This is a guitar lesson on how to use blues scales, with audio examples and a backing track so you can play your own blues solo. The easiest way to remember this scale is to think of it as the minor pentatonic and simply learn where the added notes are within the normal five minor pentatonic positions. This is the scale you see in the guitar scale chart on this page. The harmonized blues scale 2 3 4 g g blues root bflat b3 c 4 dflat b5 d 5 f b7 g root harmonized with a 3rd below each tone. Major and minor blues scales guitar tab and essential licks.
Scale diagrams can also be labeled with either letters or scale degrees. These charts highlight the notes and chords of g blues scale. You can get more charts in with custom tunings using my interactive scale generator here. The blues scale is esentially a minor pentatonic scale with an added flat fifth. The blues scale may be the most common scale used in rock and blues. The pentatonic scale is use primarily used for soloing. For instance, in the c blues scale the notes are c eb f. Major pentatonic scale the major pentatonic scale shares five notes with the major scale. The notes to the right in one form, will be the same as the notes to the left in the next highest form. Despite its name, the blues scale is not only used in blues music. It still is very prevelant in all forms of music today from rock solos to folk melodies. The eflat in the c blues scale makes it sound minor, but the scale is customarily played on top of major chords. Detailed information for the scale c major pentatonic.
Jun 22, 2019 this is a guitar lesson on how to use blues scales, with audio examples and a backing track so you can play your own blues solo. For instance, in the c blues scale the notes are c eb f gb g bb c. Im working on the pentatonic scale and its relation to the pentatonic minor scale and subsequently, its relationship to the blues scale. As a jazz educator with a large experience i am constantly looking for educational material on jazz harmony, theory, improvisation and composition, and also on specific topics like this book of dan greenblatt. To hear each pattern check out the e pentatonic blues scale tab page. Show me chords that sound good with an e blues scale. For a beginner trying to start improvising melodies and solos, it is the perfect place to begin because the scale is easy to learn and sounds good. Even though there is only a difference of one note, this flatted fifth gives the blues scale its signature bluesy sound due to its dissonant nature.
A nice combination are the chords am7, dm7 and e7 together with the a pentatonic blues scale. These are mustknow scales especially for blues and rock so be sure to memorize. The e minor pentatonic scale how to play blues guitar. E pentatonic blues scale free pentatonic blues scales. Adding a blue note to the regular pentatonic scale result in the pentatonic blues scale. Below is a download link for the pentatonic scale pdf. The first position, or the general form of the scale seen above, is either a minor or a major pentatonic shape depending on whether you start playing from the minor root. The blues scale on the guitar fretboard fingering, forms, intervals. Notes, intervals and relations to other scales in the database.
In fact, the blues scale is simply a pentatonic minor scale with an extra note added. How to tell when you can use the e minor pentatonic scale in a way that musically works and. All the scales featured on this page work over the standard 1 4 5 blues progressions, but ive made it clear when a scale can be used in a minor key, major key, or both. The blues scale tones, intervals, blue notes blues guitar. When playing a twelve bar blues in the key of bb, use the bb blues scale anywhere in the chord progression. As well, major and minor blues scales are used in different ways in a lead guitar situation. The e minor pentatonic scale the e minor blues scale. Its important though to point out the difference between the pentatonic scale and the blues scale. The pentatonic blues scale is a great tool for blues guitar and rock guitar soloing and improvising. It is called the blue note, and its the chromatic note between degrees 4 and 5 for minor, or 2 and 3 for major pentatonic.
