Blues · F · Guitar
The F Blues scale is F A♭ B♭ C♭ C E♭ — formula 1 ♭3 4 ♭5 5 ♭7, step pattern W+H–W–H–H–W+H–W. Use it over F7: it is the scale for the whole 12-bar blues, and over dominant or minor chords for a bluesy inflection. Below, every note is marked on the fretboard in standard tuning; press play to hear it on a synthesized guitar while each note lights up, or tap any fret to sound that note.
Visualizer
Guitar · standard tuning
Piano
Tap any note on the diagram to hear it. Play loops the scale up and down one octave in eighth notes (switch Loop off for a single pass) in the position starting at fret 1. “Show” switches or combines the fretboard and keyboard; “Sound” picks the instrument you hear. Audio is synthesized in the browser.
Reference
| Degree | Note | Interval from F | Step to next |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | F | unison (0 semitones) | W+H |
| ♭3 | A♭ | minor 3rd (3 semitones) | W |
| 4 | B♭ | perfect 4th (5 semitones) | H |
| ♭5 | C♭ | tritone (6 semitones) | H |
| 5 | C | perfect 5th (7 semitones) | W+H |
| ♭7 | E♭ | minor 7th (10 semitones) | W |
Chord it implies: F7. Use it for: the whole 12-bar blues, and over dominant or minor chords for a bluesy inflection.
Common questions
F A♭ B♭ C♭ C E♭. As scale degrees: 1 ♭3 4 ♭5 5 ♭7. It has 6 notes.
F Blues fits F7 and, more generally, the whole 12-bar blues, and over dominant or minor chords for a bluesy inflection.
1 ♭3 4 ♭5 5 ♭7 — the step pattern from the root is W+H W H H W+H W (W = whole step, H = half step).
Start on the root F on the low E string at fret 1, and play the one-octave position shown: E-string fret 1, E-string fret 4, A-string fret 1, A-string fret 2, A-string fret 3, D-string fret 1, D-string fret 3. Every F on the neck is a root, so the same shape works in every position where the notes are marked.
Keep going
Same scale on piano · all Blues pages: Blues hub · theory: chord-scale theory.
Other scales from F