In this lesson, were going to break down the minor pentatonic. A blues scale consists of 6 different notes, namely the root, flat 3rd, 4th, flat 5th, 5th and flat 7th of the major scale. Remember its the process, not always the end result that you want. Many times its just the best choice for solo improvisation, and, as long as you play the right notes, theres really no wrong way to do it. Blues minor blues scale guitar patterns chart, key of a by. The minor pentatonic blues scale is most commonly used in blues and jazz music.
Many times its just the best choice for solo improvisation, and, as long as you play the right notes, theres really no wrong way to. Many intermediate guitarists get stuck playing only this scale over a dominant blues. Why the minor pentatonic scale is not the best option to use am pentatonic scale box position lets start with questioning the good old minor pentatonic scale. This jazz guitar lesson with is about the minor blues scale with a flat fifth b5. Free minor pentatonic blues scale chart saras music studio.
Check out my free video lessons on my free lessons page. You can get more diagrams in the tuning of your choice by using my interactive web app here. They just ooze that minor bluesy vibe or sweet major vibe. Com the guitar blues scale each one connects to the next and continues down and up the fretboard. The minor pentatonic is the most important scale in blues and rock music. In fact, its so widely used that many blues artist solely play this scale when soloing. The root notes a in these examples are circled so that you can learn their locations. Some even advocate for a 9note blues scale which means 9 out of the 12 notes in western music are available within the scale. There are two pentatonic scales, major pentatonic and minor pentatonic.
What is the difference between a pentatonic scale and a. However, most people agree that the blues scale is a variation on the major and minor pentatonic scales, and those pentatonic scales are derived from the major scale and the natural minor scale. A staple in blues music, this scale brings moodiness and tension that creates that familiar blues sound, particularly when played over majordominant chords. The minor blues scales bluesy sound comes from the blue notes it contains.
Mastering the blues scale volume 1 minor has 100 great blues licks in all 12 keys. You can also download the chart as a pdf by entering your. The hexatonic sixnote blues scale is basically a minor pentatonic scale with the addition of a blue note between the fourth and the fifth degrees. Lets learn the blues scales on piano and keyboard in every key.
The 1st construction, using the major scale, starts at lesson 3. The blues scale is nearly identical to the minor pentatonic. Use my search bar to find exactly what youre looking for. My goal with this report, and the accompanying videos, is to hopefully help you with your mental model of. Guitar scales printable charts of the most commonly used. Whatever method you have to use to find it is worth the time. They only differ by one note, the b5th or blue note, illustrated in blue. The illustration below to the right is the expanded i minor pentatonic blues scale. The blues scale is simply a pentatonic minor scale that has been embellished with a single, additional note. It is fairly easy to finger on the guitar, fun to solo with and a great way to begin playing in a jazz guitar setting.
I have quite a few students who are fans of playing the blues. Piano pentatonic blues scales overview with pictures. A common challenge with many students is that they always play and think of scales in box patterns and they stay. There are a million ways to express your emotions through the minor pentatonic and use it for your soloing. What is the blues scale minor pentatonic and how to play it on guitar. The major blues scale is some less common than the minor blues scale, and therefore we start with minor and you will find the major by scrolling down. King of all guitar scales blues scale feature guitar lesson what is the blues scale. After the pentatonic minor scale and major scale, the blues scale is probably the most widelyused scale in guitar improvisation. The major blues scale is some less common than the minor blues scale, and therefore we start. Companion to the blues scale guitar lesson and chart. If you already know about the minor blues scale and would just like to know how to play it in five positions as. The minor blues scale is really just a minor pentatonic scale, with the blue note added in.
The minor pentatonic scale by paul tauterouff the minor pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly scales used in rock, blues, country and jazz music. The flat 3rd, flat 5th and flat 7th notes are referred to as blue notes. The blues scale is one of the first guitar scales we explore on the guitar when learning how to solo. Blues minor blues scale guitar patterns chart, key of a. The 14 most common and usable guitar scales printable and ready to use 1. Everything you need to know to play the blues scale minor pentatonic scale on guitar. The solution below shows the a blues scale, on the piano, treble clef and bass clef. Here is the scale chart that you downloaded from 2 printable downloadable blues scale guitar chart. Tabs, fingerings, box patterns, licks, pdf and more. What is the difference between a pentatonic scale and a blues. Despite its name, the blues scale is not only used in blues music. The blues scale, whether its major or minor, is one of the most widely used scales in modern music.
Jan 31, 2014 free minor pentatonic blues scale chart. The scale is used in many different styles of music, such as rock, blues, and jazz. Since the key of f appears on the circle of fifths diagram as both a major and minor key, the lesson steps explain both ways of constructing this blues scale for this key. To play the blues is a fascinating undertaking because it can be both simplistic and yet intangibly tricky to master.
The blues scale the blues scale is very closely related to the minor pentatonic scale, and is used unsurprisingly in blues. Of course, ideally you dont need or want these written out do you. Combining minor and major pentatonic scales guitarhabits. The blues players often ad an attitional passing note to the pentatonic scale which is technically known as a flattened 5th that means an extra note in between notes 3 and 4 of the pentatonic scale.
