About the C Major Blues scale
C Major Blues is used for blues, country, gospel and rock and roll. Think of it as the major pentatonic with a blue note added, bright but soulful.
Its notes are C, D, E♭, E, G, and A. The formula is W H H 1½ W 1½. It is the second mode of A Minor Blues.
Also called Major Pentatonic Blues.
Four open-string notes belong to C Major Blues, namely E, A, D, and G. The 3rd fret of the A string is the lowest C on the neck. The key runs a complete octave from root to root inside 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 | CC | Root |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | DD | Major 2nd |
| 3 | EbE♭ | Minor 3rd |
| 4 | EE | Major 3rd |
| 5 | GG | Perfect 5th |
| 6 | AA | Major 6th |
| Steps | W H H 1½ W 1½ |
|---|---|
| Semitones | 2-1-1-3-2-3 |
| Degrees | 1 2 ♭3 3 5 6 |
Shapes
Chromatic
Circle of Fifths
Related scales
Major Blues in other keys
Modes
The same notes, starting on a different note.