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Printable Blues Scale Chart

The blues scale is the minor pentatonic with one extra note: the flat five, or "blue note". That single note gives blues, rock and jazz solos their gritty edge. Here it is in A, across the neck and in five positions, with the blue note in amber.

1 page
Portrait
Beginner to intermediate
US Letter / A4
PDF, 142 KB

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Preview of the Blues Scale Chart — Page 1 preview

What’s inside

The A blues scale across the whole neck
Five positions with the blue note highlighted
How to use the blue note

How to use it

Print it and keep it beside you while you practice.
Learn one position at a time, playing it up and down slowly with a metronome.
Say the note names or scale degrees out loud as you play.
When a position is smooth, improvise over a backing track using only those notes.

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Questions

What is the blue note?

The flat fifth (♭5), the note between the 4th and 5th of the scale. It sounds tense, so players slide or bend through it rather than resting on it.

What is a scale position?

A position (or box) is a group of scale notes you can reach without moving your hand much, usually across four or five frets. Five positions of the pentatonic scale join up to cover the whole neck.

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Yes, for personal and classroom use. Please share the link to this page rather than the PDF file, so everyone gets the latest version.