im not sure but this might belong in music theory.

i have been reading some books lately trying to build scale knowledge and i have come to the formula part where instead of listing every scale out they list how to make that sacle.

i think everyone knows the wwhwwwh major scale formula. on c it covers c d ef g a bc. i know its talking intervals there so its no biggy. then comes the minor whwwhww c DEb f g A Bb c. same thing as before.

now where im getting confused is on things like the pentatonic minor (1 3b 4 5 7b). im not so much confused about how to put it together but where do i put it together from? is it based on the major or minor scale? does this apply to all the pentatonic scales as well as the modes and exotic scales?

thanks in advance for any help.