Blues scale · 6 notes
B♭ blues scale on guitar
The B♭ blues scale (B flat blues scale) has 6 notes: B♭, D♭, E♭, F♭, F and A♭. The minor pentatonic plus one “blue note”, the ♭5: six notes of pure blues. You may also see it written as A♯ blues.
Notes
- B♭
- D♭
- E♭
- F♭
- F
- A♭
Formula
1 ♭3 4 ♭5 5 ♭7
Steps
W+H – W – H – H – W+H – W
Sound
Gritty, crying and unmistakably bluesy
B♭ blues on the whole fretboard
Every B♭ blues note from the open strings to the 15th fret in standard tuning (E A D G B E). The root, B♭, is shown in red so you can always find home.
A shape to learn first
You don’t need the whole neck at once. This hand position is anchored on a root note on the 6th (low E) string, which is how most guitarists find a scale in any key.
Root on the 6th (low E) string
B♭ at fret 6. 6th position: frets 6–9.
In the Guitar Scale Finder app you also get the chords of B♭ blues as chord diagrams, and can search all 1,860 scales for the notes you play.
Intervals and formula
Measured from B♭, the B♭ blues scale is built from these intervals. It contains 5 flats (B♭, D♭, E♭, F♭ and A♭).
| Degree | Note | Interval | Semitones from root |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B♭ | root | 0 |
| ♭3 | D♭ | minor 3rd | 3 |
| 4 | E♭ | perfect 4th | 5 |
| ♭5 | F♭ | diminished 5th | 6 |
| 5 | F | perfect 5th | 7 |
| ♭7 | A♭ | minor 7th | 10 |
Chords that go with B♭ blues
A 6-note scale doesn’t make a full set of triads, so guitarists use the chords of its parent scale, B♭ minor. Every note of B♭ blues is in these chords’ key.
- iB♭mB♭ · D♭ · F
- ii°C°C · E♭ · G♭
- ♭IIID♭D♭ · F · A♭
- ivE♭mE♭ · G♭ · B♭
- vFmF · A♭ · C
- ♭VIG♭G♭ · B♭ · D♭
- ♭VIIA♭A♭ · C · E♭
Progressions to try
- B♭m – E♭m – Fm i–iv–v · minor blues, from the parent minor key
- B♭m – G♭ – Fm i–♭VI–v
How to use B♭ blues
Reach for it over 12-bar blues, blues-rock, and over dominant 7th chords and minor chords. Its sound is gritty, crying and unmistakably bluesy.
Tip: Treat the ♭5 as a passing note: slide or hammer through it on the way between the 4th and 5th rather than landing on it.
- The B♭ blues scale is B♭ minor pentatonic plus the “blue note” F♭. See B♭ minor pentatonic.
Where to find B♭ on every string
Knowing where the root sits lets you start this scale anywhere. Here is every B♭ between the open string and the 12th fret.
| String | Frets with B♭ |
|---|---|
| High E (1st) | 6 |
| B (2nd) | 11 |
| G (3rd) | 3 |
| D (4th) | 8 |
| A (5th) | 1 |
| Low E (6th) | 6 |
Same notes, different name
These scales from the Scale Finder library contain exactly the same notes as B♭ blues. They sound different because a different note is treated as home.
B♭ blues scale FAQ
What notes are in the B♭ blues scale?
The B♭ blues scale has 6 notes: B♭, D♭, E♭, F♭, F and A♭. Its formula is 1 ♭3 4 ♭5 5 ♭7. It contains 5 flats (B♭, D♭, E♭, F♭ and A♭).
What chords go with the B♭ blues scale?
The B♭ blues scale is drawn from B♭ minor, whose chords are B♭m, C°, D♭, E♭m, Fm, G♭ and A♭. It also works over a B♭ blues built on dominant 7th chords.
Where do you play the B♭ blues scale on guitar?
The root, B♭, is at fret 6 on the low E string and fret 1 on the A string. A good first shape covers frets 6–9, starting from the root on the 6th string.
Which scales share the same notes as B♭ blues?
The B♭ blues scale is B♭ minor pentatonic plus the “blue note” F♭.