The blues scale is your secret weapon to authentically capture the soulful sounds of blues, rock, and country guitar. Think of it as the pentatonic scale’s cooler sibling, enhanced with a single, chromatic note – the iconic “blue note.” This small addition is what injects that unmistakable bluesy flavor into your guitar playing, instantly transporting your riffs and solos to a new level of expression.
Ready to dive into the world of blues guitar? Fender Play offers a fantastic resource to deepen your understanding and skills. Explore the Blues Form Basics: I IV V Guitar Collection on Fender Play to learn essential blues techniques, riffs, and songs from legendary blues artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Robert Johnson.
Mastering the Blues Scale: Your Path to Guitar Improvisation
Learning the blues scale is more than just memorizing notes; it’s about unlocking your ability to improvise over diverse chord progressions. Whether you’re jamming to a classic 12-bar blues or adding soulful licks to a rock and roll track, this scale provides the framework for authentic blues expression. Beyond improvisation, practicing the blues scale sharpens your ear, enabling you to identify and incorporate new bluesy licks into your ever-expanding guitar vocabulary.
Similar to pentatonic scales, the blues scale comes in both major and minor forms. In this guide, we’ll concentrate on the A minor blues scale, a cornerstone for countless blues guitarists. We’ll explore four distinct positions to play this scale, empowering you to navigate the fretboard with confidence. Furthermore, you’ll discover three adaptable minor blues scale patterns, giving you the freedom to play in any key. Finally, we’ll put your knowledge into practice with a 12-bar blues progression in A and targeted blues scale exercises.
Decoding the A Minor Blues Scale Notes
The A minor blues scale is composed of six notes, each contributing to its unique character:
- A
- C
- D
- D#
- E
- G
These notes, and the intervals between them, define the minor blues scale in any key. The interval pattern is: whole step and a half step, whole step, half step, half step, whole step and a half step, and a whole step.
The crucial fourth note, D# in this A minor example, is the celebrated blue note. The close proximity of D, D#, and E – separated by half steps – creates that signature “walking blues” sound, the very essence of this scale’s distinctive voice.
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Exploring A Minor Blues Scale Positions on the Guitar
Like other guitar scales, the A minor blues scale can be played in numerous positions across the fretboard. For this lesson, we will focus on four fundamental positions to get you started.
When examining the following guitar scale diagrams, remember these conventions: “O” indicates an open string. The numbers correspond to your fretting hand fingers:
- Index finger
- Middle finger
- Ring finger
- Pinkie
1st Position: Open Blues Scale
To play the A minor blues scale in the open position (1st position), use your index finger for notes on the 1st fret, middle finger for the 2nd, ring finger for the 3rd, and pinkie for the 4th fret. This position utilizes open strings for a foundational blues scale pattern.
5th Position: The E-Shaped Blues Scale
To play the A minor blues scale in the 5th position, position your index finger on the 5th fret, middle finger on the 6th, ring finger on the 7th, and pinkie on the 8th fret. This scale shape starts on the 5th fret of the low E string. This configuration is commonly referred to as the E-shaped blues scale due to its resemblance to the E major/minor barre chord shape.
7th Position: The D-Shaped Blues Scale
The A minor blues scale in the 7th position begins with your index finger on the 7th fret of the D string. As you ascend to the B string, you’ll need to slightly shift your hand up one fret to reach the notes on the 8th fret with your index finger. This position is known as the D-shaped blues scale, mirroring the shape of the D major/minor barre chord.
12th Position: The A-Shaped Blues Scale
To play the A minor blues scale in the 12th position, start with your index finger on the 12th fret of the A string. This position requires a slight hand shift up one fret as you cross to the B string, placing your index finger on the 13th fret. Then, revert back to your initial hand position for the high E string. This scale is also recognized as the A-shaped blues scale, reflecting the A major/minor barre chord shape.
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Kirk Fletcher on the Blues Pentatonic Scale
Watch this insightful “Technique of the Week” featuring Kirk Fletcher (renowned for his work with the Fabulous Thunderbirds and the Mannish Boys). Kirk, a master blues guitarist, breaks down the essential pentatonic blues scale, a fundamental stepping stone for beginner blues guitarists and a key component within the broader blues scale family. He demonstrates versatile applications and shares his favorite pentatonic blues phrases.
Blues Scale Guitar Tabs: Moveable Shapes for Every Key
Now that you’ve visually explored the E-shaped, A-shaped, and D-shaped blues scales with diagrams, these tabs will provide a clear pathway to playing each shape in both ascending and descending directions.
Each of these scale shapes is “moveable,” a crucial concept for guitarists. This means you can transpose these patterns to any key across the guitar neck. Familiarizing yourself with the notes on the E, A, and D strings will greatly assist you in practicing and transposing these scales up and down the fretboard.
E-Shaped Blues Scale Tab
Being rooted on the low E string, this pattern is known as the E-shaped blues scale. Begin with your index finger on the 5th fret of your low E string (A), and follow the tab to navigate the scale in ascending and descending sequences.
A-Shaped Blues Scale Tab
This scale is identified as the A-shaped blues scale because it commences on the A string. Start with your index finger on the 12th fret of your A string (A) and use the tab to guide you through the ascending and descending movements. Remember the slight hand shift up one fret on the B string, and then back to your starting position on the high e string!
D-Shaped Blues Scale Tab
This D-shaped blues scale in A minor originates on the seventh fret of the D string (A). Place your index finger on the 7th fret to begin. Be prepared to shift your hand up one fret as you ascend to the B string. When descending, shift back to the starting position on the G string, but remember to shift up one fret again when you reach the low E string.
Playing the 12-Bar Blues with the Blues Scale
The blues scale truly shines when played over a variety of chords, but it finds its ultimate home within the 12-bar blues progression. This foundational blues structure traditionally utilizes three chords: the I, IV, and V chords of a key. In A minor blues, these chords are A, D, and E. However, a blues shuffle rendition involves simplified two-string versions of these chords, creating that characteristic rhythmic drive.
The 12-bar blues progression will likely resonate as familiar. It’s a cornerstone of blues music and has profoundly influenced early rock and roll and country music.
To capture the authentic feel of 12-bar blues, use downstrokes and emphasize beats one and three in each measure to achieve the correct rhythmic pulse. This rhythmic emphasis is often referred to as a “blues shuffle,” defining the groove of this style. Here’s a guitar tab illustrating a standard 12-bar blues pattern.
Blues Scale Exercises to Enhance Your Guitar Skills
Practicing the A minor blues scale is an invaluable exercise for developing both finger dexterity and your musical ear while mastering this essential scale. Begin by practicing the scales independently until you can confidently play the A minor blues scale in each of the positions we’ve covered.
Next, play along with a looping 12-bar blues backing track in A. Practice the A minor blues scale in each position, focusing on incorporating syncopated rhythms. Listen intently to the backing track and approach the scale in sections, treating the notes on each string as a musical phrase. Once comfortable, experiment with breaking the scale into three- or four-note groupings that span across strings.
This method of practicing scales will accelerate your improvisation skills and may even spark the creation of your own unique licks and riffs.
Another highly effective Blues Scale Guitar practice technique is to play each scale shape up and down the guitar neck. Starting with the E-shaped blues scale, play ascending and descending patterns, beginning at the first fret and moving up one fret with each repetition of the shape. Continue this process up to the thirteenth fret, then descend one fret per cycle until you return to the first fret.
Playing scales across a 12-fret span expands your ear training by allowing you to hear the scale in every key. You can further enhance this exercise by memorizing the notes on the E, A, and D strings and naming the root note of each scale as you move up and down the neck.
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