STRINGSCALES

G composite blues Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

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

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

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

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

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

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

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G 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:

G

I

A

II

B♭

bIII

B

III

C

IV

D♭

bV

D

V

E

VI

F

bVII

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

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

How to play G composite blues on guitar

Open G is the root and every other open string is also in the scale, so this key turns the whole guitar into one big drone bed. Open B sits on the major third and open D on the fifth, which lets full open chords ring behind single-note lines. Low roots land at fret 3 on both E strings, right where the E-shape barre sits. Position one closes out at fret 7.

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