Guitar scale · minor blues scale
A Blues Scale
Minor pentatonic with the added ♭5 (Blue Note) for characteristic emotional grit.
Tap any note to hear it.
A Blues Scale tab: all 5 positions
Each tab climbs from the low E string to the high e string. Play it up, then back down.
e|-------------------------5-8-| B|---------------------5-8-----| G|---------------5-7-8---------| D|-----------5-7---------------| A|-----5-6-7-------------------| E|-5-8-------------------------|
e|---------------------------8-10-| B|----------------------8-10------| G|----------------7-8-9-----------| D|-----------7-10-----------------| A|------7-10----------------------| E|-8-10---------------------------|
e|------------------------------10-11-12-| B|---------------------------10----------| G|----------------------9-12-------------| D|----------------10-12------------------| A|----------10-12------------------------| E|-10-11-12------------------------------|
e|----------------------------------12-15-| B|----------------------------13-15-------| G|----------------------12-14-------------| D|-------------12-13-14-------------------| A|-------12-15----------------------------| E|-12-15----------------------------------|
e|----------------------------------15-17-| B|-------------------------15-16-17-------| G|-------------------14-17----------------| D|-------------14-17----------------------| A|-------15-17----------------------------| E|-15-17----------------------------------|
How to play A Blues on guitar
Find the root first: A is at fret 5 on the low E string and fret 0 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every A on the neck; the gold ones are the rest of the scale's home chord (♭3, 5, ♭7), the safest notes to land on at the end of a phrase.
Learn it one box at a time. Position 1, the E shape, sits at frets 5–8. Once it's under your fingers, move to position 2 (the D shape) and play the notes the two boxes share, then keep going up the neck. After all five, the scale joins up into one pattern across the whole fretboard.
Degrees
| Degree | Note |
|---|---|
| 1 | A |
| ♭3 | C |
| 4 | D |
| ♭5 (Blue Note) | Eb |
| 5 | E |
| ♭7 | G |
Fretwise · Free on iPhone & Android
Practise A Blues anywhere, even offline.
This page is a small slice of Fretwise. The app adds practice: exercises that play as tab, a new routine every day, and the tools to tune and keep time. On iPhone, iPad and Android, no sign-up.
Free
- 65 scales and 56 chord types in every key, with CAGED shapes
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- Maqam & makam between the frets, and the Name the Note quiz
One purchase
- 282 exercises that play as tab, and routines with a speed trainer
- Chord & Scale Finder: tap the neck, get the name
- Theory Lab and the Progression Builder with 51 genre loops
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Questions
- What notes are in the A Blues Scale?
- The A Blues Scale has 6 notes: A, C, D, Eb, E, G.
- What is the formula of the blues scale?
- 1 ♭3 4 ♭5 5 ♭7, which is the step pattern W+H W H H W+H W (W = whole step, H = half step).
- Where do I play A Blues on the guitar?
- The root A is at fret 5 on the low E string and fret 0 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 5–8, and four more positions connect it up the neck.