Western · Gritty · expressive
Blues Scale
Take the minor pentatonic, add the flat-five “blue note”, and you get the gritty, vocal, expressive blues scale that defines the genre. That single extra note is where the tension and release of a great blues solo lives.
Open the interactive Blues scale →On the piano keyboard
Blues scale shown on C
RootScale tone
Interval formula
1 b3 4 b5 5 b7
Blues scale on every key — keyboard diagrams
C
C#
D
Eb
E
F
F#
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
Blues scale in every key
| Key | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | C | Eb | F | Gb | G | Bb |
| C# | C# | E | F# | G | G# | B |
| D | D | F | G | Ab | A | C |
| Eb | Eb | Gb | Ab | A | Bb | Db |
| E | E | G | A | Bb | B | D |
| F | F | Ab | Bb | B | C | Eb |
| F# | F# | A | B | C | C# | E |
| G | G | Bb | C | Db | D | F |
| Ab | Ab | Cb | Db | D | Eb | Gb |
| A | A | C | D | Eb | E | G |
| Bb | Bb | Db | Eb | E | F | Ab |
| B | B | D | E | F | F# | A |
Diatonic chords (key of C)
| Degree | Chord | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| I | Csus | C · F · G |
| ii | Ebm | Eb · Gb · Bb |
| III | Fsus | F · G · C |
| IV | Gbsus | Gb · Bb · Eb |
| V | Gsus | G · C · F |
| VI | Bbsus | Bb · Eb · Gb |
Popular songs in this scale
A curated list of well-known songs built on the Blues is coming soon.
Coming soon