Tips for Learning the E Blues Scale on Guitar
It is E minor pentatonic plus one note
Take E minor pentatonic (E G A B D) and slip a Bb between the 4th (A) and 5th (B). That single ♭5 — the "blue note" — is the only difference from the most-used scale in rock guitar.
The most resonant blues scale on guitar
In standard tuning the open E, A, D, G, and B strings are all E blues scale tones. That makes the open-position E blues box ring like no other key — the natural home of blues and rock lead guitar.
The blue note is a passing tone
The Bb sounds tense on its own — use it to pass through, bending or sliding from A up to B, rather than landing on it. In motion it gives the scale its vocal cry.
Open position and fret 12
Play position 1 in open position with the open low E as the root, or the same shape at fret 12. The Bb sits one fret below the B on each string.
Target E, G, and B
Those three notes spell an E minor chord and make phrases sound resolved. A, Bb, and D are colour tones — the Bb blue note is the spiciest, best saved for tension.
About the E Blues Scale
The E blues scale is six notes — E, G, A, Bb, B, D — the E minor pentatonic scale with one extra note, the ♭5 (Bb), 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. E is the single most resonant key on guitar — in standard tuning the open E, A, D, G, and B strings are all scale tones — so the E blues scale rings in open position like no other. It works over E minor, E7, and twelve-bar blues progressions in E, and shares its box shapes with E minor pentatonic.
- 01Notes: E – G – A – Bb – B – D
- 02Scale degrees: 1 – ♭3 – 4 – ♭5 – 5 – ♭7
- 03Built by adding the ♭5 (Bb) "blue note" to E minor pentatonic
- 04Six notes — the minor pentatonic plus one chromatic passing tone
- 05Open E, A, D, G, and B strings are all scale tones
- 06Shares the same five box shapes as E minor pentatonic
- 07Works over E minor, E7, and twelve-bar blues in E
E 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 | E | Root (tonic) | Unison (0 st) |
| ♭3 | G | Minor third | +3 semitones |
| 4 | A | Perfect fourth | +5 semitones |
| ♭5 | A# / Bb | Blue note (♭5) | +6 semitones |
| 5 | B | Perfect fifth | +7 semitones |
| ♭7 | D | Minor seventh | +10 semitones |