STRINGSCALES

C composite blues Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, F, Gb, G, A, Bb, C, D, Eb, E at frets 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12

A string: A, Bb, C, D, Eb, E, F, Gb, G, A at frets 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12

D string: D, Eb, E, F, Gb, G, A, Bb, C, D at frets 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12

G string: G, A, Bb, C, D, Eb, E, F, Gb, G at frets 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

B string: C, D, Eb, E, F, Gb, G, A, Bb at frets 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11

High E string: E, F, Gb, G, A, Bb, C, D, Eb, E at frets 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12

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C 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:

C

I

D

II

E♭

bIII

E

III

F

IV

G♭

bV

G

V

A

VI

B♭

bVII

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

tip
  • Do not run all nine notes: treat C 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 (Eb), III, VI with one built on IV, bV (Gb), V, bVII (Bb).
  • 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 C, keep strong beats for triad tones and spend all that chromatic wealth on the upbeats.

How to play C composite blues on guitar

Five open strings, low E, A, D, G and high E, all belong to C composite blues, so open-position playing gets the full run of the bottom of the neck. Open G holds the fifth and open E the major third at both ends, which means a droning C groove needs no fretting at all. Roots wait at fret 3 and fret 8. Nine notes crowd the first box before it hands off at fret 12.

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