Guitar scale · pentatonic & blues
C# Major Blues Scale
Major pentatonic with an added ♭3 passing tone for rich country-blues phrasing.
Tap any note to hear it.
C# Major 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|-------------------------9-11-12-| B|--------------------9-11---------| G|---------------9-10--------------| D|------------11-------------------| A|---------11----------------------| E|-9-11-12-------------------------|
e|----------------------------------11-12-13-| B|----------------------------11-14----------| G|-------------------------13----------------| D|----------------11-13-14-------------------| A|----------11-13----------------------------| E|-11-12-13----------------------------------|
e|----------------------------------13-16-| B|----------------------------14-16-------| G|----------------------13-15-------------| D|-------------13-14-15-------------------| A|-------13-16----------------------------| E|-13-16----------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------16-18-| B|----------------------16-17-18-------| G|-------------------18----------------| D|----------------18-------------------| A|-------16-18-19----------------------| E|-16-18-------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------18-21-| B|-------------------------------18-21-------| G|----------------------18-20-21-------------| D|----------------18-20----------------------| A|-------18-19-20----------------------------| E|-18-21-------------------------------------|
How to play C# Major 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), 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# |
| 2 | D# |
| ♭3 | E |
| 3 | E# |
| 5 | G# |
| 6 | A# |
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Practise C# Major 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# Major Blues Scale?
- The C# Major Blues Scale has 6 notes: C#, D#, E, E#, G#, A#.
- What is the formula of the major blues scale?
- 1 2 ♭3 3 5 6, which is the step pattern W H H W+H W W+H (W = whole step, H = half step).
- Where do I play C# Major 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.