B Blues Scale
The common B minor blues scale uses B, D, E, F, F sharp, A. It begins with B minor pentatonic and adds F between E and F sharp. The extra note is the lowered fifth, often called the blue note in this six-note pattern.
- Notes: B-D-E-F-F sharp-A
- Added note: F
- Six notes
Which notes are in the scale?
Play B-D-E-F-F sharp-A-B. Leave out F and you have B minor pentatonic: B-D-E-F sharp-A. That is the fastest way to remember the six-note set. The notes B-D-F sharp form the tonic minor chord.
What exactly is the blue note?
F natural sits directly between E and F sharp. This is a visually simple blue note: three adjacent piano keys show the whole move.
Try E-F-F sharp and then E-F sharp. The first version passes through a point of tension; the second skips over it. How long you stay on F can matter as much as whether you include it.
How can you use it in a phrase?
Play E-F-F sharp, pause, then A-F sharp-D-B. Repeat while omitting F to hear exactly what the added key contributes.
This six-note list is a practical entry to blues phrasing, not a complete rule for the style. A singer or guitarist can bend pitches between piano keys. Over B7, the minor third D can also rub against the chord's major third D sharp; listen to the accompaniment when you sustain it. Pentatonic and Blues Scales explains how the note set and the played phrase differ.
Keep going
Every pentatonic and blues scale
- C Blues Scale
- C Pentatonic Scale
- C# Blues Scale
- C# Pentatonic Scale
- D Blues Scale
- D Pentatonic Scale
- Eb Blues Scale
- Eb Pentatonic Scale
- E Blues Scale
- E Pentatonic Scale
- F Blues Scale
- F Pentatonic Scale
- F# Blues Scale
- F# Pentatonic Scale
- G Blues Scale
- G Pentatonic Scale
- Ab Blues Scale
- Ab Pentatonic Scale
- A Blues Scale
- A Pentatonic Scale
- Bb Blues Scale
- Bb Pentatonic Scale
- B Blues Scale
- B Pentatonic Scale