Blues scale on guitar
The blues scale has the formula R b3 4 b5 5 b7. In A its notes are A C D Eb E G. Below you see it on the whole neck, its five positions one by one and the chords it makes, in standard tuning or in Drop D, Drop C, Drop B and DADGAD. Check out all 13 guitar scales.
Position
- 1: frets 5 to 8, 17 to 20
- 2: frets 7 to 10, 19 to 22
- 3: frets 9 to 13
- 4: frets 0 to 3, 12 to 15
- 5: frets 2 to 5, 14 to 17
A Blues
A Blues is A Minor Pentatonic with the b5 added.
Blues: degrees R b3 4 b5 5 b7, notes A C D Eb E G. Minor Pentatonic: degrees R b3 4 – 5 b7, notes A C D – E G.
Chords of A Aeolian (Natural Minor)
Notes and formula of the blues scale
Degrees: R b3 4 b5 5 b7. Notes: A C D Eb E G.
Its formula is R b3 4 b5 5 b7, the same in every key: learn it once and you can build the blues scale on any root. Players often use it for blues and rock licks.
A root on a black key goes by one name here: C# blues, never Db blues. To find each note on the neck on its own, see every note on the fretboard.
How the blues scale differs from A Minor Pentatonic
A Blues is A Minor Pentatonic with the b5 added.
Blues: degrees R b3 4 b5 5 b7, notes A C D Eb E G. Minor Pentatonic: degrees R b3 4 – 5 b7, notes A C D – E G.
Eb is the note that makes the difference; on the neck above it wears a ring.
Blues scale positions on the neck
Know the minor pentatonic boxes? Then you know the blues scale's five: the same boxes, with the b5 added wherever it falls inside them.
Learn one box, then the next, and play across both: together they cover the neck. Where the neck has room, a box comes back twelve frets higher. These are the minor pentatonic's boxes, not CAGED.
Position 1, frets 5 to 8
Position 2, frets 7 to 10
Position 3, frets 9 to 13
Position 4, frets 12 to 15
Position 5, frets 14 to 17
The blues scale in every key
Your song is in F#? Find its row: the notes of the blues scale in that key, and the fret where your first box starts. Click the key and the neck at the top jumps there.
| Key | Notes | Position 1 from fret |
|---|---|---|
| C blues scale | C Eb F Gb G Bb | 8 |
| C# blues scale | C# E F# G G# B | 9 |
| D blues scale | D F G Ab A C | 10 |
| Eb blues scale | Eb Gb Ab A Bb Db | 11 |
| E blues scale | E G A Bb B D | 0 |
| F blues scale | F Ab Bb B C Eb | 1 |
| F# blues scale | F# A B C C# E | 2 |
| G blues scale | G Bb C Db D F | 3 |
| G# blues scale | G# B C# D D# F# | 4 |
| A blues scaleon this page | A C D Eb E G | 5 |
| Bb blues scale | Bb Db Eb E F Ab | 6 |
| B blues scale | B D E F F# A | 7 |
The blues scale in Drop D, Drop C, Drop B and DADGAD
Tune down and the blues scale stays the same scale, it just sits on other frets. In Drop D only your low string changes, so every shape on the other five strings stays put. Drop C and Drop B take every string down, so the whole scale shifts, and DADGAD lowers three strings. Here is where its root A sits on the low string in each.
| Tuning | A on the low string |
|---|---|
| Standard | frets 5 and 17 |
| Drop D | frets 7 and 19 |
| Drop C | frets 9 and 21 |
| Drop B | frets 10 and 22 |
| DADGAD | frets 7 and 19 |
In the app
Practice the blues scale
Knowing a position is half the job. Turn it into an exercise in the free TabTunix app, play it to a click that speeds up step by step, rate each go, and see on your chart how close you are to your target tempo.
More on how to get a scale under your fingers in how to practice scales, and every other scale under guitar scales.
Questions about the blues scale
You know which lick it is. Go get it up to tempo. Free, for Mac and Windows.
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