Tips for Learning the B Blues Scale on Guitar
It is B minor pentatonic plus one note
Take B minor pentatonic (B D E F# A) and slip an F between the 4th (E) and 5th (F#). That single ♭5 — the "blue note" — is the only difference from the pentatonic box.
The blue note is a passing tone
The F♮ sounds tense on its own — use it to pass through, bending or sliding from E up to F#, rather than landing on it. In motion it gives the scale its vocal cry.
Open B, E, A, and D strings are scale tones
The open B string (root), open E strings (4th), open A string (♭7), and open D string (♭3) all belong to the B blues scale, giving you resonant open-string anchors.
The first box at fret 7
Anchor position 1 at fret 7 with the root B on the low E string — the same shape as B minor pentatonic, with the F one fret below the F# on each string. Capo 2 also lets you reuse A blues shapes.
Target B, D, and F#
Those three notes spell a B minor chord and make phrases sound resolved. E, F, and A are colour tones — the F blue note is the spiciest, best saved for tension.
About the B Blues Scale
The B blues scale is six notes — B, D, E, F, F#, A — the B minor pentatonic scale with one extra note, the ♭5 (F), added between the 4th and 5th. That added tone is the famous "blue note": it creates the tense, vocal, crying sound that defines blues and rock lead guitar. On guitar the open B, E, A, and D strings are scale tones, giving the B blues scale resonance in open position, and it sits in the same five box shapes as B minor pentatonic — the first box anchored at fret 7. It works over B minor, B7, and twelve-bar blues progressions in B.
- 01Notes: B – D – E – F – F# – A
- 02Scale degrees: 1 – ♭3 – 4 – ♭5 – 5 – ♭7
- 03Built by adding the ♭5 (F) "blue note" to B minor pentatonic
- 04Six notes — the minor pentatonic plus one chromatic passing tone
- 05Open B, E, A, and D strings are scale tones
- 06Shares the same five box shapes as B minor pentatonic
- 07Works over B minor, B7, and twelve-bar blues in B
B Blues — note by note
Every blues scale uses the same six-note formula — scale degrees 1, ♭3, 4, ♭5, 5, and ♭7. It is the minor pentatonic with the ♭5 "blue note" added between the 4th and 5th, the chromatic passing tone that gives the blues scale its signature tension and vocal cry.
| Degree | Note | Role | Interval (from root) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B | Root (tonic) | Unison (0 st) |
| ♭3 | D | Minor third | +3 semitones |
| 4 | E | Perfect fourth | +5 semitones |
| ♭5 | F | Blue note (♭5) | +6 semitones |
| 5 | F# / Gb | Perfect fifth | +7 semitones |
| ♭7 | A | Minor seventh | +10 semitones |