The main difference between the 2 scales is the addition of a flatted 5th note in the blues scale. You could play these licks over a iivv blues progression where a7 is the i chord, d7 iv chord and e7 v chord. The blues scale, whether its major or minor, is one of the most widely used scales in modern music. Download pdf use lesson 1 vocabulary with the new minor blues scale as you explore the sounds of the new blues scale in the blues form. Blues scale simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The solution below shows the f blues scale, on the piano, treble clef and bass clef. Even though there is only a difference of one note, this flatted fifth gives the blues scale its signature bluesy sound due to its dissonant nature. Minor blues scale exercises pdf sax on the web forum. Jazclass blues scale lesson, blues scale in all keys by. Show me chords that sound good with an e blues scale. Below are listed the twelve minor dorian minor, major, and dominant 7th scales.
The note added is the diminished 5th o5 measured from the scale tonic. If you are stuck in the pentatonic box then this is the way. Major and minor blues scales guitar tab and essential licks. Last time, we talked about the blues scale and how it is often the first jazz scale taught to young musicians. Jan 16, 2011 the blues scale based on the root is darker, bluesier, and more dramatic. Or, in the same way, the g blues scale with the chords g7, c7 and d7. The first diagram to the left is that of a minor pentatonic scale. The fretboard is shown with the lowest pitch string at the bottom and the highest pitch string at the top unless youve tuned your instrument differently. Adding a blue note to the regular pentatonic scale result in the pentatonic blues scale. What i have just noticed sorry for my slowness is that the notes of the a minor blues scale are the same as those in the c major blues scale. D minor pentatonic scale diagrams d minor pentatonic fretboard diagram. The 12 bar blues and the minor blues scale online guitar.
The minor blues scales bluesy sound comes from the blue notes it contains. Its harder to play a wrong note when you have no weird notes in the scale youre using. Compare the two and observe how there are only two notes added to the pentatonic. 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. The scale generator below will help you create blues scale charts diagrams in many different tunings. The minor blues scale is built by adding a b5 interval to the minor pentatonic scale, forming the pattern 1b34b55b7.
Why learning more than one scale pattern is beneficial. Piano pentatonic blues scales overview with pictures. Jun 22, 2019 this is a guitar lesson on how to use blues scales, with audio examples and a backing track so you can play your own blues solo. To begin, lets take a look at two fingerings for the universal scale, one that you can apply to all of the chords in a c minor blues, the minor blues scale itself. The slow blues in g jam track for solo 4 is a good one to practice on because its slow and the changes dont happen that fast. When we are dealing strictly with major scales we really only have one scale to draw our notes and melodies from. A minor pentatonicblues scale weeping willow guitar.
When you search for information about the blues scale on the internet, you end up finding more information good and bad than you would ever know what to do with. Improvise with the new scale in the open blues choruses. Minor blues scale exercises pdf in case anyone is interested, these are the minor blues scale exercises that i work at each practice session. Minor blues and major pentatonic scale created date. See that the note that was added is the same in both scales. King of all guitar scales blues scale feature guitar lesson what is the blues scale. I have also included the 5 box patterns you need to learn in order to memorize the blues scales in all. Soloing with the combined minormajor pentatonic scales by steve stine 26 september 2018 become a more versatile player by learning how to combine the minor and major pentatonic scales.
E major blues scale charts for piano music motivated. In this piano lesson ill show you three versions of the blues scale and how to use them to improvise with the. You can also download the chart as a pdf by entering your. For instance, in the c blues scale the notes are c. This is the scale you see in the guitar scale chart on this page. To play the blues is a fascinating undertaking because it can be both simplistic and yet intangibly tricky to master. Here are pictures and notes of the major pentatonic blues scales. Minor blues scale exercises pdf because of the ranges used being based on the range of a standard e flat alto.
Both the blues scale and relative minor blues scale see image below are explained in detail and how they are used either separately or together in the patterns. Aug 12, 2019 on this page youll find blues scale guitar tab, patterns and notation that will allow you to play blues scales all over the guitar neck. You could play these licks over a iivv blues progression where a7 is the i. Although it is in the minor family of chord and scale qualities, it can be played against chord. You may not be able to find what youre looking for right away this time, but youve spent time streamlining the process for later. Major blues scale changes the ultimate roadmap fretjam.
