C major pentatonic

5-note major pentatonic scale on CC, D, E, G, A.

Press to hear the scale played ascending.

The five-note major scale — the fourth and seventh removed, so nothing clashes. The open, singable sound behind countless folk melodies.

The notes

Each degree links to its pitch page. Note names use sharp spelling throughout — every accidental is written as a sharp (C♯, not D♭), the same convention as the note pages.

Degrees & steps

DegreeNoteSemitones from rootStep to next
1C0whole
2D2whole
3E43 semitones
5G7whole
6A93 semitones

The step formula is 2–2–3–2–3 semitones — 5 steps that sum to a full octave (12 semitones) and return to C.

Other scales on C

major pentatonic scales on every root