Scales · Blues Key of E

E Blues Scale on guitar · notes, intervals & diagram

The E Blues scale contains the notes E, G, A, A♯, B, D. Minor pentatonic plus the "blue note" (b5). Gritty, vocal, instantly recognisable as the blues.

Standard tuning · 15 frets

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EADGBE 35791215 E G A A♯ B D E G A A♯ B D E G A A♯ B D E G A A♯ B D E G A A♯ B D E G A A♯ B D E G A A♯ B D E G A A♯ B D E G Root Scale note

Notes & intervals.

# Degree Note
1 1 E root
2 b3 G
3 4 A
4 b5 A♯
5 5 B
6 b7 D

Sound & use

Minor pentatonic plus the "blue note" (b5). Gritty, vocal, instantly recognisable as the blues.

Blues, blues-rock and jazz-blues. The b5 is a passing note — use it on the way down for that classic sound.

Common in: blues, blues-rock, jazz, rock

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Other scales

Other scales in the key of E.

Scale

E Major

Bright, resolved, optimistic — the default sound of Western pop, folk and most children's music.

Scale

E Natural Minor

Melancholy, introspective, serious — but not desperately sad. The classic "minor key" sound.

Scale

E Major Pentatonic

The major scale with the 4 and 7 removed — five notes that "always work" over a major chord. Sweet, melodic, never dissonant.

Scale

E Minor Pentatonic

The scale that built rock and blues. Bluesy, plaintive, and easy to play in five connected positions across the neck.

Scale

E Dorian

Minor with a major 6th — darker than major, warmer than natural minor. Sophisticated, hopeful-melancholy.

Scale

E Phrygian

Minor with a flat 2nd — exotic, Spanish, slightly menacing. The b2 is the defining sound.

Scale

E Lydian

Major with a raised 4th — dreamy, suspended, otherworldly. The sound of film-score wonder.

Scale

E Mixolydian

Major with a flat 7th — bright but bluesy. The "rock major scale".

Scale

E Locrian

The "weird one" — minor with both a flat 2nd and a flat 5th. Restless, dissonant, hard to resolve.

Scale

E Harmonic Minor

Natural minor with a raised 7th — creates the dramatic 1.5-step gap between b6 and 7. Classical, neo-classical, Middle-Eastern flavours.

Scale

E Melodic Minor

Minor scale with a major 6th and 7th going up (jazz/ascending form). Sophisticated, slippery, modern.

Scale

E Phrygian Dominant

Phrygian with a major 3rd — the iconic flamenco/Middle-Eastern sound. Major flavour, minor tension.

Scale

E Hungarian Minor

Two augmented seconds (between b3–#4 and b6–7) give this scale its distinctive Eastern European / Romani drama.

Scale

E Whole Tone

Six equally-spaced notes, no semitones — the symmetrical "dreamlike" scale. No clear tonic; ambiguous and weightless.

Scale

E Hirajoshi

Traditional Japanese pentatonic — austere, contemplative, instantly evocative of koto music.

All keys

Blues scale in every key.

C Blues

C♯ Blues

D Blues

D♯ Blues

F Blues

F♯ Blues

G Blues

G♯ Blues

A Blues

A♯ Blues

B Blues

FAQ

About the E Blues scale
on guitar.

What notes are in the E Blues scale?

The E Blues scale contains the notes E, G, A, A♯, B, D. The intervals from the root are 1, b3, 4, b5, 5, b7.

Where does the E Blues scale come from?

It's the Blues scale rooted on E. Minor pentatonic plus the "blue note" (b5). Gritty, vocal, instantly recognisable as the blues. Blues, blues-rock and jazz-blues. The b5 is a passing note — use it on the way down for that classic sound.

How do I practise the E Blues scale on guitar?

Start with the diagram on this page — find the root notes (the orange dots) and play through the pattern slowly, alternating picking. Once the shape is in your hands, set a metronome at around 60 BPM and play it ascending and descending in eighth-notes. Use the free metronome to keep yourself honest.

Which genres use the E Blues scale?

The Blues scale is found across blues, blues-rock, jazz, rock. The character of the key — E — affects how it feels rather than how it works: a E Blues solo has the same intervals and the same emotional shape as any other Blues solo, just transposed.

Can I print the E Blues fretboard diagram?

Yes. Use your browser's print function (Cmd/Ctrl + P) — the diagram on this page is a vector SVG that prints crisply at any size. Or use the interactive scale generator to export the same diagram as a standalone SVG or PNG file.