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The blues scale is a six-note scale widely used for improvisation in blues, rock, jazz and many other styles of popular music. Its distinctive intervals give it the expressive, soulful sound that defines the blues.
What is the blues scale?
The most common blues scale is built from the following intervals:
- Root (1)
- Minor third (♭3)
- Perfect fourth (4)
- Diminished fifth (♭5), often called the blue note
- Perfect fifth (5)
- Minor seventh (♭7)
The flattened fifth gives the blues scale its characteristic tension and expressive colour. Because the scale combines elements of both major and minor tonality, it works naturally over many different blues chord progressions.
How is the blues scale used in piano playing?
The blues scale is one of the first scales many piano players learn for improvisation. It provides a simple framework for creating solos and melodic fills over blues, rock and jazz progressions.
Many pianists emphasize the blue note by briefly passing from the diminished fifth to the perfect fifth, creating the expressive sound associated with blues performance. Mastering the blues scale opens the door to confident improvisation in many styles of music.