How to use the minor pentatonic on the bass is fundamental for any bass player. Learn to incorporate the blues notes into the pentatonic scale. Minor and major blues scales are also the first scales that guitarists learn when exploring lead guitar. Pentatonic scales are very common and are found in musical cultures all over the world. Another way of looking at the major blues is the major pentatonic with a b3. Heres a little something that ive been working with in the studio this week. In this example, we will add a turnaround progression in the second bar a turnaround is a series of chords that takes the listener from one chord cm7 in this case, and turning it around back to itself using a series of chords dm7b5g7alt in this case. The blues scale minor pentatonic and the major pentatonic scales on the guitar duration. Since the key of a appears on the circle of fifths diagram as both a major and minor key, the lesson steps explain both ways of constructing this blues scale for this key. Remember to study this bass blues scale tab fingering with a metronome at 607080 and then increase the speed. There is also a major blues scale see modes of the minor blues scale below, and both are commonly used by guitar players in several different musical genres. Here are some free pdfs used to supplement my free video lessons.
This is the scale you see in the guitar scale chart on this page. The fingering patterns for the minor blues scale on guitar. Here is a sample way to practice the bb minor blues scale,again with a line that has some. These are not lessons, but supplements to my lessons. The only difference is one extra note the sharp 4 or you could call it the flat five. Dec 29, 2016 the blues scale is nearly identical to the minor pentatonic. The 12 bar blues and the minor blues scale online guitar. To play the blues is a fascinating undertaking because it can be both simplistic and yet intangibly tricky to. Pentatonic scales are killer scales to play over blues. E minor blues scale guitar lesson for blues, rock, metal and more nail guitar skills. This pdf contains the scale charts for the blues scale in all keys for guitar in standard tuning. Because theyre probably the first scales you learned, you might have studied them for a bit, got the shapes under your fingers, and.
When played over major chords, these blue notes clash in a pleasing way creating the distinct blues sound. Minors are written out in both major and minor keys. You can get more charts in with custom tunings using my interactive scale generator here. You may not be able to find what youre looking for right away this time, but youve spent time streamlining the process for later. For instance, in the c blues scale the notes are c eb f gb g. Blues scales, as the name suggests, have a bluesy sound.
A minor pentatonicblues scale weeping willow guitar. The solution below shows the f blues scale, on the piano, treble clef and bass clef. The minor pentatonic scalewritten by david taub the pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly utilized scales in most music genres all over the world. Click here for instant access to the 17 page pentatonic scales chart. How to play the minor and major blues scales with solo examples. As you will learn, these patterns can be transferred to all keys. A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five pitches per octave, in contrast to a heptatonic sevennote scale such as the major and minor scales.
Sep 15, 2018 the minor pentatonic scale is highly popular due to its versatility and playability. Cs relative minor pentatonic scale, a minor pentatonic, begins on the 6 th scale degree of the major pentatonic scale shown above. The thing that gives the minor blues scale its distinctive, bluesy sound, is whats known as the blue note. The d minor blues scale contains the following notes. Guitar scales printable charts of the most commonly used scales. I have also included the 5 box patterns you need to learn in order to memorize the blues scales in all. Oct 07, 2019 some even advocate for a 9note blues scale which means 9 out of the 12 notes in western music are available within the scale. The blues scale is a minor, hexatonic scale with the scale degrees 1 3 4 5 5 7 named after the american music genre blues from which it originates. Blues scales blues is an irresistible tonality for a guitar player. D minor blues scale positions along the fretboard online. The minor blues scale is one of the most versatile scales that you can use in your guitar solos. Although it is in the minor family of chord and scale qualities, it can be played against chord. It is the b5 note that just sounds bluesy and cool.
These scales are for obvious reasons perfect when playing blues on the piano. Apr 18, 2015 since it contains a flatted third and a natural fifth, the minor blues scale is, by definition a minor scale. It is a pdf file that you can download immediately so you can get to work. Often new players are drawn to the instrument because of a desire to play the blues. Ive included a great downloadable pdf with free blues guitar scales. This pdf contains the diagrams for all the major and minor pentatonic scales in all keys for guitar in standard tuning. However it always has that same dark classic minor pentatonic sound.
Here are the 5 standard 2 notes per string positions for the a minor pentatonic scale. This is the flattened fifth degree of the scale, a note that is also known as the flat 5, or blues note. The blues scale can also be used over minor chords when the minor chord is sounded for 2, 4, 8, or 16. D f g ab a c for a complete lesson on the minor blues scale, read this lesson. Pentatonic scales are killer scales to play over blues and over iivv changes. Its an awesome scale and sounds great, no doubt about it.
The minor pentatonic in the bass is fundamental to create lines in songs and to improvise, in addition, adding a note but we will obtain the blues scale bass, but that we will study it in another section. This book also comes with a 33 minute mastering the blues scalevol. One of the most common sticking points with people learning to solo in blues is this concept of switching between the major and the minor blues sounds. Adding a blue note to the regular pentatonic scale result in the pentatonic blues scale. Penta, is latin for five, much like a pentagram has five sides. To derive the minor blues pentatonic scale from the natural minor scale, use t h e1 s,3 r d4 5b an7 of m ic l. A minor pentatonic contains scale degrees 1, b3, 4, 5, and b7.
Clicking here and on the image below will open a pdf file of the guitar major scale chart that prints nicely. If youre playing an f blues, use the f blues scale, etc. Major and minor blues scales guitar tab and essential licks. The guitar major scale is happy upbeat and useful in a variety of styles of music. How do i use the minor pentatonic scale on the bass. Since our weather has been so blue up here, i thought it might be fun to work on our improv skills with minor pentatonic blues scales.