About the C sharp Minor Blues scale
C sharp 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 C♯ Blues Diminished with the third raised.
Its notes are C♯, E, F♯, G, G♯, and B. The formula is 1½ W H H 1½ W.
Also called Blues Scale and Blues Hexatonic.
The open-string notes E, G, and B all sit inside this scale. The lowest C♯ on a standard-tuned guitar sits at the 4th fret of the A string. A capo at the first fret lets a guitarist play C♯ Minor Blues with C-shape fingerings.
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 | C#C♯ | Root |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | EE | Minor 3rd |
| 3 | F#F♯ | Perfect 4th |
| 4 | GG | Diminished 5th |
| 5 | G#G♯ | Perfect 5th |
| 6 | BB | 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.