Guitar scale · minor blues scale
C Blues Scale
Minor pentatonic with the added ♭5 (Blue Note) for characteristic emotional grit.
Tap any note to hear it.
C 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|-------------------------------8-11-| B|--------------------------8-11------| G|------------------8-10-11-----------| D|-------------8-10-------------------| A|------8-9-10------------------------| E|-8-11-------------------------------|
e|----------------------------------11-13-| B|----------------------------11-13-------| G|-------------------10-11-12-------------| D|-------------10-13----------------------| A|-------10-13----------------------------| E|-11-13----------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------13-14-15-| B|----------------------------13----------| G|----------------------12-15-------------| D|----------------13-15-------------------| A|----------13-15-------------------------| E|-13-14-15-------------------------------|
e|----------------------------------15-18-| B|----------------------------16-18-------| G|----------------------15-17-------------| D|-------------15-16-17-------------------| A|-------15-18----------------------------| E|-15-18----------------------------------|
e|----------------------------------18-20-| B|-------------------------18-19-20-------| G|-------------------17-20----------------| D|-------------17-20----------------------| A|-------18-20----------------------------| E|-18-20----------------------------------|
How to play C Blues on guitar
Find the root first: C is at fret 8 on the low E string and fret 3 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every C 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 8–11. 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 | C |
| ♭3 | Eb |
| 4 | F |
| ♭5 (Blue Note) | Gb |
| 5 | G |
| ♭7 | Bb |
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Practise C Blues anywhere, even offline.
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Questions
- What notes are in the C Blues Scale?
- The C Blues Scale has 6 notes: C, Eb, F, Gb, G, Bb.
- 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 C Blues on the guitar?
- The root C is at fret 8 on the low E string and fret 3 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 8–11, and four more positions connect it up the neck.