Pentatonic & Blues
A Blues Scale on Piano
A blues is A minor pentatonic with the added flat-5 blue note — Eb, pulled from between D and E. Guitarists use it constantly for rock and blues solos, and it fits just as naturally under the hand on piano.
Notes of the A Blues Scale
| Degree | Note | Interval from root |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | Root |
| 2 | C | Minor 3rd |
| 3 | D | Perfect 4th |
| 4 | Eb | Diminished 5th |
| 5 | E | Perfect 5th |
| 6 | G | Minor 7th |
| 7 | A | Octave |
1½-W-H-H-1½-W1½ · W · H · H · 1½ · WThe blues interval pattern — starting from A gives A, C, D, Eb (blue note), E, G, A.
W = whole step, H = half step, 1½ = one and a half whole steps (three half steps).
A Blues on the Staff
One octave ascending in bass clef with the key signature of A minor (no sharps, no flats).
Fingering
A common right-hand fingering; the blue note Eb sits under finger 4. Blues scales do not have a single ABRSM-standard fingering.
- 1A
- 2C
- 3D
- 4Eb
- 1E
- 2G
- 3A
- 5A
- 4C
- 3D
- 2Eb
- 1E
- 3G
- 2A
Numbers indicate fingers: 1 = thumb, 2 = index, 3 = middle, 4 = ring, 5 = little. Both rows are shown in ascending order (low note to high note). Note the left hand starts on the pinky (5) at the lowest note and crosses the middle finger over the thumb to continue upward — that is why the left-hand numbers count down before cycling again.
Where You Hear This Scale
A blues works well over A7 and Am7 and is a common choice for soloing over a 12-bar blues in A. The blue note, Eb, sounds best as a quick passing tone between D and E. On piano it stands in for the bent notes a guitarist or singer would use.
Train Your Ear to Recognize This Scale
Put what you learned into practice with Fortepian's free scale identification exercise. Hear a scale and identify it — 9 progressive levels, from major and minor to modes, pentatonic, blues, and exotic scales. No signup needed.
Start scale ear training