STRINGSCALES

B composite blues Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, F, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D, D#, E at frets 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12

A string: A, B, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G#, A at frets 0, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12

D string: D, D#, E, F, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D at frets 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12

G string: G#, A, B, C#, D, D#, E, F, F# at frets 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

B string: B, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G#, A, B at frets 0, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12

High E string: E, F, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D, D#, E at frets 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12

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B composite blues

The composite blues scale merges the major and minor blues scales into one nine note super set: root, 2nd, both 3rds, 4th, flat 5th, 5th, 6th, flat 7th. It is less a scale to run than a map of every blues inflection available in one key: major sweetness, minor grit and the blue note all coexist. Blues and jazz players effectively think in it already.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

B

I

C♯

II

D

bIII

D♯

III

E

IV

F

bV

F♯

V

G♯

VI

A

bVII

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

tip
  • Do not run all nine notes: treat B composite blues as a map and pick the major-blues subset over I and IV, minor-blues subset over V.
  • Practice switching mid-phrase: answer a line built on II, bIII (D), III, VI with one built on IV, bV (F), V, bVII (A).
  • The double chromatic runs (II-bIII-III and IV-bV-V) are built-in slurs: hammer through them landing on the chord tone.
  • Over a shuffle in B, keep strong beats for triad tones and spend all that chromatic wealth on the upbeats.

How to play B composite blues on guitar

Open B carries the root and open D the minor third, so a core dyad of this key rings with no left hand at all. Both E strings add the fourth and open A the flat seventh, which means five of the six open strings serve the scale. Capo at fret 2 maps everything onto A shapes. Fretted roots arrive at fret 2 on the A string, then at fret 7 on both E strings, and the opening box lasts to fret 11.

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