Bb Blues Scale Fretboard Guide
Bb, Db, Eb, Fb, F and Ab form the Bb minor blues scale. The blue note is Fb, a flat fifth you fret as E. A# minor blues spells the scale with sharps, but flats are what band charts usually show.
The root is on the 1st fret of the A string, near the nut, and on the 6th fret of the low E string. Learn where the blue note sits in each box and use expanding the pentatonic box to extend it.
Play the Bb minor blues scale
Use the step menu in the player to switch between the single-string run and the box shapes.
Notes of the Bb minor blues scale
| Note | Degree | Interval | Semitones from root |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bb | 1 | Root | 0 |
| Db | b3 | Minor 3rd | 3 |
| Eb | 4 | Perfect 4th | 5 |
| Fb | b5 | Tritone | 6 |
| F | 5 | Perfect 5th | 7 |
| Ab | b7 | Minor 7th | 10 |
Structure
Bb minor blues scale notes:
How the minor blues scale is built:
The minor blues scale is built from the degrees 1 b3 4 b5 5 b7, which gives the step pattern W+H-W-H-H-W+H-W (W = whole step, H = half step).
Counting in semitones from the root: 0, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10. That makes it a 6-note scale.
It is also known as Blues Scale.
Bb Minor Blues Scale Guitar Patterns
Static diagrams of every position shown in the player above.
On one string (A)
Box pattern — position 1
Box pattern — position 2
Box pattern — position 3
Box pattern — position 4
Box pattern — position 5
3 notes per string — position 1
The minor blues scale in other keys
Created by
Giancarlo is a musician (teaching guitar since 2000), software engineer, AI consultant and published researcher
