Learning The Blues Scale on the Piano
This video shows the basics of playing the C
blues scale. The C blues scale consists of the
following notes:
C - Eb - F - Gb - G - Bb - C
As we've explained in our video on
major and minor triads, a good way to learn your
blues scales to understand not only the individual
notes of the scale, but also the spacing or
intervals between each note. If you know the
spacing or interval formula, you'll be able to build
a blues scale easily in any key. Below are the
intervals in parenthesis between each note on the
piano of the C blues scale
C (minor third) Eb (whole step) F (half step) Gb
(half step) G (minor third) Bb (whole step) C
Once you understand how the scale is formed,
start by playing it slowly to get it comfortable
under your fingers. Don't play it too fast
until you can play it evenly. Play it up and
down, then make up patterns that sound good to your
ear. You can also play around with sliding on
and off notes. The best notes to slide on in
the C blues scale are the F, Gb and G. When
sliding, think of how a guitar sounds when you bend
a note. This is the sound you are trying to
mimic. Once you start to get comfortable with
the scale, you can add some left hand patterns such
as
walking bass or
boogie bass. Be creative and have fun with
this new set of notes!
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