fuaranScale Mastery
SCALE · ON PIANO

B♭ Major Blues

Major pentatonic + the chromatic ♭3 passing tone. Country, rockabilly, and bluegrass colour.

MEIMIDIHumdrum
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Tempo120 bpm

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

Engraved by Verovio 6.2.0-43f8060 5 title B♭ Major Blues Verovio
Keyboard
CDFGCDFGCDFGB♭C♯B♭C♯B♭C♯
Related scales
Same scale, other instruments
Same scale, other tonics
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Theory reference
Questions
What notes are in the B♭ Major Blues scale?

The B♭ Major Blues scale uses the notes B♭, C, C♯, D, F, G (one octave; the pattern repeats at higher registers).

What's the Major Blues scale formula?

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

What chords work over B♭ Major Blues?

Major Blues works over the I7 / IV7 / V7 of country / bluegrass / rockabilly progressions. The ♭3 is a passing tone.

How do I finger B♭ Major Blues on Piano?

On piano, scales typically use a 1-2-3 / 1-2-3-4 thumb-under pattern for white-key scales. Black-key scales (F♯, G♭, etc.) shift the thumb-under positions onto white keys for ergonomic clearance. Hanon Exercise No. 1 and Czerny Op. 599 No. 1 work through the canonical pattern.

When would I use the Major Blues scale?

Major pentatonic + the chromatic ♭3 passing tone. Country, rockabilly, and bluegrass colour.