About the A Minor Blues scale
A Minor Blues is used for blues, rock and soul solos. Think of it as the minor pentatonic with one extra blue note, the classic blues sound. It is A Blues Diminished with the third raised.
Its notes are A, C, D, E♭, E, and G. The formula is 1½ W H H 1½ W.
Also called Blues Scale and Blues Hexatonic.
In A Minor Blues, the open strings sound E, A, D, and G. The lowest A on a guitar is the open A string. This scale plays in open position, a whole octave of the scale falling within the first three frets.
Positions
Playable shapes for this scale up the neck. Tap any note to hear it.
6-position system
6 four-fret boxes, one per scale degree, each a single hand position with almost no shifting. The jazz and classical way, from William Leavitt's Berklee method.
Notes and intervals
| 1 | AA | Root |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | CC | Minor 3rd |
| 3 | DD | Perfect 4th |
| 4 | EbE♭ | Diminished 5th |
| 5 | EE | Perfect 5th |
| 6 | GG | Minor 7th |
| Steps | 1½ W H H 1½ W |
|---|---|
| Semitones | 3-2-1-1-3-2 |
| Degrees | 1 ♭3 4 ♭5 5 ♭7 |
Shapes
Chromatic
Circle of Fifths
Related scales
Minor Blues in other keys
Modes
The same notes, starting on a different note.
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