Building on the minor pentatonic scale we worked through here, this time out we’re going to look at the blues scale. The observant amongst you may notice that the differences between the two are pretty slight.
The Blues Scale
There are many ways in which to play a Blues scale, but we’ll stick with the 5th fret Am box position to start:
Ascending
E|———————————————5–8———–
B|————————————–5–8——————
G|—————————5–7–8————————-
D|——————–5–7————————————
A|———5–6–7——————————————-
E|-5–8——————————————————-
Descending
E|–8–5——————————————————
B|———-8–5———————————————-
G|——————8–7–5———————————-
D|—————————–7–5—————————-
A|————————————-7–6–5—————-
E|————————————————-8–5——–
The Box
The Theory
You will notice that the notes for A Blues are very similar to those of the Am Pentatonic Scale. They are actually the same but with the important addition of a flattened fifth a D# or Eb in this case. This turns the pentatonic hexatonic! You will notice when playing the scale that the flat 5th gives this scale a bluesy sound, even before you start to exploit it. The flattened fifths should be used as passing notes, don’t linger on them unless you want your phrases to sound unresolved. Try playing with tone and semitone bends from the fifth fret of the A string or the 7th fret of the G, both are within the scale. The blues scale is used extensively by modern players regardless of genre but is obviously a favourite of the bluesmen. You may find example lick one familiar. 😉
The Blues Scale is used extensively by Eric Clapton, BB King, SRV and many others. Gershwins Rhapsody in Blue and the melody of Sunshine of your Love are examples of blues scale melodies.
Some Example licks
Check out the video of me demonstrating these licks, and find the tabs below:
1) Sunshine
2) Double Stops:
3) Hammer-ons:
4) Wylde lick:
Hammer-ons: h.
Pull offs: p.
Vibrato: ~.
Bends: b.
Release bend: br.
Slides: / or \ depending on direction.
And that’s the Blues Scale for you. You can find more articles on scales and guitar technique to help you develop as a player here. If you’ve got any questions please get in touch on Facebook or Twitter.
Make sure to pull a guitar face on the bends!
