Guitar scale · pentatonic & blues
E 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.
E 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|---------------------0-3-| B|-----------------1-3-----| G|-------------0-2---------| D|---------0-2-------------| A|-----0-3-----------------| E|-0-3---------------------|
e|---------------------3-5-| B|-----------------3-5-----| G|-------------2-5---------| D|---------2-5-------------| A|-----3-5-----------------| E|-3-5---------------------|
e|-----------------5-| B|---------------5---| G|-----------5-7-----| D|-------5-7---------| A|---5-7-------------| E|-5-----------------|
e|-------------------------8-10-| B|--------------------8-10------| G|----------------7-9-----------| D|-----------7-10---------------| A|------7-10--------------------| E|-8-10-------------------------|
e|---------------------------10-12-| B|------------------------10-------| G|-------------------9-12----------| D|-------------10-12---------------| A|-------10-12---------------------| E|-10-12---------------------------|
How to play E Man Gong on guitar
Find the root first: E is at fret 0 on the low E string and fret 7 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every E 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 0–3. 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 | E |
| ♭3 | G |
| 4 | A |
| ♭6 | C |
| ♭7 | D |
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Practise E 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 E Man Gong Scale?
- The E Man Gong Scale has 5 notes: E, G, A, C, D.
- 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 E Man Gong on the guitar?
- The root E is at fret 0 on the low E string and fret 7 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 0–3, and four more positions connect it up the neck.