E Blues Scale

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

B flat is the inserted key between A and B. A sharp is its enharmonic piano name, but B flat makes the lowered fifth easy to read.

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

Play E-G-A-B flat-B, pause, then D-B-G-E. On the next pass play straight from A to B and compare the turn.

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 E7, the minor third G can also rub against the chord's major third G sharp; listen to the accompaniment when you sustain it. Pentatonic and Blues Scales explains how the note set and the played phrase differ.