Guitar scale · pentatonic & blues
C# 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.
C# 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|---------------------------9-12-| B|---------------------10-12------| G|----------------9-11------------| D|-----------9-11-----------------| A|------9-12----------------------| E|-9-12---------------------------|
e|-------------------------------12-14-| B|-------------------------12-14-------| G|-------------------11-14-------------| D|-------------11-14-------------------| A|-------12-14-------------------------| E|-12-14-------------------------------|
e|-------------------------14-| B|----------------------14----| G|----------------14-16-------| D|----------14-16-------------| A|----14-16-------------------| E|-14-------------------------|
e|-------------------------------17-19-| B|-------------------------17-19-------| G|-------------------16-18-------------| D|-------------16-19-------------------| A|-------16-19-------------------------| E|-17-19-------------------------------|
e|----------------------------19-21-| B|-------------------------19-------| G|-------------------18-21----------| D|-------------19-21----------------| A|-------19-21----------------------| E|-19-21----------------------------|
How to play C# Man Gong on guitar
Find the root first: C# is at fret 9 on the low E string and fret 4 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every C# 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 9–12. 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 | C# |
| ♭3 | E |
| 4 | F# |
| ♭6 | A |
| ♭7 | B |
Fretwise · Free on iPhone & Android
Practise C# 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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One purchase
- 282 exercises that play as tab, and routines with a speed trainer
- Chord & Scale Finder: tap the neck, get the name
- Theory Lab and the Progression Builder with 51 genre loops
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Questions
- What notes are in the C# Man Gong Scale?
- The C# Man Gong Scale has 5 notes: C#, E, F#, A, B.
- 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 C# Man Gong on the guitar?
- The root C# is at fret 9 on the low E string and fret 4 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 9–12, and four more positions connect it up the neck.