6 on the low E string and fret 1 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every Bb on the neck; the gold ones are the rest of the scale's home chord (♭3, ♭7), the safest notes to land on at the end of a phrase.
Learn it one box at a time. Position 1, the E shape, sits at frets 6–9. Once it's under your fingers, move to position 2 (the D shape) and play the notes the two boxes share, then keep going up the neck. After all five, the scale joins up into one pattern across the whole fretboard.
Degrees
| Degree | Note |
|---|---|
| 1 | Bb |
| ♭3 | Db |
| 4 | Eb |
| ♭6 | Gb |
| ♭7 | Ab |
Fretwise · Free on iPhone & Android
Practise Bb Man Gong anywhere, even offline.
This page is a small slice of Fretwise. The app adds practice: exercises that play as tab, a new routine every day, and the tools to tune and keep time. On iPhone, iPad and Android, no sign-up.
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Questions
- What notes are in the Bb Man Gong Scale?
- The Bb Man Gong Scale has 5 notes: Bb, Db, Eb, Gb, Ab.
- What is the formula of the man gong scale?
- 1 ♭3 4 ♭6 ♭7, which is the step pattern W+H W W+H W W (W = whole step, H = half step).
- Where do I play Bb Man Gong on the guitar?
- The root Bb is at fret 6 on the low E string and fret 1 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 6–9, and four more positions connect it up the neck.