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Guitar scale · pentatonic & blues

G Major Blues Scale

Major pentatonic with an added ♭3 passing tone for rich country-blues phrasing.

Notes GABbBDE
Formula 1 2 ♭3 3 5 6
Steps W H H W+H W W+H
Mood Swinging, Vibrant, Expressive
Heard in B.B. King style, Country Blues, Swing

Interactive scale diagram

G Major Blues Scale · Standard tuning

STR OP 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 E A D G B E

Tap any note to hear it.

G 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.

Position 1 · E shape frets 3–6
e|-------------------3-5-6-|
B|---------------3-5-------|
G|-----------3-4-----------|
D|---------5---------------|
A|-------5-----------------|
E|-3-5-6-------------------|
Position 2 · D shape frets 5–8
e|-----------------------5-6-7-|
B|-------------------5-8-------|
G|-----------------7-----------|
D|-----------5-7-8-------------|
A|-------5-7-------------------|
E|-5-6-7-----------------------|
Position 3 · C shape frets 7–10
e|--------------------------7-10-|
B|---------------------8-10------|
G|-----------------7-9-----------|
D|-----------7-8-9---------------|
A|------7-10---------------------|
E|-7-10--------------------------|
Position 4 · A shape frets 10–13
e|-------------------------------10-12-|
B|----------------------10-11-12-------|
G|-------------------12----------------|
D|----------------12-------------------|
A|-------10-12-13----------------------|
E|-10-12-------------------------------|
Position 5 · G shape frets 12–15
e|-------------------------------------12-15-|
B|-------------------------------12-15-------|
G|----------------------12-14-15-------------|
D|----------------12-14----------------------|
A|-------12-13-14----------------------------|
E|-12-15-------------------------------------|

How to play G Major Blues on guitar

Find the root first: G is at fret 3 on the low E string and fret 10 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every G 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 3–6. 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

DegreeNote
1 G
2 A
♭3 Bb
3 B
5 D
6 E

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Questions

What notes are in the G Major Blues Scale?
The G Major Blues Scale has 6 notes: G, A, Bb, B, D, E.
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 G Major Blues on the guitar?
The root G is at fret 3 on the low E string and fret 10 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 3–6, and four more positions connect it up the neck.

Major Blues Scale in every key

More scales in G