Blues Scale

The term blues scale is used to describe a few scales with differing numbers of pitches and related characteristics. See: blues.

The hexatonic, or six note, blues scale consists of the minor pentatonic scale plus the ♯4th or ♭5th degree. A major feature of the blues scale is the use of blue notes, however, since blue notes are considered alternative inflections, a blues scale may be considered to not fit the traditional definition of a scale. At its most basic, a single version of this "blues scale" is commonly used over all changes (or chords) in a twelve bar blues progression. Likewise, in contemporary jazz theory, its use is commonly based upon the key rather than the individual chord.

The heptatonic, or seven note, conception of the "blues scale" is as a diatonic scale (a major scale) with lowered third, fifth, and seventh degrees and blues practice is derived from the "conjunction of 'African scales' and the diatonic western scales". Steven Smith argues that, "to assign blue notes to a 'blues scale' is a momentous mistake, then, after all, unless we alter the meaning of 'scale'.

An essentially nine note blues scale is defined by Benward and Saker as a chromatic variation of the major scale featuring a flat third and seventh degrees which, "alternating with the normal third and seventh scale degrees are used to create the blues inflection. These 'blue notes' represent the influence of African scales on this music."

Greenblatt defines two blues scales, the major and the minor. The major blues scale is C, D, D♯/E♭, E, G, A and the minor is C, E♭, F, F♯/G♭, G, B♭. The latter is the hexatonic scale (top).