Lesson 8
                                The Blues Scale

Hello again!  Welcome to this lesson and I hope you're strapped in, and ready to learn!

Let's start the Blues Scale.  The Blues Scales is probably one of the oldest and
most popular scales.  If there were a "Scale Hall of Fame", it would be one of it's
most distinguished members!  It is widely used in folk, rock, contemporary, country
music, and jazz.  You'll find the following and invaluable weapon in your armory of
scale weapons!


The Blues Scales is a minor pentatonic scale with the addition of a 6th note in the
scale.  Like the pentatonic scales, there are 5 variations of the scale and 2 extended
variations.
   
        Blues #1

e -i-|---|---|-p-|---|---|
B ---|-i-|---|-r-|-p-|---|
G -i-|---|-r-|---|---|---|
D -i-|-m-|-r-|---|---|---|
A -i-|---|---|-p-|---|---|
E -i-|---|---|-p-|---|---|

        Blues #2

e ---|-m-|---|-p-|---|---|
B ---|-m-|-r-|-p-|---|---|
G -i-|---|---|-p-|---|---|
D -i-|---|---|-p-|---|---|
A ---|-m-|---|-p-|---|---|
E ---|-m-|---|-p-|---|---|

        Blues #3 {THE most popular form of the Blues Scale!}

e -i-|---|---|-p-|---|---|
B -i-|---|---|-p-|---|---|
G -i-|---|-r-|-p-|---|---|
D -i-|---|-r-|---|---|---|
A -i-|-m-|-r-|---|---|---|
E -i-|---|---|-p-|---|---|

        Blues #4

e ---|-i-|---|-r-|-p-|---|
B ---|-i-|---|-r-|---|---|
G -i-|-m-|-r-|---|---|---|
D -i-|---|---|-p-|---|---|
A -i-|---|---|-p-|---|---|
E ---|-i-|---|-r-|-p-|---|

        Blues #5

e ---|-i-|-m-|-r-|---|---|
B ---|-i-|---|---|-p-|---|
G -i-|---|---|-p-|---|---|
D ---|-i-|---|-r-|-p-|---|
A ---|-i-|---|-r-|---|---|
E ---|-i-|-m-|-r-|---|---|

Ok, and the 2 extended versions are:

     Extended Blues #1

e ---|---|---|---|---|-i-|---|-r-|
B ---|---|---|-i-|-s/|-i-|-m-|-r-|
G ---|---|-i-|---|-r-|---|---|---|
D -i-|-s/|-i-|-m-|-r-|---|---|---|
A -i-|---|-r-|---|---|---|---|---|
E -i-|-m-|-r-|---|---|---|---|---|

     Extended Blues #2

e ---|---|---|---|-i-|---|-r-|-p-|
B ---|---|---|---|-i-|---|-r-|---|
G ---|---|-i-|-s/|-i-|-m-|-r-|---|
D ---|---|-i-|---|-r-|---|---|---|
A -i-|-s/|-i-|-m-|-r-|---|---|---|
E -i-|---|-r-|---|---|---|---|---|

Ok, like before, memorize the 5 positions, playing them with your metronome until
you're good and comfortable with them, then memorize the 2 extended versions, doing all
the same.

Ok, let's look a shifting these scales down the fret board.

If I start in the Key of C, or C Blues, where would you start the scale? The root notes
will appear here: {Remember, the root note is inside the brackets []}

   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18
e ---|---|---|---|---|---|---|-C-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
B -C-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|-C-|---|---|---|---|---|
G ---|---|---|---|-C-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
D ---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|-C-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A ---|---|-C-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|-C-|---|---|---|
E ---|---|---|---|---|---|---|-C-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|

So if I start on the 3rd fret, low E, the C Blues Scales would be:

     C Blues Scale #1            C Blues Scale #2            C Blues Scale #3
   3   4   5   6   7   8       5   6   7   8   9  10       8   9  10  11  12  13
e -i-|---|---|-p-|---|---|  e ---|-m-|---|[p]|---|---|  e [i]|---|---|-p-|---|---|
B ---|-i-|---|-r-|-p-|---|  B ---|-m-|-r-|-p-|---|---|  B -i-|---|---|-p-|---|---|
G -i-|---|[r]|---|---|---|  G [i]|---|---|-p-|---|---|  G -i-|---|-r-|-p-|---|---|
D -i-|-m-|-r-|---|---|---|  D -i-|---|---|-p-|---|---|  D -i-|---|[r]|---|---|---|
A [i]|---|---|-p-|---|---|  A ---|-m-|---|-p-|---|---|  A -i-|-m-|-r-|---|---|---|
E -i-|---|---|-p-|---|---|  E ---|-m-|---|[p]|---|---|  E [i]|---|---|-p-|---|---|

     C Blues Scale #4            C Blues Scale #5
  10  11  12  13  14  15
e ---|-i-|---|-r-|-p-|---|  e ---|-i-|-m-|-r-|---|---|
B ---|-i-|---|[r]|---|---|  B ---|[i]|---|---|-p-|---|
G -i-|-m-|-r-|---|---|---|  G -i-|---|---|-p-|---|---|
D [i]|---|---|-p-|---|---|  D ---|-i-|---|-r-|-p-|---|
A -i-|---|---|-p-|---|---|  A ---|-i-|---|[r]|---|---|
E ---|-i-|---|-r-|-p-|---|  E ---|-i-|-m-|-r-|---|---|

       Extended C Blues #1                    Extended C Blues #1
   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8          6   7   8   9  10  11  12  13
e ---|---|---|---|---|-i-|---|[r]|     e ---|---|---|---|-i-|---|-r-|-p-|
B ---|---|---|-i-|-s/|-i-|-m-|-r-|     B ---|---|---|---|-i-|---|-r-|---|
G ---|---|-i-|---|[r]|---|---|---|     G ---|---|-i-|-s/|-i-|-m-|-r-|---|
D -i-|-s/|-i-|-m-|-r-|---|---|---|     D ---|---|-i-|---|-r-|---|---|---|
A -i-|---|[r]|---|---|---|---|---|     A -i-|-s/|-i-|-m-|-r-|---|---|---|
E -i-|-m-|-r-|---|---|---|---|---|     E -i-|---|-r-|---|---|---|---|---|

To simplify your "starting position" search:

The above patterns are in order of use for the keys of C, A# and B.

For C#, D and A, use the patterns in this order: 5, 1, 2, 3, 4 and X-1 then X-2 
                                                               {X means Extended!}

For D# and E, use #4, 5, 1, 2, 3 and X-1 (add F note on Low E) and X-2.

For F, Gb, and G, use #3, 4, 5, 1, 2  and X-2 and X-1, adding the F note on the Low E.

Ok, that about it for the Blues Scale.  I hope you'll pracice it and arm yourself with
this versatile, heavy scale!

See ya on Lesson 9!

Mike