Blues Scales

The blues scale is often used in jazz and is a great way to begin improvising. It contains 7 notes instead of the 8 notes that we see in Major and minor scales. To see how we create it, watch the video entitled “The Blues Scale- what notes are in it and how is it constructed?”

For these videos, each scale is first played with a metronome- 2 beats per note. After that, it is played with a 12-bar blues accompaniment which is heard three times (or three choruses). For the first chorus, play the scale in quarter notes with me. There will be a one beat rest at the top and bottom of the scale and the top note will be repeated as we come back down. Since the scale takes four measures to play, we’ll do this three times. For the second chorus, I will play a simple solo using only notes from the blues scale. The third chorus is all yours- I only play a note here and there so that you can try a solo on your own. Have fun!!!

The short video above explains how the blues scale is constructed.

C

F

Bb

Eb

Ab

Db

Gb

B

E

A

D

G