Guitar scale · minor blues scale
F# Blues Scale
Minor pentatonic with the added ♭5 (Blue Note) for characteristic emotional grit.
Tap any note to hear it.
F# 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|-------------------------2-5-| B|---------------------2-5-----| G|---------------2-4-5---------| D|-----------2-4---------------| A|-----2-3-4-------------------| E|-2-5-------------------------|
e|-----------------------5-7-| B|-------------------5-7-----| G|-------------4-5-6---------| D|---------4-7---------------| A|-----4-7-------------------| E|-5-7-----------------------|
e|---------------------7-8-9-| B|-------------------7-------| G|---------------6-9---------| D|-----------7-9-------------| A|-------7-9-----------------| E|-7-8-9---------------------|
e|------------------------------9-12-| B|------------------------10-12------| G|-------------------9-11------------| D|-----------9-10-11-----------------| A|------9-12-------------------------| E|-9-12------------------------------|
e|----------------------------------12-14-| B|-------------------------12-13-14-------| G|-------------------11-14----------------| D|-------------11-14----------------------| A|-------12-14----------------------------| E|-12-14----------------------------------|
How to play F# Blues on guitar
Find the root first: F# is at fret 2 on the low E string and fret 9 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every F# 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 2–5. 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 | F# |
| ♭3 | A |
| 4 | B |
| ♭5 (Blue Note) | C |
| 5 | C# |
| ♭7 | E |
Fretwise · Free on iPhone & Android
Practise F# 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.
Free
- 65 scales and 56 chord types in every key, with CAGED shapes
- A tuner with 10 tunings and a metronome from 30 to 260 BPM
- A new Daily 15 routine every day, plus free exercises
- Maqam & makam between the frets, and the Name the Note quiz
One purchase
- 282 exercises that play as tab, and routines with a speed trainer
- Chord & Scale Finder: tap the neck, get the name
- Theory Lab and the Progression Builder with 51 genre loops
- No subscription, ads removed
Questions
- What notes are in the F# Blues Scale?
- The F# Blues Scale has 6 notes: F#, A, B, C, C#, E.
- 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 F# Blues on the guitar?
- The root F# is at fret 2 on the low E string and fret 9 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 2–5, and four more positions connect it up the neck.