E Natural Minor Scale on Guitar
Diagram, notes, and audio for the E Natural Minor scale on guitar. Free in your browser.
About E Natural Minor on guitar
There is a reason the E Natural Minor appears on every method-book front page for guitar. Players describe its sound as sad, introspective, and folk-like, and that lines up with the theory underneath. From E you climb E, F#, G, A, B, C, D, and the same notes work in any octave on the instrument.
On guitar the scale is most commonly played in CAGED-style position shapes; the diagram above lights up every fret up to the 12th so you can pick the position that fits your hand. Its theoretical job is fixed: the spacing between E and the next note, and the next, gives the scale its identity in any key. If you are tuning by ear, our tuner for guitar is one click away — the scale only sounds right with accurate intonation.
Frequently asked questions
- What notes are in the E Natural Minor scale?
- The E Natural Minor scale contains the notes E, F#, G, A, B, C, D. That is 7 pitch classes, played in that order from the root upward.
- What does Natural Minor mean in music theory?
- Natural Minor is seven notes built from a fixed pattern of whole and half steps. The interval pattern is the same in every key — choosing E as the root just shifts every pitch up or down without changing the scale's character.
- How do I practise E Natural Minor on guitar?
- Start with the diagram on this page, play the notes slowly ascending and descending, then add a metronome at a comfortable tempo. Once the fingering is automatic, try improvising short phrases that always land back on E.
Switch instruments
See E Natural Minor on a different instrument — same notes, new diagram.