STRINGSCALES

E composite blues Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

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

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

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

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

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

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

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E 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:

E

I

F♯

II

G

bIII

G♯

III

A

IV

B♭

bV

B

V

C♯

VI

D

bVII

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

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

How to play E composite blues on guitar

Both E strings give you the root open, and all six open strings sit in this scale, so E composite blues works as a fully open key. Open G supplies the minor third against open B's fifth, which means that pairing is available with zero fretted notes. First box is short and ends at fret 4. Roots return at fret 7 on the A string and fret 9 on the G string, with the E-shape barre out at fret 12.

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