blues scale
Flatted-note musical sequence
A blues scale is a musical scale used in blues, jazz, and rock music, characterized by the addition of "blue notes"—typically flatted third, fifth, and seventh degrees that create the genre's distinctive melancholy or soulful sound.
The scale gives blues its emotional tension and bending quality: He improvised over the twelve-bar progression using the blues scale.
Curving from straight
- vibratoOscillating pitch effect
- licksTongue strokes
- riffsRepeated melodic figures
- phrasingManner of expressing something
slides · hammer-ons · pull-offs · call and response · string bending · ghost notes · trills · turnaround
Scale of five tones
- minor thirdThree-semitone pitch distance
- seventhOrdinal for seven
- tonicInvigorating medicinal drink
- dominantHaving superior influence
subdominant · root · interval · semitone · chromatic · pitch · tonality · mode
Suspended recreational seat
- boogie-woogieDriving bass, freewheeling treble
- bebopFast, complex jazz style
- rockSolid earthen material
- jazzImprovisational American music genre
Fretted stringed instrument
- harmonicaHandheld reed wind instrument
- pianoKeyed percussion instrument
- saxophoneReed instrument, brass body
- organBody's working component
bass · trumpet · slide guitar · bottleneck · harp · keys
Subdued, lasting sadness
- sorrowDeep emotional distress
- longingIntense, persistent desire
- heartacheDeep emotional distress
- wistfulSadly longing for something
yearning · mournful · plaintive · soulful · raw · gritty · emotive · expressive
Performing without accompaniment
- jammingBlocking or wedging forcefully
- expressionConveyed thought or feeling
- creativityCapacity for original thought
- fretboardStringed instrument's neck face
ear training · groove · timing · syncopation · spontaneity · motif · variation · jam session
bending
Curving from straight
phrasing · slides · hammer-ons · pull-offs · call and response · string bending · ghost notes · trills · turnaround · shuffle
pentatonic
Scale of five tones
- minor thirdThree-semitone pitch distance
- seventhOrdinal for seven
- tonicInvigorating medicinal drink
dominant · subdominant · root · interval · semitone · chromatic · pitch · tonality · mode
swing
Suspended recreational seat
- boogie-woogieDriving bass, freewheeling treble
- bebopFast, complex jazz style
- rockSolid earthen material
guitar
Fretted stringed instrument
- harmonicaHandheld reed wind instrument
- pianoKeyed percussion instrument
- saxophoneReed instrument, brass body
organ · bass · trumpet · slide guitar · bottleneck · harp · keys
melancholy
Subdued, lasting sadness
wistful · yearning · mournful · plaintive · soulful · raw · gritty · emotive · expressive
soloing
Performing without accompaniment
- jammingBlocking or wedging forcefully
- expressionConveyed thought or feeling
- creativityCapacity for original thought
fretboard · ear training · groove · timing · syncopation · spontaneity · motif · variation · jam session
- hexatonic scales
- musical scales
- scalesweight, measure, balance, beam balance, pan balance
- harmonyharmony, chord, chords, triad, triads
- Blues RockEric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, ZZ Top, Fleetwood Mac, The Yardbirds
- bass techniqueswalking bass, slap bass, pizzicato, arco, fingerstyle
blues scalemajor scale
Heptatonic pattern with semitones
major key · chromatic scale · C major · church modes · raga