Guitar scale · minor blues scale
E Blues Scale
Minor pentatonic with the added ♭5 (Blue Note) for characteristic emotional grit.
Tap any note to hear it.
E 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|-------------------------0-3-| B|---------------------0-3-----| G|---------------0-2-3---------| D|-----------0-2---------------| A|-----0-1-2-------------------| E|-0-3-------------------------|
e|-----------------------3-5-| B|-------------------3-5-----| G|-------------2-3-4---------| D|---------2-5---------------| A|-----2-5-------------------| E|-3-5-----------------------|
e|---------------------5-6-7-| B|-------------------5-------| G|---------------4-7---------| D|-----------5-7-------------| A|-------5-7-----------------| E|-5-6-7---------------------|
e|--------------------------7-10-| B|---------------------8-10------| G|-----------------7-9-----------| D|-----------7-8-9---------------| A|------7-10---------------------| E|-7-10--------------------------|
e|--------------------------------10-12-| B|-----------------------10-11-12-------| G|------------------9-12----------------| D|-------------9-12---------------------| A|-------10-12--------------------------| E|-10-12--------------------------------|
How to play E Blues on guitar
Find the root first: E is at fret 0 on the low E string and fret 7 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every E 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 0–3. 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 | E |
| ♭3 | G |
| 4 | A |
| ♭5 (Blue Note) | Bb |
| 5 | B |
| ♭7 | D |
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Practise E 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 E Blues Scale?
- The E Blues Scale has 6 notes: E, G, A, Bb, B, D.
- 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 E Blues on the guitar?
- The root E is at fret 0 on the low E string and fret 7 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 0–3, and four more positions connect it up the neck.