Blues Scale Lesson for Jazz Piano

“Which type of blues scale can I play over each type of 7th chord (e.g. maj 7, min 7, V7)?”

Great question. Here's my answer:

So first, there are two types of blues scale:

The major blues scale, and the minor blues scale.

C minor blues scale (most common) = C Eb F F# G Bb

C major blues scale = C D Eb E G A

Now both blues scales are really the same scale - C major blues scale is just A minor blues scale but starting from C.

Which Blues scale can I play for major 7 chords?

So over a C major 7 chord - which blues scale would you play?

The answer is C major blues scale (C D Eb E G A).

Notice that C major blues scale 'agrees with' the notes of C major 7.

Both chord and scale contain C E and G - which are chord tones of the chord. That's why they sound 'consonant' (correct) together.

Which Blues scale can I play for minor 7 chords?

Over a C minor 7 chord, you can play C minor blues scale.

That's C Eb F F# G Bb.

Notice that C minor blues scale 'agrees with' the notes of C minor 7.

Both chord and scale contain C Eb G and Bb - all 4 chord tones of the chord. That's why they sound consonant together.

Which Blues scale can I play for dominant 7 chords?

And lastly, over a C dominant 7 chord (C7), you can play EITHER C major blues scale, or C minor blues scale.

Both blues scales sound consonant over C7.

Why?

Because both scales mostly agree with the chord tones of C7 (C E G Bb). They only exception is C minor blues scales 3rd (Eb), which is a minor 3rd. There is a slight clash here, however this Eb sounds like a #9 when played over C7 - and this creates a nice tension which is actually characteristic of Blues music.

What is the Hybrid Blues scale?

Since you can play both the major and minor blues scales over a C dominant 7 chord - some musicians combine these two scales into one scale, and play what’s called the ‘hybrid blues scale’.

The Hybrid Blues Scale is all of the notes from C major blues scale, and all of the notes from C minor blues scale:

C D Eb E F Gb G A Bb

That's a 9-note scale!

Try playing it for yourself (ascending and descending) over a C7 chord in your left hand (C E G Bb)!

Which Blues scale can I play over other types of chord?

There's a few other types of chord in Jazz that you can also play the blues scale over:

Major 6 chords:

Since C major 7 and C major 6 are interchangeable - you can play C major blues scale (C D Eb E G A) over C major 6 as well (C E G A).

Minor 6 chords:

Since C minor 7 and C minor 6 are interchangeable - you can play C minor blues scale (C Eb F Gb G Bb) over C minor 6 as well (C Eb G A).

As for other chord types (half-diminished, diminished 7, and minor-major 7 chords) - you wouldn’t normally play the blues scale over these. Each of these chords has its own scale that goes with it - not the blues scale.

How to Practice the Blues Scale

To practice playing the correct blues scale with each type of 7th chord - choose a Jazz song from your fake book and play through its chords only (ignore the melody).

Hold down each chord in your left hand (1 3 5 7 is fine), and in your right hand - play up and down the correct blues scale.

Remember:

• Major 7 chord = major blues scale (C D Eb E G A).

• Minor 7 chord = minor blues scale (C Eb F Gb G Bb).

• Dominant 7 chord = major blues scale, minor blues scale, or hybrid blues scale (C D Eb E F Gb G A Bb).

What's Popular Now

'29 Jazz Piano Licks' sheet music

Download

---

'Chord Voicing Guide for Jazz Piano'

This 11-page guide shows you chord voicings that professional Jazz pianists use.

Download

---

'23 Sweet Chord Progressions'

6 pages of sheet music. Shares my top chord progressions and chord voicings.

Download

---

'Chord Symbol Reference Guide

One page cheat sheet. Shows you all common Jazz chords notated clearly:

Download