fuaranScale Mastery
SCALE · ON VIOLA

D♭ Blues

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

MEIMIDIHumdrum
Choose a root
Tempo120 bpm

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

Engraved by Verovio 6.2.0-43f8060 5 title D♭ Blues Verovio
Keyboard
F♭A𝄫C♭D♭G♭A♭
Related scales
Same scale, other instruments
Same scale, other tonics
Modes built on this tonic
Compare with
Theory reference
Questions
What notes are in the D♭ Blues scale?

The D♭ Blues scale uses the notes D♭, F♭, G♭, A𝄫, A♭, C♭ (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 D♭ to get the D♭ Blues scale.

What chords work over D♭ 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 D♭ Blues on Viola?

On bowed strings, scales train both fingering and bow technique. First-position fingerings cover most scales up to one octave; second-, third-, and fourth-position shifts unlock the higher register. The 1-2-3-4 finger pattern adapts to the half-step + whole-step positions per scale.

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.