B♭ Blues Scale (B♭ D♭ E♭ E F A♭)
B♭ blues is the jump-blues key itself. B♭ D♭ E♭ E F A♭, the blue note spelled plain E. Big-band guitar lived here for a decade and a half.
Fretboard diagram
Every B♭ 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 | B♭ |
| ♭3 | minor third | D♭ |
| 4 | perfect fourth | E♭ |
| ♭5 | flatted fifth | E |
| 5 | perfect fifth | F |
| ♭7 | minor seventh | A♭ |
Where to land
A lead that never touches its root is an exercise. In the first twelve frets B♭ sits on the low E string at fret 6, the A string at fret 1, the D string at fret 8, the G string at fret 3, the B string at fret 11, and the high E string at fret 6. 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 F a half step up or keep falling to the fourth. Treat it as a note you visit, and keep ending phrases on B♭, the way every blues record you own already does.
Keep exploring
Same root
Same notes
B♭ minor pentatonic is this scale without the ♭5.
Chords it fits over
B♭7 for a blues, B♭m and B♭m7 for everything darker.
Nearby keys
B♭ blues FAQ
What notes are in the B♭ blues scale?
B♭ blues contains B♭, D♭, E♭, E, F, and A♭. That's the root, the minor third, the perfect fourth, the flatted fifth, the perfect fifth, and the minor seventh.
What fret does B♭ blues start on?
The lowest root is B♭ at fret 6 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 B♭ 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.