Guitar scale · minor blues scale
B Blues Scale
Minor pentatonic with the added ♭5 (Blue Note) for characteristic emotional grit.
Tap any note to hear it.
B 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|----------------------------7-10-| B|-----------------------7-10------| G|----------------7-9-10-----------| D|------------7-9------------------| A|------7-8-9----------------------| E|-7-10----------------------------|
e|-------------------------------10-12-| B|-------------------------10-12-------| G|-----------------9-10-11-------------| D|------------9-12---------------------| A|-------9-12--------------------------| E|-10-12-------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------12-13-14-| B|----------------------------12----------| G|----------------------11-14-------------| D|----------------12-14-------------------| A|----------12-14-------------------------| E|-12-13-14-------------------------------|
e|----------------------------------14-17-| B|----------------------------15-17-------| G|----------------------14-16-------------| D|-------------14-15-16-------------------| A|-------14-17----------------------------| E|-14-17----------------------------------|
e|----------------------------------17-19-| B|-------------------------17-18-19-------| G|-------------------16-19----------------| D|-------------16-19----------------------| A|-------17-19----------------------------| E|-17-19----------------------------------|
How to play B Blues on guitar
Find the root first: B is at fret 7 on the low E string and fret 2 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every B 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 7–10. 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 | B |
| ♭3 | D |
| 4 | E |
| ♭5 (Blue Note) | F |
| 5 | F# |
| ♭7 | A |
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Practise B 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.
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Questions
- What notes are in the B Blues Scale?
- The B Blues Scale has 6 notes: B, D, E, F, F#, A.
- 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 B Blues on the guitar?
- The root B is at fret 7 on the low E string and fret 2 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 7–10, and four more positions connect it up the neck.