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|--------------------------------9-12-| B|---------------------------9-12------| G|-------------------9-11-12-----------| D|--------------9-11-------------------| A|------9-10-11------------------------| E|-9-12--------------------------------|
e|----------------------------------12-14-| B|----------------------------12-14-------| G|-------------------11-12-13-------------| D|-------------11-14----------------------| A|-------11-14----------------------------| E|-12-14----------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------14-15-16-| B|----------------------------14----------| G|----------------------13-16-------------| D|----------------14-16-------------------| A|----------14-16-------------------------| E|-14-15-16-------------------------------|
e|----------------------------------16-19-| B|----------------------------17-19-------| G|----------------------16-18-------------| D|-------------16-17-18-------------------| A|-------16-19----------------------------| E|-16-19----------------------------------|
e|----------------------------------19-21-| B|-------------------------19-20-21-------| G|-------------------18-21----------------| D|-------------18-21----------------------| A|-------19-21----------------------------| E|-19-21----------------------------------|
How to play C# Blues on guitar
Find the root first: C# is at fret 9 on the low E string and fret 4 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 9–12. 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 | E |
| 4 | F# |
| ♭5 (Blue Note) | G |
| 5 | G# |
| ♭7 | B |
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Practise C# 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 C# Blues Scale?
- The C# Blues Scale has 6 notes: C#, E, F#, G, G#, B.
- 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 9 on the low E string and fret 4 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 9–12, and four more positions connect it up the neck.