C# Blues Scale

Play C sharp-E-F sharp-G-G sharp-B-C sharp. Leave out G and you have C# minor pentatonic: C sharp-E-F sharp-G sharp-B. That is the fastest way to remember the six-note set. The notes C sharp-E-G sharp form the tonic minor chord.

G natural is the black-key scale's inserted white key between F sharp and G sharp. It may also be written F double sharp in a different theoretical context, but G is a practical spelling here.

Try F sharp-G-G sharp and then F sharp-G sharp. The first version passes through a point of tension; the second skips over it. How long you stay on G can matter as much as whether you include it.

Play C sharp-E-F sharp-G-G sharp, pause, then B-G sharp-E-C sharp. On the second pass leave G out.

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 C#7, the minor third E can also rub against the chord's major third E sharp; listen to the accompaniment when you sustain it. Pentatonic and Blues Scales explains how the note set and the played phrase differ.