F Blues Scale

72 scales in every key on a map of the whole neck: positions, patterns, and every note played as it lights up.

The F blues scale has 6 notes: F – A♭ – B♭ – C♭ – C – E♭. The blues scale is the minor pentatonic plus one note, the ♭5 or “blue note”. That note is a passing tone: slide or bend through it and the line sounds instantly bluesy. It works over all three chords of a 12-bar blues.

Compared with the F major scale it has ♭3 (A♭ instead of A), ♭5 (C♭ instead of C), ♭7 (E♭ instead of E).

The explorer above is set to F blues: the whole neck is mapped, and you can zoom into any of its 6 positions, change the labels to degrees or fingers, and hear it up, down and in patterns.

F blues scale notes

Degree	Note	Interval from F	Frets above the root	Sargam
1	F	R	0	S
♭3	A♭	m3	3	g
4	B♭	P4	5	M
♭5	C♭	d5	6	M'
5	C	P5	7	P
♭7	E♭	m7	10	n

Steps between the notes: W+H W H H W+H W (W = two frets, H = one fret). Start on any F and follow those steps up one string to play the scale.

F blues scale positions on the guitar

F blues splits into 6 hand positions, each within five frets. Position 1 starts on F on the low E string at fret 1; each next position starts on the next note of the scale. In standard tuning, high string first:

Position	E (1st)	B	G	D	A	E (6th)
Position 1 frets 1–4	1 4	1 4	1 3 4	1 3	1 2 3	1 4
Position 2 frets 4–8	4 6 7 8	4 6	4 5	6 8	6 8	4 6 7 8
Position 3 frets 6–10	6 7 8	6 9	8	6 8 9 10	6 8	6 7 8
Position 4 frets 7–11	7 8 11	9 11	8 10	8 9 10	8 11	7 8 11
Position 5 frets 8–12	8 11	9 11 12	8 10	8 9 10	8 11	8 11
Position 6 frets 11–15	11 13	11 12 13	13	13 15	11 13 14 15	11 13

What F blues fits over

With 6 notes it is not used to build a whole key of chords; instead it sits over every chord of a 12-bar blues (I7, IV7 and V7), minor chords and power chords. With F as the root: F7, Fm7, F5.

Where you hear it

F blues is used in blues, rock, jazz and funk. It sounds best over every chord of a 12-bar blues (I7, IV7 and V7), minor chords and power chords.

Backing tracks to practise F blues

F minor blues F minor rock F minor funk

How to practise it

Play position 1 (frets 1–4) slowly, up and down, saying the note names.
Play it with the pattern set to In 3s, then In 4s, at a tempo where every note is clean.
Learn position 2 and how it joins position 1: the notes they share are where your hand moves.
Switch the labels to degrees and find every F (1) in each position.
Improvise over a backing track, ending your phrases on F.