fuaranScale Mastery
SCALE · ON GUITAR

A Blues

Minor pentatonic + the flat-5 'blue note'. Six notes. The foundation of blues, blues-rock, and modern guitar vocabulary.

MEIMIDIHumdrum
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Tempo120 bpm

Playback sounds an octave below the written notation — the instrument's concert (sounding) pitch.

Audio source: tonejs-instruments by Nick Brosowsky (MIT)

Engraved by Verovio 6.2.0-43f8060 5 title A Blues Verovio
Tuning
FretboardTuning: DGDGBD
35791215DGDGBDDE♭EGACDE♭EGACDE♭EGADE♭EGACDE♭EGACDE♭EGACDE♭EGACDDE♭EGACDE♭E
Related scales
Same scale, other instruments
Same scale, other tonics
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Theory reference
Questions
What notes are in the A Blues scale?

The A Blues scale uses the notes A, C, D, E♭, E, G (one octave; the pattern repeats at higher registers).

What's the Blues scale formula?

The Blues scale follows the interval pattern W+H W H H W+H W, where W = whole step (2 semitones) and H = half step (1 semitone). Apply that pattern starting on A to get the A Blues scale.

What chords work over A Blues?

Blues scale works over the I / IV / V of any blues progression. The ♭5 is a passing tone — don't sit on it.

How do I finger A Blues on Guitar?

On guitar, scales are typically learned as position patterns — three- or four-notes-per-string shapes that move up the neck. The CAGED system positions each scale in five interconnected patterns; the three-notes-per-string approach simplifies modal scales.

When would I use the Blues scale?

Minor pentatonic + the flat-5 'blue note'. Six notes. The foundation of blues, blues-rock, and modern guitar vocabulary.