Remember its the process, not always the end result that you want. Pattern 1st 2nd flattened 3rd 3rd 4th 5th 6th flattened 7th 7th. These scales are for obvious reasons perfect when playing blues on the piano. Here is the scale major scale chart that you downloaded from 1 2 printable guitar major scale chart. The solution below shows the f blues scale, on the piano, treble clef and bass clef. Easy way to learn to play e blues scale on a piano using our notes and chords charts. Heres a free sheet i give to all my students after they learn their major scales. A major blues scale practice this over an a major or a a7 chord. Major pentatonic scale the major pentatonic scale shares five notes with the major scale. Armed with your knowledge of the major and extended blues scales, listen and transcribe from your favourite players. The guitar major scale is happy upbeat and useful in a variety of styles of music.
In comparison with the major pentatonic scale, there is an additional note between the second 2 and the major third 3 this note is named flat tenth b10 or flat third b3, this a blue note. Blues scale lesson, blues scale in all keys by michael. Piano pentatonic blues scales overview with pictures. The best way to get used to playing the blues is to have a go at improvising over the top of a 12 bar blues chord progression.
Minors are written out in both major and minor keys. The pentatonic scale pentatonic scales have only five notes penta means five. Please not that the major blues scale contains the same notes as the minor blues scale that is down a minor 3rd. Unlike the major or minor scale, which have functional meaning they sound good at least sometimes modes built on every note in the scale, the blues scale only has one functional mode, the major blues scale mentioned above. Blues minor blues scale guitar patterns chart, key of a by. To derive the minor blues pentatonic scale from the natural minor scale, use. The scales are used often for composing melodies and for improvisation. Adding a blue note to the regular pentatonic scale result in the pentatonic blues scale. Blues scales the major and minor blues scale jazz guitar online.
This is a hexatonic scale, it means that it contains six notes per octaves just as the minor blues scale. Soul scales major blues scale for improvisation youtube. Of course, ideally you dont need or want these written out do you. Tabs, fingerings, box patterns, licks, pdf and more. A blues scale consists of 6 different notes, namely the root, flat 3rd, 4th, flat 5th, 5th and flat 7th of the major scale. Build a blues scale from a minor 3rd below the root of the f blues scale, that would be the d minor blues scale, and if we play those notes from f to f we have the basic f major blues scale. Guitar scales printable charts of the most commonly used scales. These are the four most common scales in pop and rock music. Many times its just the best choice for solo improvisation, and, as long as you play the right notes, theres really no wrong way to. You should hear them, feel them, know them, eat them and whatever comes next with them. The exercises in this book use the major scale, pentatonic scale, blues scale, and chromatic scale. The major blues scale is built on the flatted third scale degree 3.
Its just a sheet with all the 12 major blues scales on it. There are a total of 430 finger exercises in this book. This pdf contains the diagrams for all the major and minor pentatonic scales in all keys for guitar in standard tuning. The b3, b5 and b7 notes of the scale for c blues scale. The blues originate from a mix of different sources in music, so there is no satisfying explanation in theoretical terms about this scale. Playing a major blues scale over dominant and major chord highlights the 9 and. It can also be employed over dominant chords as dom7, dom9, and dom. The major blues scale is some less common than the minor blues scale, and therefore we start with minor and you will find the major by scrolling down. It is a smaller scale but is valid for larger chords if we want to generate blues sound. Soul scales major blues scale for improvisation all instruments. Pentatonic scales are killer scales to play over blues and over iivv changes.
Clicking here and on the image below will open a pdf file of the guitar major scale chart that prints nicely. Free 12 major blues scale sheet steve neff music blog. Nov 16, 2011 the major blues scale may be conceived by starting with the major pentatonic scale and adding a minor 3rd. Pdf total guitar the ultimate scale book guilherme.
If d minor is sounded for eight measures, you may use the d blues scale. The blues scale is fairly simple to play particularly if you have mastered the minor pentatonic, yet it is. In relation to the major scale the notes of the blues scale are. Download our free pdf versions of each scale with fingering. How to play the minor and major blues scales with solo examples.
The a major blues scale contains the following notes. Here are pictures and notes of the major pentatonic blues scales. Since the key of f appears on the circle of fifths diagram as both a major and minor key, the lesson steps explain both ways of constructing this blues scale for this key. The major blues scale can be used over major chords as maj6, maj7, maj9 and maj.
