Major: seven notes
The major-scale pattern is whole–whole–half–whole–whole–whole–half. C major is C D E F G A B. Start and finish on C to hear the root clearly.
Natural minor: a different centre
Natural minor follows whole–half–whole–whole–half–whole–whole. A minor is A B C D E F G. These are the same notes as C major, but A now feels like home.
Pentatonic: five notes to start with
A minor pentatonic uses A C D E G: root, minor third, fourth, fifth and minor seventh. On the interactive fretboard you can switch between the full scale and pentatonic notes in any key, and click notes to hear them.