The blues scale is a hexatonic scale with minor pentatonic scale. A blues scale consists of 6 different notes, namely the root, flat 3rd, 4th, flat 5th, 5th and flat 7th of the major scale. Apr 18, 2015 since it contains a flatted third and a natural fifth, the minor blues scale is, by definition a minor scale. Often new players are drawn to the instrument because of a desire to play the blues. Scale compendium, often referred to as the major 326 or minor 330 pentatonic scale 4, play the shapes found in the exercises, but replace the written notes with the notes of your chos en scale. As named in contemporary jazz theory, its use is based on the key and not the chord, unlike some chords in jazz. As always, commit the pattern to memory because we will be using the pentatonic scale, the blues scale, and the mixolydian mode in the next. The e minor pentatonic scale is a useful and fun guitar scale to know. This pdf contains the scale charts for the blues scale in all keys for guitar in standard tuning. Essential tools for jazz improvising i learned quite by accident from the forum all about jazz. The pentatonic scale pentatonic scales have only five notes penta means five. The best way to get used to playing the blues is to have a go at improvising over the top of a 12 bar blues chord progression.
Acoustic blues guitar unleashed playing on the porch style blues. Dont put it off until tomorrow or until you have the scale under better control. The 1st construction, using the major scale, starts at lesson 3. The major blues scale is some less common than the minor blues scale, and therefore we start with minor and you will find the major by. The solution below shows the a blues scale, on the piano, treble clef and bass clef. To play the blues is a fascinating undertaking because it can be both simplistic and yet intangibly tricky to master. The solution below shows the d blues scale, on the piano, treble clef and bass clef. Learn all 5 patterns of the e pentatonic blues scale and learn to play blues guitar. As you will learn, these patterns can be transferred to all keys. The cool, swing, chicken picken, jump blues sound that this scale produces makes a solid addition to the repertoire of. Pentatonic scales pdf and instructional video guitar.
You should think of the following 5 scale forms as 5 pieces of a puzzle. Jazclass blues scale lesson, blues scale in all keys by. F blues scale f, ab, bb, b, c, eb, f when playing a twelve bar blues in the key of bb, use the bb blues scale. Bb, db, eb, e, f, ab, bb the blues scale can also be used over minor chords when the minor chord is sounded for 2, 4. To finish, we will show the drawings of the blues scale in the whole guitar fretboard. In this lesson youll learn the one scale that is responsible for about 95% of all the blues licks you hear the minor pentatonic and minor blues scale.
But because blues notes or blue notes have a different form, there can be no one blues scale. Below are listed the twelve minor dorian minor, major, and dominant 7th scales. The minor pentatonic scale by paul tauterouff the minor pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly scales used in rock, blues, country and jazz music. The fretboard is shown with the lowest pitch string at the bottom and the highest pitch string at the top unless youve tuned your instrument differently. Blue dots are the b5 blues note a blues scale diagrams a blues scale fretboard diagram. I have also included the 5 box patterns you need to learn in order to memorize the blues scales in all keys. And no traditional western scale has three adjacent chromatic notes, the blues scales f, fsharp and g. Lesson 8 the e minor blues scales dvd 3 in this lesson. Its really a blue note over the minor pentatonic scale 1,b3,4,b5,5,b7.
In western music theory terms, the blues scale is practically inexplicable. It is usually considered the forerunner of both jazz and rock, and it breaks many of the conventions of classical music theory. Blues scale pattern 15 for guitars fingerings english. Practice now your solos using the e blues scale in this backing track download the file. Blues scale simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Everything you need to know to play the blues scale minor pentatonic scale on guitar. Piano blues scale lesson how to play the blues on piano. Pentatonics vs blues scales effective music practice.
We can add the flat 5, b5, or blue note to the pentatonic scale, making it a sixnote scale called the blues scale. G major blues scale banjo banjo, pentatonic scale, blues scale. To play the blues is a fascinating undertaking because it can be both simplistic and yet intangibly tricky to. There are two pentatonic scales, major pentatonic and minor pentatonic. Blues scales are the most commonly used scales in most genres of music. What is the difference between a pentatonic scale and a blues. Though it takes you longer to use this scale in your solos, the payoff is well worth it. Blues scale lesson, blues scale in all keys by michael. Various positions of the blues scale pattern 15 for guitars with fingerings on the guitar neck. The root notes a in these examples are circled so that you can learn their locations. After the pentatonic minor scale, the blues scale is probably the most commonly used guitar scales in improvisation. How to play the minor and major blues scales with solo examples. That b5, or blue note, adds a lot of tension and color to the scale.
