Experimenting with melody

Blues scale

Blues scales are widely used in rock, metal, punk, jazz and, of course, blues. In the 1960s and 1970s, when blues enjoyed a major revival, blues scales were the staple for guitar riffs and solos. The most common blues scale is the minor but this version actually works over any blues song, major or minor.

This is what the minor blues scale looks like in C:

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CDbDEbDFGbGAbABbB
The notes of the C minor blues scale – the Gb is often referred to as the ‘blue note’ – it provides the distinctive blues feel

The following sketch provides an example of the blues scale in action. It’s an oh so familiar feel, particularly to rock guitarists:

Instruments on Born Blue:
Bass: VB-Royal from ujam
Rhythm guitar: Session Guitarist – Electric Sunburst from Native Instruments
Drums: Studio Drummer from Native Instruments
Horns: Session Horns Pro from Native Instruments
And the lead guitar is a (real) Fender Stratocaster played through Guitar Rig Pro.

There is another blues scale, the major, which definitely only works in a major key. It’s often used for accompaniments on bass, guitar or piano alongside a vocal or lead instrument playing the minor blues scale but can also work its way into the melody.

Here’s the scale:

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CDbDEbEFGbGG#/AbABbB
The major blues scale. In practice, the D is not used so much, whereas the Bb (shown in pink) is a useful addition when the underlying chord is C7. A common bass accompaniment to a C major chord would use the notes C-Eb-E-G-A.

Instruments on Blue Fingers:
Acoustic guitar: Session Guitarist Picked Acoustic from Native Instruments
Bass: VB-Mellow from ujam

You may have noticed that both of these tracks have a shuffle feel, which is really common for blues. Each of the four beats in the bar is made up of a triplet of quavers / eighth notes, so you can count it ‘1-and-a 2-and-a 3-and-a 4-and-a’.