Most people are very familiar with the minor blues scale, but very few even realize that there is a second blues scale: The Major Blues Scale.

As most people know, the minor blues scale is identical to the minor pentatonic scale with the addition of one blue note, the flatted 5th. The major blues scale is identical to the major pentatonic scale with the addition of one blue note, the flatted or minor 3rd.

Major Blues Scale Fingering Diagrams For Bass

The diagrams below show the fingering position of the notes of the Major Blues Scale on the bass fretboard:

Both the minor and major blues scales are 6 note scales which are referred to as hexatonic scales.  That means every time you play a blues scale, you make Evan Marien smile.

The blues scales cover a lot of ground when it comes to improvising on bass.  They are great to use for bass fills because they generally don’t get in the way of the melody and you can use them to solo in almost any style of music. They are one of the main tools of bass players in blues, rock, jazz, funk, r&b and country.

How to Use the Major Blues Scale

Because the major blues scale doesn’t contain a 7th, it can be used to play over Major, Major 7 and Dominant 7 chords.  On major 7 chords, you’ll need to be a little more careful with the b3rd than on either the major or dominant chords, but it still works.

The Difference Between the Minor and Major Blues Scale

The minor blues scale is a favorite for improvisers in a blues setting because one blues scale can be used to play over an entire blues progression.  Whether a I-IV-V  blues form or a traditional jazz blues form which incorporates a dominant IV chord and a II-V back to the one, the minor blues scale from the root of the I chord can be used on each change.  Obviously you have to incorporate phrasing and choose notes to outline each chord, but one minor blues scale will get the job done.

When it comes to the major blues scale, the same is not true.  In a I-IV-V blues progression, you would have to play a new major blues scale for each chord. If we look at an example of a G Blues, you would play the G major blues scale on the I chord, a C major blues scale on the IV chord and a D major blues scale on the V chord.  You could also use this scale on the dominant VI chord of a jazz blues.  In the key of G that would be an E major blues scale.  It is a great tool, you just have to remember to shift scales as you shift chords.

The combination of the minor 3rd, to the major 3rd and back to the root is a particularly well used sound that you will hear in funk and blues bass and by many country guitarists and bassists.

If you start to combine the minor and major blues scales from each root you can come up with nearly endless possibilities to take your bass fills and solos up a notch.