Tabs, fingerings, box patterns, licks, pdf and more. Blues minor blues scale guitar patterns chart, key of a by. The cool, swing, chicken picken, jump blues sound that this scale produces makes a solid addition to the repertoire of any modern guitarist. The longest musical phrase begins with a single note. This pdf contains the diagrams for all the major and minor pentatonic scales in all keys for guitar in standard tuning. They are the 5 notes of the minor pentatonic scale, plus one additional note. The blues players often ad an attitional passing note to the pentatonic scale which is technically known as a flattened 5th that means an extra note in between notes 3 and 4 of the pentatonic scale. The main difference between the 2 scales is the addition of a flatted 5th note in the blues scale. The result is a scale that has 6 notes instead of the 5 in a regular pentatonic scale. Since the key of a appears on the circle of fifths diagram as both a major and minor key, the lesson steps explain both ways of constructing this blues scale for this key. The pentatonic scale is a 5 note scale that is widely used in rock, blues, country, and other genres.
It is the only difference between the blues scale and the minor pentatonic scale. For example, the blues scale is predominantly derived from the minor pentatonic scale, a very popular scale for improvisation in the realms of blues and rock alike. Blues scales blues is an irresistible tonality for a guitar player. In music, the blues scale is similar to a pentatonic scale which is fundamental to music all around the world. Or, in the same way, the g blues scale with the chords g7, c7 and d7. Since it contains a flatted third and a natural fifth, the minor blues scale is, by definition a minor scale.
You can get more diagrams in the tuning of your choice by using my interactive web app here. In order to cycle through as many areas of scale practice as possible and not get bored it is important to have a plan. Pentatonic scales pdf and instructional video guitar alliance. Scale pentatonic blues 1,b3,4,b5,5,b7 fullth pattern root note a guitar tuning. Rock guitar solo almost all over b minor pentatonic help info for instance, over a c major triad c, e, g in the key of c major, the note f can be perceived as dissonant as. Sep 25, 2014 easy way to learn to play g blues scale on a banjo using our fretboard charts. Since the key of d appears on the circle of fifths diagram as both a major and minor key, the lesson steps explain both ways of constructing this blues scale for this key. It is also often the first scale a new born guitar player practice on the guitar. After the pentatonic minor scale and major scale, the blues scale is probably the most widelyused scale in guitar improvisation. They are written in treble and bass clef in all twelve keys. In relation to the major scale the notes of the blues scale are. A minor pentatonicblues scale weeping willow guitar. These scales are for obvious reasons perfect when playing blues on the piano. The blues scale is very closely related to the minor pentatonic scale, and is used unsurprisingly in blues.
The e minor pentatonic scale how to play blues guitar with. The idea is the same as we mentioned before to the. Animated guitar gif if you have been following my other guitar scale lessons, then youll know that the easiest way to learn to play a scale all over the guitar neck is by slicing it up into five smaller. The blues scale is derived from the minor pentatonic scale. From what i can gather, the pentatonic scale is comprised of the 1,2,3,5 and 6 notes of the scale. Pattern 1st 2nd flattened 3rd 3rd 4th 5th 6th flattened 7th 7th. Piano pentatonic blues scales overview with pictures. The b3, b5 and b7 notes of the scale for c blues scale.
Blues music has a solid but plaintive sound which results from the use of a minorbased scale over the top of majorbased chords usually dominant. Once you are familiar with the intervallic characteristics of the scale, it should be very easy to play in any key. There is also a major blues scale see modes of the minor blues scale below, and both are commonly used by guitar players in several different musical genres. The blues scale consists of six tones wich has the intervals. Here are pictures and notes of the major pentatonic blues scales. On this page there are easy to follow tabs along with audio at three different speeds. The blues scale and its use the blues scale consists of the following.
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