I discovered this pattern when i was just a teenager, and many of the old blues masters that i was transcribing seem to be using the same notes. My goal with this report, and the accompanying videos, is to hopefully help you with your mental model of the blues and pentatonic scales, how they go together, and how you can mentally see. While most guitarists are aware that you can also use this scale to improvise over dominant blues chords, many run into trouble when trying to make this scale sound great. Whatever method you have to use to find it is worth the time. Everything you need to know to play the blues scale minor pentatonic scale on guitar. So the best way to practice is to choose a root, a string, a direction left or right, and major or minor. This scale is magical because it has many options, we will be able to play it on any blues chord. Below are listed the twelve minor dorian minor, major, and dominant 7th scales. To play the blues is a fascinating undertaking because it can be both simplistic and yet intangibly tricky to master.
This is the hardest part about learning to use the major blues scale. Its typically played over major chords and dominant or minor seventh chords. Often new players are drawn to the instrument because of a desire to play the blues. I put those notes together and came up with this scale.
There is slight variations in how you use this scale depending on the harmony behind it. You may not be able to find what youre looking for right. The eflat in the c blues scale makes it sound minor, but the scale is customarily played on top of major chords. When you practice these scales over a major tonality or dominant tonality you want to practice resolving your lines to the three best notes in the scale. The 1st construction, using the major scale, starts at lesson 3. Major scales 3 a major 3, bb major 4, b major 5, c major 6, db major 7, d major 8, eb major 9, e major 10, f major 11, gb major 12, g major, ab major 14. Microsoft word major minor blues scales boxesguitar. You can get more diagrams in the tuning of your choice by using my interactive web app here. If you already know about the major blues scale and would just like to know how to play it in five positions as. How to use this scale is essential for the bass player.
The fingerings of the major blues scale resemble fingerings that you may already know for the minor blues scale but starting on different notes. And no traditional western scale has three adjacent chromatic notes, the blues scales f, fsharp and g. One of the most common sticking points with people learning to solo in blues is this concept of switching between the major and the minor blues sounds. These charts highlight the notes and chords of e blues scale. In western music theory terms, the blues scale is practically inexplicable. I might even get people poo pooing it because its not a traditionally taught thing, but it. Another way of looking at the major blues is the major pentatonic with a b3. This pdf contains the scale charts for the blues scale in all keys for guitar in standard tuning. They just ooze that minor bluesy vibe or sweet major vibe. How to use the major pentatonic scale now lets look at the major pentatonic scale. Blues scales blues is an irresistible tonality for a guitar player. My goal with this report, and the accompanying videos, is to hopefully help you with your mental model of. The major blues scale works over both major 7 and dominant 7 based chords.
The major blues scale for jazz piano georgia on my mind. The biggest missing note in this scale is the major 3rd,and also missing are the 2nd and 6th notes of the major scale. I am offering a free pdf of all major and minor blues scales, written out in all keys. The solution below shows the b blues scale, on the piano, treble clef and bass clef. There are two ways you can use the major blues scale in your solos. The major blues scale is built by adding a b3 interval to the major pentatonic scale, forming the pattern 12b3356. I have also included the 5 box patterns you need to learn in order to memorize the blues scales in all keys. You can get more charts in with custom tunings using my interactive scale generator here. Flat tenth is more appropriate in this harmonic context. The 14 most common and usable guitar scales printable and ready to use 1. However, most people agree that the blues scale is a variation on the major and minor pentatonic scales, and those pentatonic scales are derived from the major scale and the natural minor scale. Major and minor blues scales guitar tab and essential licks. They are written in treble and bass clef in all twelve keys.
To derive the minor pentatonic scale from the natural minor scale, use the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th notes of the minor scale. E major blues scale charts for piano music motivated. The hexatonic sixnote blues scale is basically a minor pentatonic scale with the addition of a blue note between the fourth and the fifth degrees. Since the key of b appears on the circle of fifths diagram as both a major and minor key, the lesson steps explain both ways of constructing this blues scale for this key. If you have tried transcribing blues in the past you may have found it difficult because you were only aware of the minor blues scale. A nice combination are the chords am7, dm7 and e7 together with the a pentatonic blues scale. Oct 07, 2019 some even advocate for a 9note blues scale which means 9 out of the 12 notes in western music are available within the scale. This is because there is a major triad in the scale, but no 7th. For instance, in the c blues scale the notes are c eb f gb g bb c.
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