A Blues Scale (A C D E♭ E G)
A blues is A minor pentatonic with an E♭ inside. A C D E♭ E G. Nobody sits on the E♭. It gets bent through, hammered past, or landed on just long enough to leave.
Fretboard diagram
Every A blues note from the open strings to fret 22. At fret 12 the map starts over an octave up.
Notes in this scale
| Symbol | Interval | Note |
|---|---|---|
| R | root | A |
| ♭3 | minor third | C |
| 4 | perfect fourth | D |
| ♭5 | flatted fifth | E♭ |
| 5 | perfect fifth | E |
| ♭7 | minor seventh | G |
Where to land
A lead that never touches its root is an exercise. In the first twelve frets A sits on the low E string at fret 5, the A string open and at fret 12, the D string at fret 7, the G string at fret 2, the B string at fret 10, and the high E string at fret 5. End phrases on one of them until it's automatic, then start aiming for whichever chord tone the band is sitting on instead.
The E♭ is the exception to every landing rule. Bend into it, slide through it, resolve it to the E a half step up or keep falling to the fourth. Treat it as a note you visit, and keep ending phrases on A, the way every blues record you own already does.
Keep exploring
Same root
Same notes
A minor pentatonic is this scale without the ♭5.
Chords it fits over
A7 for a blues, Am and Am7 for everything darker.
Nearby keys
A blues FAQ
What notes are in the A blues scale?
A blues contains A, C, D, E♭, E, and G. That's the root, the minor third, the perfect fourth, the flatted fifth, the perfect fifth, and the minor seventh.
What fret does A blues start on?
The lowest root is A at fret 5 on the low E string, and most players anchor there. The scale itself covers the whole neck, and everything repeats twelve frets higher.
What is the blue note in the A blues scale?
E♭, the flatted fifth. It sits one fret below the perfect fifth and one above the fourth. It works as a passing note, bent into or slid through, and resolves cleanly to either neighbor.