Quiz: How Much Do You Know about the Blues Scale On Guitar?

Have you ever wondered why certain guitarists seem to make an instant connection with their audience whereas other player’s notes appear to have the impact of cotton wool bullets?

Can I be totally honest with you?

It has nothing to do with flashy riffs played at face-melting speed, big amps or special theatrical lighting effects …

Think about this for a moment.

The most successful players are the ones that connect with their audience on an emotional level.

They play music that breathes and allows the audience to become involved with the performance.

Yes, you have to allow your audience to breathe with the music.

Deep down you know it’s true, every note B.B.King plays sounds like he means it.

Because he does!

In other words, his brain is controlling his fingers, consequently, he is able to clearly communicate his ideas to the audience.

Blues Scale For Guitar: 101

The challenge for most guitar players is ‘what scales should I learn and which one should I learn first?’

There’s no shortage of scales available to the newbie guitarist, in fact, that’s part of the problem, too much information.

Let’s start at the beginning …

Essential scales to learn would be:

minor pentatonic scale

2. major pentatonic scale

3. blues scale

I’d learn them in that order, master the minor pentatonic, next the major pentatonic and then the blues scale.

Since I’ve covered the major and minor versions of the pentatonic scales in previous articles today our focus will be on the blues scale.

Guitar Scales Explained

Blues Scale vs Pentatonic Guitar

Here’s the skinny …

It is often thought that the pentatonic scale is a stripped-down major scale, in reality, the major scale is a built-up pentatonic scale.

The pentatonic scale is a five-note scale thought to be about 50,000 years old.

Whereas, the diatonic major scale first came on the scene around 45,000 years ago.

In contrast, the blues scale is a relatively new scale.

It is difficult to pinpoint an exact date when the collection of notes that we call the Blues Scale first came into existence.

However, we could say with a fair degree of confidence that musicians were using these sounds as early as 1900, certainly in the 1920s

The blues style evolved over a long period and existed in its modern form before the term blues was introduced and before the style was thoroughly documented.

The blues tells a story. Every line of the blues has a meaning. – John Lee Hooker

Blues Scale Notes Guitar

One of the problems is that there are several types of scales cataloged under the single umbrella generic term ‘Blues Scale’.

Consequently, it can be difficult to know which one to study.

Since blue notes are notes that are intonations and inflections that do not exist in traditional European theory texts, strictly speaking there can be no one blues scale.

Consequently, it can be difficult to know exactly which one to study.

The Blues Scale for Guitar:

The scale most commonly called “the blues scale” comprises a flatted seventh blue note, a flatted third blue note, and a flatted fifth blue note along with other pitches derived from the minor pentatonic scale.

For instance, the Blues Scale in the key of C would contain these notes:

C – Eb – F – Gb – G – Bb

Legit Scales vs Blues Scale

The blues scale is one of the most unique and frequently used scales.

It is also important because it is the first real scale of American origin.

The reason for the flexibility and feeling inherent in the blues scale are these:

(a) All of the traditional scale forms that form the backbone of “legit” musical training such as the diatonic major scale stem from the European musical culture.

These scales all began and developed in an atmosphere of disciplined conditions e.g., they are a product of the piano keyboard.

Traditional scales were created and developed over the passage of time on the piano keyboard using a mathematical and scientific approach.

(b) In contrast, the blues scale had its roots in an untrained, natural vocal origin.

The important distinction between the “legit” scales and the blues scale is that the blues scale was a human vocal sound transferred to the instruments available at the time.

Often guitars played with a slide often referred to as “bottleneck” guitar as the slide was more often than not created out of the glass “neck” of a bottle.

Other instruments such as the bugle, trumpet and later the saxophone emulated the vocal sound or the work songs of people working on plantations, road and railway gangs.

Most early exponents of the blues scale, for example, could not read music; they did not study to develop their talent and facility; they were not technically aware of what or how they arrived at the music they produced.

They heard and felt their music and that was all they needed.

We all have idols. Play like anyone you care about but try to be yourself while you’re doing so. – B.B King

Best Blues Scale Pattern For Guitar

Once a guitarist becomes aware of the notes of a scale he or she has numerous optional fingering patterns available on the fingerboard.

Ultimately the choice of fingering pattern will depend on the style of music and the musical effect the guitarist wants to achieve.

The following pattern is the most common and most effective for playing blues.

Here is the blues scale for guitar in the key of G

The notes of the G Blues Scale are:

G – Bb – C – Db – D – F – G

Compare this pattern with that of the G Minor Pentatonic Scale

Notes of the G minor Pentatonic are as follows:

G – Bb – C – D – F – G

Notice how the notes of both scales are identical except for the additional Db note in the G Blues Scale.

What makes this so special?

Compared to the note G (the keynote), the Db creates the most dissonance.

I’ve indicated the Db note in the scale pattern below, play the G note first then play the Db.

Notice the musical tension between these two notes?

Consonance and Dissonance

Consonance in music is a combination of notes which are in harmony

with each other due to the relationship between their frequencies.

All music creates tension and release, dissonance and consonance.

Tension and release = motion

So what it’s all about?

The intervallic relationship (dissonance and consonance) between notes is very much like a musical version of ‘sweet and sour’, too much of either and it’s not very tasty.

Get it just right and it’s delicious!

You can see this clearly on the cycle of fifths diagram below.

Using note G as our reference point the most consonant note to G is the next note moving clockwise, note D.

To find the most dissonant note simply look for the note located diametrically opposite your keynote.

In this instance note Db.

Here’s how that works on the cycle of fifths.

In conclusion, it’s always a good idea to be able to relate fingerboard patterns to the cycle of fifths, chromatic cycle, etc., diagrams.

The musician/ guitarist must always know WHY something works.

Most Common Keys For The Blues

A competent guitarist should be able to play the blues in every key.

However, if you are just starting I would recommend learning the keys of E and G.

E Blues Scale Notes: E – G – A – Bb – B – D

This is how you could play this scale in the open position.

Play this scale slowly listening carefully to the sound of each note.

After that, try the same scale one octave higher.

Now trying connecting both patterns so that you can play a two-octave E Blues Scale in the open position of the guitar.

How to practice the Blues Scale

Sound Comes first

Try this:

1. Search YouTube for a “Blues in G” backing track

2. Either close your eyes or turn out the lights

3.Play (obviously only by touch) the G blues scale, and listen carefully to the sound of each note over the background.

4. Hold the notes you like, and listen carefully to their character.

5. In contrast, listen closely to the sound of the notes you are not sure of.

6. When you play a note you dislike move them to a nearby note that sounds better.

7.Open your eyes or turn the lights back on.

Basic Blues song structure

When the blues started back in the 19th century as a form of folk music, it was originally performed by individual singers, guitarists, and banjo players.

By 1920 three distinct blues formats had developed: the 8 bar blues, the 12 bar blues and the 16 bar blues.

From these three the 12 bar blues quickly became the most popular format it is still the most common blues form used by contemporary musicians.

The versatile nature of the blues scale makes it one of the most popular scales in modern music make sure you learn how to play this scale on the guitar.

And that’s just the beginning …

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