B blues scale
Pentatonic6 notes · F♯
Bblues
KeyboardRight hand · 1 = thumb
Fingering guideOne octave · both hands
| Hand | B | D | E | F | F♯ | A | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Right hand | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1thumb under | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Left hand | 3 | 2 | 1 | 44 over | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Chords in the key
Chords are built by stacking every other note of a seven-note scale. Blues has 6, so try the natural minor scale for its chords.
How to read a scale
Steps, degrees, fingers.
The step pattern
Every scale is a pattern of whole and half steps. B blues goes W+H–W–H–H–W+H–W: the step and a halfs between B and D, and between F♯ and A give it its colour.
The degrees
Number the notes from the root: 1 B, ♭3 D, 4 E, ♭5 F, 5 F♯, ♭7 A. The degrees stay the same in every key, so a pattern learned in B works in any other.
The fingering
Right hand: the thumb tucks under onto F. Left hand: finger 4 crosses over onto F. Practise the crossings slowly; once they're smooth, raise the tempo.
All 216 scales
Every scale and mode on every root, each with its own page.
C
D♭
D
E♭
E
F
G♭
G
A♭
A
B♭
Practise it on a real keyboard.
Plug in a MIDI keyboard: the Melodio app shows every scale with its fingering and chords, and names what you play. Free, offline.
Windows · macOS · Linux