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C Blues Scale – Guitar

The minor pentatonic plus one extra note, the 'blue note' (b5), which gives blues and rock licks their bite. Here it is in C: the notes, the whole neck, all five boxes with TAB, and a backing track to practise over.

Notes in the C blues scale

Formula: 1 – b3 – 4 – b5 – 5 – b7. Use it to solo over songs in C minor, and over C blues and rock progressions.

C blues scale on the whole neck

EADGBe123456789101112131415FGbGBbEbFGbGBbEbFGbGBbEbFGbGBbEbFGBbEbFGbGBbEbFGbGBbFGbGBbEbFGbG
C Blues Scale on the whole neck, frets 0-15. Gold = the root (C).
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The 5 boxes (positions) with TAB

Each box is one hand position. Learn Box 1 first: play it up with the TAB, then back down, then move to the next box – together they cover the whole neck.

Box 1 · frets 8–11

EADGBe891011EbFGbGBbEbFGbGBbEb
C Blues Scale, box 1
e|-------------------------------------8--11-|
B|-------------------------------8--11-------|
G|----------------------8--10-11-------------|
D|----------------8--10----------------------|
A|-------8--9--10----------------------------|
E|-8--11-------------------------------------|

Box 2 · frets 10–13

EADGBe10111213EbFGBbEbFGbGBbEbF
C Blues Scale, box 2
e|----------------------------------11-13-|
B|----------------------------11-13-------|
G|-------------------10-11-12-------------|
D|-------------10-13----------------------|
A|-------10-13----------------------------|
E|-11-13----------------------------------|

Box 3 · frets 12–16

EADGBe1213141516FGbGBbEbFGbGBbEbFGbG
C Blues Scale, box 3
e|-------------------------------------13-14-15-|
B|-------------------------------13-16----------|
G|-------------------------12-15----------------|
D|----------------13-15-16----------------------|
A|----------13-15-------------------------------|
E|-13-14-15-------------------------------------|

Box 4 · frets 3–6

EADGBe3456GBbEbFGbGBbEbFGBb
C Blues Scale, box 4
e|-----------------------3-6-|
B|-------------------4-6-----|
G|---------------3-5---------|
D|---------3-4-5-------------|
A|-----3-6-------------------|
E|-3-6-----------------------|

Box 5 · frets 5–8

EADGBe5678BbEbFGBbEbFGbGBb
C Blues Scale, box 5
e|-----------------------6-8-|
B|-----------------6-7-8-----|
G|-------------5-8-----------|
D|---------5-8---------------|
A|-----6-8-------------------|
E|-6-8-----------------------|

3 C minor licks to play with it

Box 1 licks from the JamEase lick library, written for C minor (h = hammer-on, p = pull-off, / = slide, b = bend, ~ = vibrato).

Top-string answer

Picking · Rock

Down from the top, a step back, and home on the high root.

e|-11-8-----8--|
B|-------11----|
G|-------------|
D|-------------|
A|-------------|
E|-------------|

Pull-off ladder

Pull-off · Rock

Two notes a string, pulling off, all the way down to the home note.

e|-11p-8-----------------------|
B|---------11p-8---------------|
G|-----------------10p-8-------|
D|-------------------------10--|
A|-----------------------------|
E|-----------------------------|

Vibrato home

Vibrato · Soulful

Two notes, then hold the root and shake it. Vibrato is your voice.

e|-------------|
B|-------------|
G|-8---10------|
D|---------10~-|
A|-------------|
E|-------------|

C minor backing track

Play the boxes over this, starting and ending phrases on the gold root notes.

Sexy Slow Blues Backing Track in C Minor | Bonamassa Style Jam Track (44.666 BPM) – Now YOU Shred Backing Tracks

Songs in C minor

These songs are in C minor, so this is a scale that fits for soloing over them:

All songs in C minor →

Other scales in C

Blues Scale in other keys

Put it to use: solo with it, step by step, starting with three notes.

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FAQ

What notes are in the C blues scale?

C, Eb, F, Gb, G, Bb. The formula is 1 b3 4 b5 5 b7.

Where do I start playing the C blues scale on guitar?

Start with Box 1, frets 8–11. The root note C is on the low E string at fret 8.