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E 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 E: the notes, the whole neck, all five boxes with TAB, and a backing track to practise over.

Notes in the E blues scale

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

E blues scale on the whole neck

EADGBe123456789101112131415GABbBDGABbBDGABbBDGABbBDGABbBDGABbBDGABbBDGABbBDG
E Blues Scale on the whole neck, frets 0-15. Gold = the root (E).
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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 12–15

EADGBe12131415GABbBDGABbBDG
E Blues Scale, box 1
e|-------------------------------------12-15-|
B|-------------------------------12-15-------|
G|----------------------12-14-15-------------|
D|----------------12-14----------------------|
A|-------12-13-14----------------------------|
E|-12-15-------------------------------------|

Box 2 · frets 2–5

EADGBe2345GABDGABbBDGA
E Blues Scale, box 2
e|-----------------------3-5-|
B|-------------------3-5-----|
G|-------------2-3-4---------|
D|---------2-5---------------|
A|-----2-5-------------------|
E|-3-5-----------------------|

Box 3 · frets 4–8

EADGBe45678ABbBDGABbBDGABbB
E Blues Scale, box 3
e|-------------------------5-6-7-|
B|---------------------5-8-------|
G|-----------------4-7-----------|
D|-----------5-7-8---------------|
A|-------5-7---------------------|
E|-5-6-7-------------------------|

Box 4 · frets 7–10

EADGBe78910BDGABbBDGABD
E Blues Scale, box 4
e|----------------------------------7--10-|
B|----------------------------8--10-------|
G|----------------------7--9--------------|
D|-------------7--8--9--------------------|
A|-------7--10----------------------------|
E|-7--10----------------------------------|

Box 5 · frets 9–12

EADGBe9101112DGABDGABbBD
E Blues Scale, box 5
e|----------------------------------10-12-|
B|-------------------------10-11-12-------|
G|-------------------9--12----------------|
D|-------------9--12----------------------|
A|-------10-12----------------------------|
E|-10-12----------------------------------|

3 E minor licks to play with it

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

Climb to the high root

Picking · Soulful

Three notes up the top strings to the high root.

e|-------12-|
B|-12-15----|
G|----------|
D|----------|
A|----------|
E|----------|

Hammer climb

Hammer-on · Soulful

Hammer-on pairs up three strings to the high root.

e|-----------------12--|
B|---------12h-15------|
G|-12h-14--------------|
D|---------------------|
A|---------------------|
E|---------------------|

Blue note run

Vibrato · Blues

Up through the blue note and back home.

e|-------------------------|
B|-------------------------|
G|-12--14--15--14--12------|
D|---------------------14~-|
A|-------------------------|
E|-------------------------|

E minor backing track

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

Sad Slow Blues Backing Track Jam in E minor | SZBT 819 – Sebastien Zunino

Songs in E minor

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

All songs in E minor →

Other scales in E

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 E blues scale?

E, G, A, Bb, B, D. The formula is 1 b3 4 b5 5 b7.

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

Start with Box 1, frets 12–15. The root note E is on the low E string at fret 12.