This video shows a musicians hands as he explains and demonstrates how to play the c minor blues scale. To view the custom blues scale charts, ensure you have enabled javascript in your. This scale is used to solo over just about any chord or key including major keys, minor keys, major chords, minor chords, blues progressions, and more. We will just deal with pentatonic and blues scales as melodic structures, in a way that can be useful in any style of music. Have your singers practice blues vocalises as a warmup. Blues scales blues is an irresistible tonality for a guitar player.
The flat 3rd, flat 5th and flat 7th notes are referred to as blue notes. Blues music has a solid but plaintive sound which results from the use of a minor based scale over the top of majorbased chords usually dominant. You can get more charts in with custom tunings using my interactive scale generator here. The major blues scale is some less common than the minor blues scale, and therefore we start. Often new players are drawn to the instrument because of a desire to play the blues. Sep 16, 2010 piano blues scale lesson how to play the blues on piano pianoplayit. The blues scale differs from the pentatonic minor scale only by the addition of a single note. Aug 07, 2015 now lets combine the notes of the minor pentatonic and major pentatonic scale and create some soloing ideas. The first mode that you will explore in this lesson outside of the minor blues scale is the melodic minor scale. Only one note different from a major scale it has a b3 interval, the melodic minor scale is effective when soloing over tonic minor chords, such as the im7 chord in a minor blues progression. Just like with a major blues progression, you can use this scale to create lines and phrases over any or all chords in a minor blues progression. They are the 5 notes of the minor pentatonic scale, plus one additional note the note added is the diminished 5th o5 measured from the scale tonic.
If i asked you to play a g chord you would i hope play a g major chord. How to play the c minor blues scale on the piano piano. Blues minor blues scale guitar patterns chart, key of a by. The blues scale based on the sixth has a brighter and more major quality. Blues scale is the pentatonic scale with one more note added in the scale.
The second diagram to the right is of a minor blues scale. The blues scale the blues scale is very closely related to the minor pentatonic scale, and is used unsurprisingly in blues. Here is the interval pattern for the melodic minor scale. Because theyre probably the first scales you learned, you might have studied them for a bit, got the shapes under your fingers, and. Information and translations of blues scale in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. I have also included a pdf download of blues scales in all keys in standard tuning.
Piano blues scale lesson how to play the blues on piano pianoplayit. After the pentatonic minor scale, the blues scale is probably the most commonly used guitar scales in improvisation. As you will notice, the first position of the a minor pentatonic scale and the second position of the a major pentatonic scale are both within easy reach of the first position of the a minor pentatonic scale index finger beginning on the fifth fret of the. 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.
This pdf contains the scale charts for the blues scale in all keys for guitar in standard tuning. Before we get started, here are the 5 pentatonic boxes in the way i look at them. Some say you can do the same pattern as a minor scale but three notes up the fretboard and some that you must change pattern to do the major pentatonic scale in the same key. The pentatonic scale is probably one of the most recognized concepts in music theory. The 1st construction, using the major scale, starts at lesson 3. When played over major chords, these blue notes clash in a pleasing way creating the distinct blues sound. Of course, ideally you dont need or want these written out do you. Scale diagrams can also be labeled with either letters or scale degrees. Soloing with the combined minormajor pentatonic scales. I will start by saying that this lesson is not about the intricacies of the blues scale in terms of blues as a music style. These charts highlight the notes and chords of e blues scale. Easy way to learn to play e blues scale on a piano using our notes and chords charts. This not only makes the minor pentatonic easier to learn and play, but also helps it to fit in with more chords and keys. Remember its the process, not always the end result that you want.
Combining minor and major pentatonic scales guitarhabits. To play the blues is a fascinating undertaking because it can be both simplistic and yet intangibly tricky to. You should hear them, feel them, know them, eat them and whatever comes next with them. For instance, in the c blues scale the notes are c eb f gb g. As named in contemporary jazz theory, its use is based on the key and not the chord, unlike some chords in jazz. Everything you need to know to play the blues scale minor pentatonic scale on guitar. Now lets combine the notes of the minor pentatonic and major pentatonic scale and create some soloing ideas. For the most part, im going to deal with pentatonic scales, but you can do blues scales instead if you want.
Since it contains a flatted third and a natural fifth, the minor blues scale is, by definition a minor scale. Here are the 5 standard 2 notes per string positions for the a minor pentatonic scale. Piano blues scale lesson how to play the blues on piano. This is usually the first scale pattern people learn accompanied by some blues style playing.
