12 Blues Scales (minor blues)

Scale Formula: R - 3 - 4 - 5 - 5 - 7

Blues scales are commonly used to solo over Major & minor blues, & over minor chords in general. The Blues scale creates a 'bluesy' feeling, or an 'earthy' quality. It is commonly used by Rock, Jazz, Blues, & R&B players.

You can use the G blues scale to solo over G blues. In this instance, you are making a single scale choice for an entire harmonic progression. When playing a blues scale (the minor pentatonic with the 5) over G Major blues (G is I chord, C is IV chord, D is V chord), you may hear some 'clashing'. It is common to make modifications to the scale to match up the sounds.

One modification is adding the Major 3rd to the scale while the G (or G7) is sounding, then just playing G minor pentatonic over the C chord, & adding the F# while the D is sounding. At some point with the V chord, you have to make so many modifications, it might just be better to use a different scale. You have choices (even in how you think about all of this).

Another option is to switch to each of the corresponding blues scales for the given chord root. When playing blues in G Major, play G blues scale with the G chord, C blues scale for the C chord, & D blues scale over the D chord.

Keep in mind that the 'blues' scale is a minor scale, so it can & will be called the minor blues scale (& probably should be all the time). When you add the Major 3rd to the blues scale, we can call it the Major 3 Blues scale. Another option for Dominant type chords (G7, C7, D7), it to use the corresponding Mixolydian (Major scale with a 7).

The flat 5 is also the sharp 4 (the tritone - 3 whole steps - 6 half steps) & can be named the sharp name as in some of the examples above. This tone acts as a passing tone, not a strong beat tone. It should occur as a connection tone between the 4 & 5.

For minor type chords, the blues scale is a good fit. It is also common to alternate between the Dorian mode (R-2-3-4-5-6-7) & the blues scale for the minor.

Download pdf of Blues Scales in 12 Keys

Play through each scale. The tab for each scale is given, yet this is only one of many possible fingerings. Improvise within the given octave. If a particular fingering shifts (changes positions), try sliding between positions.

Finally, as with all scales, find out what types of chords it generates.

Use Blues Scales over these Progressions