On this page you’ll find blues scale guitar TAB, patterns and notation that will allow you to play blues scales all over the guitar neck. Read on for a complete blues scale guitar lesson…
If you have any questions about anything covered on this page then feel free to ask them in the comments section below; we’ll be happy to help!
For a guitar lesson on using blues scales, with an example guitar solo and a backing track for you to play your own blues solo over, see this page: How To Use Blues Scales.
E Minor Blues Scale, Piano Keys And Guitar Tab
After the pentatonic minor scale and major scale, the blues scale is probably the most widely-used scale in guitar improvisation. Despite its name, the blues scale is not only used in blues music; it’s also regularly used in rock, metal, jazz, and many other musical styles.
As we’ll find in the notes in a blues scale section of this page, the blues scale is simply an embellishment of the standard pentatonic minor scale; an additional note is all that separates the blues scale from the pentatonic minor scale.
Basic Blues Guitar Pattern If you need to know how to read guitar scale patterns, then you’ll find a complete lesson on this page: Guitar Scale Patterns
Slide Guitar Lesson: Blues Scale In Open E Tuning
Get to know the sound of the blues scale by playing the pattern below. Further down the page you’ll find four additional blues scale patterns plus TABs.
In the fretboard patterns on this page, the tonic note of the scale (i.e. the ‘C’s in a C blues scale, or the ‘G’s in a G blues scale) are shown in green.
Use the pattern shown above to play a C blues scale by positioning your hand at the 8th fret. In this position the green notes on the diagram correspond to C notes on the fretboard – as shown in the TAB below:
C Blues Scale Guitar Tab
After playing the TAB you may have noticed that the scale pattern includes an additional note that extends the scale beyond the second octave.
Scale diagrams often include notes that are either above or below the tonic notes in this way. This is because you’ll usually be using the scale while improvising, so knowing which extra notes are available in that fretboard position can be useful.
If you just want to play the scale then start and stop on the green tonic notes (as shown in the TAB).
The Blues Scale
The diagram below shows the first blues scale pattern together with four more patterns. We’ll take a closer look at each of the new patterns below.
The basic blues scale pattern (pattern 1) can be extended up and down the guitar fretboard using the additional scale patterns. You’ll see how to join the patterns up in order to create longer lines further down the page.
A tab example has been provided for each of the new patterns. The tab shows how the pattern can be used to play either a 1 octave or a 2 octave C blues scale. (Patterns 1 & 5 span 2 octaves, the others a single octave.)
E Minor Blues Scale On The Guitar
Remember that the scale patterns may contain notes that extend the scale, either upwards or downwards. If you just want to play a single octave, play from a green note to the next green note, as shown in the tabs below.Blues Scale Pattern 2
Play this pattern starting at the 10th fret of the 4th (D) string for a 1-octave C blues scale, as shown in the TAB below:
The TAB below shows how pattern 3 can be used to play a 1-octave C blues scale either in open position (in which case one of the black circles on the diagram would represent the open G string), or starting in 13th position (i.e. with your index finger ready to play at the 13th fret).
The Blues Scale Patterns For Guitar
This means that there will always be a blues scale ‘under your fingers’ wherever you are on the fretboard… whatever key you’re playing in!
You’ll also be able to link the patterns together, giving you the option of playing lines that go beyond a single fretboard position (see the next section).
For example, if you only knew the basic blues scale pattern (pattern 1) and were improvising over a chord progression in C, then you’d be limited to playing in 8th position (i.e. with your index finger positioned over the 8th fret.)
A# (sharp) / Bb (flat) Pentatonic Blues Guitar Scale
If you also knew blues scale pattern no. 3, then you could also improvise using a C blues scale in open position, or in 12th / 13th position (the pattern requires changing position). This would give you access to more notes.
When playing with scales, you can extend your lines by linking together adjacent scale patterns. Below you’ll find a TAB example of this. Once you’ve seen how it works, try creating your own multi-position blues licks.
The blues scale contains a minor 3rd, giving it a minor tonality. This means that it can be used to improvise over minor chord sequences. For example, the A blues scale could be used to improvise over the following chord progression:
Beginner Guitar Scales: 5 Essential Scales
However, the blues scale is unusual because it also sounds good over blues chord progressions in major keys. For example, you could use a G blues scale to improvise over the following 12 bar blues in G:
The blues scale differs from the pentatonic minor scale only by the addition of a single note: the diminished 5th (also known as the ‘flattened 5th’, ‘flat five’ or ‘blues note’).
Try and remember where the blues notes are in each of the 5 shapes. Then, when improvising, you can slide to or from them, string bend into them, play them subtly or stress them, emphasizing their bluesy sound.
E Pentatonic Blues Guitar Scale
In the diagram below, all of the blues notes in each of the 5 blues scale patterns are represented by blue circles:
We hope that you have enjoyed learning about the blues scale. It’s one of the main scales used in lead guitar solos; in fact, it’s the only scale that some guitarists know!
Visit the following pages on Guitar Command to find out more about guitar scales and how to use them in your own playing:
How To Play The Blues
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Click the link below to find out more and to sign up! (It’s completely free, you can unsubscribe at any time, and we’ll never share your details.)The blues scale is a six-note progression that sounds right at home in blues, rock, and country music. This scale is essentially the pentatonic scale plus one chromatic note, often called the blue note. This extra step gives the blues scale that unmistakably bluesy sound.
Once you've tried the blues scale, download Play to learn essential blues riffs, techniques, and classic songs by legends like Robert Johnson, Stevie Ray Vaughan and more with the Blues Form Basics: I IV V Guitar Collection in Play!
The Major Blues Scale
Mastering the blues scale will give you the tools you need to improvise over a range of chord progressions, from a classic 12-bar blues to a driving rock and roll song. In addition to boosting your improvisational skills, practicing this scale will also help you train your ear so you can learn new bluesy licks to incorporate into your playing.
Just like pentatonic scales, the blues scale can be either major or minor. In this lesson, we’ll start by focusing on one of the most common blues scales: the A minor blues scale. We’ll look at how to play this blues scale in four different positions. Then, you’ll learn three moveable minor blues scale shapes that will allow you to play the minor blues scale in any key you want. Finally, you’ll learn to play a 12-bar blues in A, and work on some blues scale exercises.
The intervals that make up the minor blues scale are the same in any key. These intervals are: A whole step and a half step, a whole step, a half step, a half step, a whole step and a half step, and a whole step.
E Blues Pentatonic Scale Tab
The fourth note in the scale, in this example D#, is the blue note. The half steps that take you from D to D# to E have that wonderful walking blues sound that really distinguishes this scale.
As with other scales, there are many positions on the neck of your guitar where you can play an A minor blues scale. For this lesson, we’ll look at four different positions.
As you’re reading these guitar scale diagrams, remember the following rules. O stands for open string, and the numbers on the diagrams correspond to your fretting fingers in the following order:
C Blues Scale: Note Information And Scale Diagrams For Guitarists
To play the A minor blues scale in 1st position, use your index finger for notes on the 1st fret, your middle finger for notes on the 2nd, your ring finger for notes on the third, and your pinky for notes on the 4th fret.
To play the A minor blues scale in 5th position, use your index finger for notes on the 5th fret, your middle finger for the 6th, your ring finger for the 7th, and your pinkie for notes on the 8th fret. This
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