STRINGSCALES

A major blues Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, F#, A, B, C, C#, E at frets 0, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12

A string: A, B, C, C#, E, F#, A at frets 0, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 12

D string: E, F#, A, B, C, C# at frets 2, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11

G string: A, B, C, C#, E, F# at frets 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 11

B string: B, C, C#, E, F#, A, B at frets 0, 1, 2, 5, 7, 10, 12

High E string: E, F#, A, B, C, C#, E at frets 0, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12

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A major blues

The major blues scale takes the major pentatonic and slips a flat 3rd between the 2nd and the major 3rd. That single chromatic blue note lets you rock the line between minor grit and major brightness, the move you hear all over country, western swing and uptempo blues. Slide or bend from the flat 3rd into the 3rd over a dominant chord and the scale plays itself.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

A

I

B

II

C

bIII

C♯

III

E

V

F♯

VI

Characteristic note: C (b3), the blue note that slides into the major third.

Same notes, different mode

A major blues uses the same notes as the scales below. Start from a different note and you get a new mode built on the very same note set.

F# minor blues

major blues in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Slide or hammer from the flat 3rd (C) into the major 3rd (C#); that half-step move is the entire character of the A major blues scale.
  • Use it over the I and IV chords of a blues in A, then switch to the minor blues scale for the V chord or for darker choruses.
  • Target the 6th (F#) over the I chord; it turns plain pentatonic phrases into western swing and Nashville vocabulary.
  • Keep the blue note off the strong beats: pass through bIII (C) on an upbeat and resolve to III on the chord tone.

How to play A major blues on guitar

Open A gives you the root at fret 0, the two E strings the fifth and B the second, so drones under this key cost nothing. Box position starts at fret 5 and hands off at fret 9, which means the classic root-position shape sits mid-neck where bends come easy. F# minor blues reuses this exact fingering. A-shape barre sits at fret 12 and the E-shape at 5, which lets you choose a low or high voicing for the same chord.

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