The blues scale — adding the blue note
Concept
Take minor pentatonic and add the b5 (the 'blue note'). Now you have the 6-note blues scale: 1, b3, 4, b5, 5, b7.
Where the blue note lives
Take A minor pentatonic Box 1 (fret 5). On the B string, fret 5 is E (the 5) and fret 8 is G (the b7). The blue note (Eb) sits between them — at fret 6.
On the D string: fret 5 is G (b7 if you're looking down an octave… actually let's keep it simple: the easiest spot to feel the blue note is on the B string between fret 5 and fret 7).
It's a passing tone
The b5 is dissonant on its own — don't park on it. Use it as a quick step BETWEEN the 4 and the 5 (or 5 and 4). The trick is fast in-and-out: 4 → b5 → 5, or bend up to it briefly. That's what gives blues its 'wailing' sound.
Blues scale over a 12-bar blues
A 12-bar blues in A uses A7, D7, E7. The A blues scale (A C D Eb E G) works over all three. Try this riff at fret 5: - B-string 5 (E) → 6 (Eb) → 5 (E) → 8 (G) — instant blues lick.
Add bends, slides, and rhythmic stops and you're playing real blues vocabulary.
Key takeaways
- •Blues scale = minor pent + b5 (blue note).
- •Use the blue note as a passing tone, not a landing note.
- •Works over both minor and dominant 7th progressions.
Glossary
- Blue note
- The flat-5 (b5) added to minor pentatonic to make the blues scale.
- Passing tone
- A note used briefly between two stable notes, usually by step.