C Blues Scale

G is the fifth above C. Lower it by a half step and you get G flat, the flat fifth. In the common six-note minor blues scale, this is the extra pitch relative to C minor pentatonic.

Play F-G flat-G, then play F-G with G flat omitted. The first version adds a moment of friction and motion. If you stop on G flat over a C chord, that friction lasts longer. Moving through it quickly gives another effect. Both are available; listen to the phrase.

G flat can also be called F sharp on a piano because the two spellings share one key. G flat names its role here as a lowered fifth. Blue notes in actual blues performance include pitch bends and inflections that a fixed piano keyboard cannot fully show, so no single six-note list captures the entire style.

Play C-E flat-F-G flat-G, pause, then B flat-G-E flat-C. Put the longest note on G or C. Repeat the phrase without G flat and notice how much of its character depended on that one passing motion.

Over a C7 chord, E flat in this minor blues set rubs against E natural in the chord. A player may lean into or move through that clash. The scale is a useful palette, but the active chord and note lengths still matter. Pentatonic and Blues Scales shows how the five-note and six-note sets connect.

No. A major-blues version is also common: C-D-E flat-E-G-A. It starts from C major pentatonic and adds E flat between D and E. If someone asks simply for "C blues scale," the six-note minor version above is a common answer, while the major version is another practical option.