The blues scale in A: box 1 licks with the flat fifth
The A blues scale, the minor pentatonic with one note added, the flat fifth E flat, played as licks rather than straight up and down: up through the E flat on the A string and back, up to C on the G string, then over the high E flat and down to a held A. The flat fifth is a passing note: it's the blues sound when it moves on, and a wrong note when you stop on it.
Opens in the player looped and counted in, with drums playing along, and speeds up 5 % every 2 loops to 110 bpm. No account or microphone needed.
- Goal tempo
- 110 bpm
- Starts at
- 66 bpm
- Length
- 4 bars, looped
- Tuning
- E standard
- Time
- 4/4, swung
- Level
- Beginner
- Plays with
- Drums
How to play it
Use one finger a fret around the 5th position: the E flats are the second finger, on the A and G strings.
The A blues scale is A, C, D, E flat, E and G. Bar 1 climbs from A on the low E string's 5th fret through C, then D, E flat and E on the A string, and falls back. Bar 2 climbs the same way and goes on to G and A on the D string and C on the G string.
Bar 3 is the same lick an octave higher: D, E flat and D on the G string, then C, A, G, E and E flat down the strings. Bar 4 ends on D, C and a held A, and two beats of rest for the drums.
All the E flats are passing notes: each one moves on to D or E straight away. The eighths swing, as in a shuffle.
Mistakes to watch for
- Stopping on the E flat, the one note in the scale that sounds wrong when held over A.
- Playing the eighths straight against the shuffle beat.
- Rushing the two beats of rest in the last bar.
A speed plan
The player starts at 60 % of the goal and plays each tempo twice before stepping up:
- 66
- 72
- 77
- 83
- 88
- 94
- 99
- 105
- 110
That's 16 loops and about 3 minutes before you're playing at 110 bpm. If it stops being clean on the way, stop the ramp there and loop that tempo until it is. With a microphone or an audio interface you can record while you play instead: Demiurg checks every loop and steps up only after two clean ones in a row, and back down after a poor one.
Questions
How fast should I play The blues scale in A?
The goal is 110 bpm in eighth notes, which is 3.7 notes a second. Start wherever every note is clean: the player begins at 66 bpm. Signed in, you can set a goal of your own, slower or faster, on the Exercises page.
What's the difference between the blues scale and the minor pentatonic?
The blues scale is the minor pentatonic with one extra note, the flat fifth (E flat in A). That note is what gives blues licks their bite when it's passed through, and it's why the two scales are learned together.
Where else can I play the blues scale?
Everywhere the minor pentatonic goes: each box has its flat fifth. The scales page shows the A blues scale across the neck.
More rock and blues exercises
All 24 rock and blues exercises · Scales on the neck · Fretboard notes trainer · All 107 exercises