JamEaseF 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 F: the notes, the whole neck, all five boxes with TAB, and a backing track to practise over.
Notes in the F blues scale
- F1
- A♭b3
- B♭4
- C♭b5
- C5
- E♭b7
Formula: 1 – b3 – 4 – b5 – 5 – b7. Use it to solo over songs in F minor, and over F blues and rock progressions.
F blues scale on the whole neck
Know the scale?
Now solo with it.
A guitar soloing course: 81 short lessons, each one ends with you jamming over a real backing track.
- From 3 notes to your own solos
- Every note on the neck, with sound and TAB
- 379 backing tracks in every key
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 1–4
e|-------------------------1-4-| B|---------------------1-4-----| G|---------------1-3-4---------| D|-----------1-3---------------| A|-----1-2-3-------------------| E|-1-4-------------------------|
Box 2 · frets 3–6
e|-----------------------4-6-| B|-------------------4-6-----| G|-------------3-4-5---------| D|---------3-6---------------| A|-----3-6-------------------| E|-4-6-----------------------|
Box 3 · frets 5–9
e|-------------------------6-7-8-| B|---------------------6-9-------| G|-----------------5-8-----------| D|-----------6-8-9---------------| A|-------6-8---------------------| E|-6-7-8-------------------------|
Box 4 · frets 8–11
e|----------------------------------8--11-| B|----------------------------9--11-------| G|----------------------8--10-------------| D|-------------8--9--10-------------------| A|-------8--11----------------------------| E|-8--11----------------------------------|
Box 5 · frets 10–13
e|----------------------------------11-13-| B|-------------------------11-12-13-------| G|-------------------10-13----------------| D|-------------10-13----------------------| A|-------11-13----------------------------| E|-11-13----------------------------------|
3 F minor licks to play with it
Box 1 licks from the JamEase lick library, written for F minor (h = hammer-on, p = pull-off, / = slide, b = bend, ~ = vibrato).
Low riff
A riff on the two lowest strings. Good for answering a vocal line.
e|----------------| B|----------------| G|----------------| D|----------------| A|-------13-------| E|-13-16----16-13-|
Slide into the root
Slide up the D string into the root, step out, and come back.
e|-----------------| B|-----------------| G|---------13------| D|-13/-15------15--| A|-----------------| E|-----------------|
Top-string bend
Bend on the top string three times, then drop home.
e|-13------16b-16b-16b-13~-| B|-----13------------------| G|-------------------------| D|-------------------------| A|-------------------------| E|-------------------------|
F minor backing track
Play the boxes over this, starting and ending phrases on the gold root notes.
Slow Blues Guitar Backing Track F Minor – erto sound
Songs in F minor
These songs are in F minor, so this is a scale that fits for soloing over them:
- All Of Me – John Legend
- Boulevard Of Broken Dreams – Green Day
- Frozen - Let It Go – Misc Cartoons
- Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana
- Clocks – Coldplay
- Hello – Adele
- Aashiqui 2 - Tum Hi Ho – Misc Soundtrack
- Lemon Tree – Fool's Garden
- Closer – The Chainsmokers
- Glimpse Of Us – Joji
- Something In The Way – Nirvana
- Misery Business – Paramore
Other scales in F
- F Minor Pentatonic Scale
- F Major Pentatonic Scale
- F Major Blues Scale
- F Major Scale
- F Natural Minor Scale
- F Dorian Mode
- F Mixolydian Mode
- F Phrygian Mode
- F Lydian Mode
- F Harmonic Minor Scale
- F Melodic Minor Scale
Blues Scale in other keys
- C Blues Scale
- C♯ Blues Scale
- D Blues Scale
- E♭ Blues Scale
- E Blues Scale
- F♯ Blues Scale
- G Blues Scale
- G♯ Blues Scale
- A Blues Scale
- B♭ Blues Scale
- B Blues Scale
Put it to use: solo with it, step by step, starting with three notes.
FAQ
What notes are in the F blues scale?
F, Ab, Bb, Cb, C, Eb. The formula is 1 b3 4 b5 5 b7.
Where do I start playing the F blues scale on guitar?
Start with Box 1, frets 1–4. The root note F is on the low E string at fret 1.