The Blues Scale For Guitar
The term Blues Scale is used to describe a few scales with differing numbers of pitches and related characteristics. However, here at Advanced Guitar Player, we define it as a six-note scale that consists of the Minor Pentatonic Scale plus the ♯4th or ♭5th degree - please see Advanced Guitar Player's section on the Minor Pentatonic Scale for a comparison of the notes involved.
An important feature of the blues scale is the use of blue notes. However, as blue notes are considered alternative inflections, a blues scale doesn't really fit the traditional definition of a scale.
At its most basic, a single version of this Blues Scale is commonly used over all changes or chords in a twelve-bar blues progression. Similarly, in contemporary jazz theory, its use is commonly based upon the key rather than the individual chord.
These Blues Scale Guitar Tabs are only in One Octave at the moment and all begin on the Low E string. This may change in the future but I'm treating them as reference material and will post more complex fingerings in more than one octave in the Jazz Practice Section.
Furthermore, wherever possible I have used open strings as I this is very important in blues playing - just listen to Stevie Ray Vaughn - and is often overlooked by jazz and rock players.
Please scroll down to the bottom of the next image for links to Tabs of the most common Guitar Blues Scales and their Inversions.
Here are links to Guitar Pro Tabs and Lesson Notes for the most common blues scales. All the major keys are covered and in some cases I've included the Enharmonic Spelling - F# and Gb, for example, because these scales seem common enough to warrant inclusion.
However, this has presented some notation problems and as this is a guitar website I-ve tended to go for simple terminology that is in general use rather than what might be considered correct by a theorist. In the Key of Gb I generally refer to Cbb as B - I hope music theory purists don't get too annoyed!
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Scales and Modes -
The Blues Scale
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Written by Simon Harris
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Thursday, 25 November 2010 19:06 |
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The B Blues Scale is made up of the notes B-D-E-F-F#-A-B (-3, W, H, H,-3, W,). It consists of the same notes as the B Minor Pentatonic Scale plus an extra note - in this case F.
The guitar tab image below shows the B Blues Scale and its five inversions in one octave beginning on the Low E string.
The fingering and positions shown are just one of many possibilities so you should experiment with playing the scale in other positions on the guitar fretboard and with other fingerings.
For example, you can practice playing B Blues Scale in the same octave by starting on the second fret of the A string and an octave higher by beginning on the ninth fret of the D string or on the fourth fret of the G string.
These Guitar Blues Scale Tabs were created using the Guitar Pro 6 Tab Editor and Player.
Click Here To Visit The Guitar Pro Website and Download a Free Trial Copy of the Program.
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Last Updated on Thursday, 25 November 2010 20:18 |
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Scales and Modes -
The Blues Scale
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Written by Simon Harris
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Thursday, 25 November 2010 18:57 |
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The Bb Blues Scale is made up of the notes Bb-Db-Eb-E-F-Ab-Bb (-3, W, H, H,-3, W,). It consists of the same notes as the Bb Minor Pentatonic Scale plus an extra note - in this case E.
The image below shows the B Flat Blues Scale and its five inversions in one octave beginning on the Low E string.
The fingering and positions shown are one of many possibilities so you should experiment with playing the scale in other positions on the guitar fretboard and with other fingerings.
For example, you can practice playing the B Flat Blues Scale in the same octave by starting on the first fret of the A string and an octave higher by beginning on the eighth fret of the D string or on the third fret of the G string.
These Guitar Blues Scale Tabs were created using the Guitar Pro 6 Tab Editor and Player.
Click Here To Visit The Guitar Pro Website and Download a Free Trial Copy of the Program.
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Scales and Modes -
The Blues Scale
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Written by Simon Harris
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Thursday, 25 November 2010 08:48 |
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The A Blues Scale is made up of the notes A-C-D-D#-E-G-A (-3, W, H, H,-3, W,). It consists of the same notes as the A Minor Pentatonic Scale plus an extra note - in this case D# if you think of it as an Augmented Fourth. I personally tend to see it as a Flat Five so I often think of it as Eb.
The image below shows the A Blues Scale and its five inversions in one octave beginning on the Low E string.
The fingering and positions shown are one of many possibilities so you should experiment with playing the scale in other positions on the guitar fretboard and with other fingerings.
For example, you can practice playing A Blues Scale in the same octave by starting on the open A string and an octave higher by beginning on the seventh fret of the D string or on the second fret of the G string.
These Guitar Blues Scale Tabs were created using the Guitar Pro 6 Tab Editor and Player.
Click Here To Visit The Guitar Pro Website and Download a Free Trial Copy of the Program.
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Last Updated on Thursday, 25 November 2010 20:15 |
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Scales and Modes -
The Blues Scale
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Written by Simon Harris
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Thursday, 25 November 2010 08:08 |
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The Ab Blues Scale is made up of the notes Ab-B-Db-D-Eb-Gb-Ab (-3, W, H, H,-3, W,). It consists of the same notes as the Ab Minor Pentatonic Scale plus an extra note - in this case D. The scale could also be called G# Pentatonic but as this Enharmonic Spellining is relatively uncommon, I've decided not to include it in this Guitar Scales and Modes Compendium.
The image below shows the A Flat Blues Scale and its five inversions in one octave beginning on the Low E string.
The fingering and positions shown are one of many possibilities so you should experiment with playing the scale in other positions on the guitar fretboard and with other fingerings.
For example, you can practice playing A Flat Blues Scale an octave higher by beginning on the eleventh fret of the A string or on the sixth fret of the D string and two octaves higher by starting on the thirteenth fret of the G string.
These Guitar Blues Scale Tabs were created using the Guitar Pro 6 Tab Editor and Player.
Click Here To Visit The Guitar Pro Website and Download a Free Trial Copy of the Program.
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Last Updated on Thursday, 25 November 2010 08:23 |
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Scales and Modes -
The Blues Scale
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Written by Simon Harris
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Wednesday, 24 November 2010 15:56 |
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The G Blues Scale is made up of the notes G-Bb-C-C#-D-F-G (-3, W, H, H,-3, W,). It consists of the same notes as the G Minor Pentatonic Scale plus an extra note - in this case C#.
The image below shows the G Blues Scale and its five inversions in one octave beginning on the Low E string.
The fingering and positions shown are one of many possibilities so you should experiment with playing the scale in other positions on the guitar fretboard and with other fingerings.
For example, you can practice playing G Blues Scale an octave higher by beginning on the tenth fret of the A string or on the fifth fret of the D string and two octaves higher by starting on the twelfth fret of the G string.
These Guitar Blues Scale Tabs were created using the Guitar Pro 6 Tab Editor and Player.
Click Here To Visit The Guitar Pro Website and Download a Free Trial Copy of the Program.
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Last Updated on Thursday, 25 November 2010 08:13 |
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Scales And Modes 
