The Blues Scale

Lesson 2/48 | Study Time: 5 Min
Course: Rock Keyboard
The Blues Scale

The Blues Scale

One of the most commonly used scales in Rock is the Blues Scale, which is demonstrated in the following example. The fingering given here is only one way of playing the scale. Be prepared for variations in fingering depending on the musical context.

It is worth comparing the notes of the Blues scale with those of the major scale. Here are the notes of both scales.

 

C Major Scale

 

C Blues Scale

Notice that the Blues scale contains both the b5 and the natural 5. It does not contain the degrees 2 or 6. Altogether the Blues scale contains six different notes, whereas the major scale contains seven different notes. The major scale used by itself does not sound very bluesy. However, in Blues, melodies often contain notes from both of these scales. Listen to example 36 to hear the difference between them.

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Peter Gelling

Peter Gelling

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Class Sessions

1- Chord Inversions 2- Minor Chords 3- The Blues Scale 4- Eighth Note Rhythms 5- Seventh Chords 6- The Triplet 7- Sixteenth Notes 8- Intervals 9- The Major Chord 10- More About Chords and Keys 11- INTRODUCTION 12- 16th Note Studies 13- Approach to Practice 14- Swing Rhythms 15- C Chromatic Scale 16- G7 Chord Inversions 17- Riffs 18- Scale Tone Chords 19- C Minor Chord Inversions 20- Slash Chords 21- Chord Diagrams 22- C Major Chord Inversions 23- Quarter Note Rhythms 24- Creating Minor Chords 25- Minor Keys 26- Syncopation 27- Transposing 28- Listening 29- The Shuffle 30- Creating 7th Chords 31- Interval Types 32- G Major Chord Inversions 33- Basic Equipment 34- Interval Distances 35- Identifying 8th Note Rhythms 36- Seventh Chord Types 37- The G Major Chord 38- Grace Notes 39- Omitting Notes From Chords 40- F Major Chord Inversions 41- Transposing Chords 42- 12 Bar Blues 43- The F Major Chord 44- Guidelines for Using Inversions 45- Using Ties, Pedal Tones 46- Scale Tone Seventh Chords 47- Chord Substitution 48- Creating Other Chord Types

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