The minor blues scale, not the major blues, is standard the minor blues scale is the far more commonly used scale of the two, so as in the norm in music, it gets shortened to the blues scale. A blues scale consists of 6 different notes, namely the root, flat 3rd, 4th, flat 5th, 5th and flat 7th of the major scale. There is also a major blues scale see modes of the minor blues scale below, and both are commonly used. The minor blues scale is really just a minor pentatonic scale, with the blue note added in. How to play the minor pentatonic scale on bass guitar dummies. The minor blues scale is one of the most versatile scales that you can use in your guitar solos. In case anyone is interested, these are the minor blues scale exercises that i work at each practice session. The blues scale based on the root is darker, bluesier, and more dramatic.
Master the minor pentatonic scale using the whole fretboard. Minors are written out in both major and minor keys. Also because of the specification of the concert key on each. Unlike a traditional minor or major scale, a minor pentatonic scale has five notes, rather than seven. Both the blues scale and relative minor blues scale are explained in detail and how they are used either separately or together in the patterns for each style, the. Subtonic or leading tone the subtonic or leading tone is the seventh degree of a scale. Understanding minor scales in this brief tutorial we are going to try to demystify minor scales. I am offering a free pdf of all major and minor blues scales, written out in all keys. On this page youll find blues scale guitar tab, patterns and notation that will allow you to play blues scales all over the guitar neck. This note is known as blue note and it is the flattened fifth in the case of the minor pentatonic, or the flattened third in the case of the major pentatonic. The blues scale can also be used over minor chords when the minor chord is sounded for 2, 4, 8, or 16. How to play the minor pentatonic scale on bass guitar. Also, you can form this scale with the formula, minor 3rd whole step 12 step 12 step.
Blues minor blues scale guitar patterns chart, key of a. Its important though to point out the difference between the pentatonic scale and the blues scale. This is a guitar lesson on how to use blues scales, with audio examples and a backing track so you can play your own blues solo. Difference between minor and major pentatonic scale boxes. Pentatonic scales are cleaner as far as diagrams so theyre a little easier to work with. Then make sure you can play the g major blues sound. That means first make sure you can play the g minor sound either using box 1 with the 1st finger or box 5 with the 3rd finger. Blues music has a solid but plaintive sound which results from the use of a minorbased scale over the top of majorbased chords usually dominant. Home scales major blues scales major blues scale changes the ultimate roadmap in my preliminary lesson on soloing over blues progressions, we looked at simple ways to give good ol minor pentatonic more mileage in your blues guitar solos. These scales are for obvious reasons perfect when playing blues on the piano. Pentatonics vs blues scales effective music practice. Free minor pentatonic blues scale chart saras music studio.
Jul 24, 2011 the b flat minor blues scale is bb, db, eb, e, f, ab, bb this scale is enharmonically equivalent to a sharp minor blues. Is there a difference between minor and major pentatonic scale box shapes. Whatever method you have to use to find it is worth the time. However, the minor pentatonic scale has five different notes. This lesson will show you how to integrate other scale options that will add more color to your solos and give you more creative room to express yourself. Minor and major blues scales are also the first scales that guitarists learn when exploring lead guitar.
Pentatonic and blues scales are effectively equivalent. The blues scale is a hexatonic scale with minor pentatonic scale. The structure of the minor pentatonic scale is very similar to the blues scale. A nice combination are the chords am7, dm7 and e7 together with the a pentatonic blues scale. If youre playing an f blues, use the f blues scale, etc. The b flat minor blues scale is bb, db, eb, e, f, ab, bb this scale is enharmonically equivalent to a sharp minor blues.
Read on for a complete blues scale guitar lesson the basic blues scale guitar pattern. Major and minor blues scales guitar tab and essential licks by matt warnock wednesday, 02 january 2019 published in guitar lessons the blues scale, whether its major or minor, is one of the most widely used scales in modern music. But because blues notes or blue notes have a different form, there can be no one blues scale. It is this blues note that gives the scale its unique bluesy tone. 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 in this section you will learn how to build, play, practice, and solo with the minor blues scale in a jazz setting, as well as check out a sample solo to. 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. This jazz guitar lesson with is about the minor blues scale with a flat fifth b5. The solution below shows the a blues scale, on the piano, treble clef and bass clef. 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. They are written in treble and bass clef in all twelve keys. Learning how to play the minor pentatonic scale on bass guitar will add a lot of flavor to your playing because its one the most versatile scales. They are the 5 notes of the minor pentatonic scale, plus one additional note.
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