Scale Reference
A Blues Scale | Triads
The A blues scale with its triads highlighted across the fretboard. Knowing where chord tones sit within the blues scale is the foundation of playing over changes rather than just running the scale.
Triads in the A blues scale
The A blues scale shares its triads with the A minor pentatonic | an A minor triad (A, C, E) and a C major triad (C, E, G). The blue note (Eb) is a chromatic passing tone used for expression, not a chord tone.
In a 12-bar blues in A, you solo over A7, D7, and E7 chords. The Eb blue note creates tension that resolves into E natural | the 5th of A, the root of E, and present in the D7 chord. It's the most expressive note in the scale.
How to use this
Target the Am triad tones (A, C, E) as your safe landing points, and use Eb as a passing tone to approach E from below. Bending from Eb to E over an A7 chord is one of the defining moves of blues guitar.
Explore triads interactively
Build progressions, toggle individual chords on and off, and experiment with every triad across the full neck.
Open in Scale Mapper →