About the E Minor Blues scale
E 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 E Blues Diminished with the third raised.
Its notes are E, G, A, B♭, B, and D. The formula is 1½ W H H 1½ W.
Also called Blues Scale and Blues Hexatonic.
In E Minor Blues, the open strings sound E, A, D, G, and B. The lowest E on a guitar is the open low E string. The key sits in true open position, with a complete octave of the scale 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 | EE | Root |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | GG | Minor 3rd |
| 3 | AA | Perfect 4th |
| 4 | BbB♭ | Diminished 5th |
| 5 | BB | Perfect 5th |
| 6 | DD | 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.