The blues scale on piano: ten phrases to start improvising

Improvising scares most beginners for one reason: they are afraid of playing a wrong note. The blues scale takes that fear away. Over a 12-bar blues, almost every note of it sounds right on almost every chord, so you can stop thinking about notes and start thinking about what really makes a solo: rhythm, space and phrases.

What is the blues scale?

The C blues scale has six notes: C, E♭, F, F♯, G, B♭. In numbers: 1, ♭3, 4, ♭5, 5, ♭7. It is the minor pentatonic scale (C E♭ F G B♭) with one extra note, the ♭5, the famous blue note.

The blue note is a passing note: slide through it from the 4th to the 5th, or from the 5th down to the 4th. Don’t stop on it. It is the spice, not the meal.

Ten phrases to learn

Scales are raw material. Music is made of phrases. Here are ten short two-bar phrases, all from the blues scale, from easy to harder: the first two use only two notes, then come phrases with three, four and five notes. They all play over C7. The bass plays a long root, and the left hand holds the guide tones, E and B♭ (the 3rd and the 7th), for the whole bar. Choose a key, press Play, and learn them one at a time: first by ear, then on the keys.

These phrases were written for JazzSync in the spirit of the blues pianists, not copied from any recording. Once you know a few, the next step is to make them yours.

How to make a phrase your own

Take one phrase and change one thing:

• The rhythm: start it half a beat later, or play the first note long.
• The ending: finish on a different note (C, G or E♭ sound most settled).
• The length: play only the first half, twice.
• The register: play it an octave higher.
• The direction: turn a falling phrase into a rising one.

Five changes give you five new phrases from one. This is how jazz musicians have always learned: copy, then change, until the phrase sounds like you.

From phrases to a solo

A solo is not a stream of notes. It is phrases with space between them, like sentences in a conversation. A simple plan for one chorus of the blues: play in bars 1–2, rest in 3–4; play in 5–6, rest in 7–8; play in 9–10, end in 11–12. Here it is with three of the phrases above:

The rests aren’t empty. They let the listener hear what you said, and they give you time to hear your next idea.

How to practise

1. Learn one phrase a day, by ear first: listen, sing it, then find it.
2. Play it in four keys: C, F, B♭ and G (the key menu above each example).
3. Change it in one of the five ways above.
4. Play a chorus of the blues with that phrase and its variations, leaving space.

Mistakes I hear most often

• Just playing the scale up and down. It is good practice to learn the notes, but in a solo it doesn’t sound like music. Play short phrases with rests between them, like the ones above.
• Stopping on the blue note. Pass through it.
• Never resting. Two bars on, two bars off is a great rule to start with.
• A left hand that plays every chord, all the time. The left hand is there to support the right hand, not to compete with it. While the right hand plays a phrase, keep the left hand quiet: a long chord, or nothing at all. When the right hand rests, the left hand can fill the gap with a short chord. You don’t have to play every chord.

Questions students ask

What’s the difference between the blues scale and the minor pentatonic?

One note: the blues scale adds the ♭5 (F♯ in C). The pentatonic is smoother; the blues scale is grittier.

Is there a major blues scale?

Yes: 1, 2, ♭3, 3, 5, 6 (C, D, E♭, E, G, A). It sounds brighter and works beautifully over the I chord. Many pianists mix the two in one solo.

Can I use the blues scale on other tunes?

Yes, on many tunes with a blues feel. On tunes with lots of chord changes, you’ll need more tools; the ii–V–I is the next big one.

Recommended listening

Blues solos full of short phrases and space. Listen first, then try to sing one phrase and find it on the keys.

1. “Kelly Blue”, Wynton Kelly · Kelly Blue (1959)
2. “Señor Blues”, Horace Silver · Six Pieces of Silver (1956)
3. “Blue Monk”, Thelonious Monk · Thelonious Monk Trio (1954)
4. “Night Train”, Oscar Peterson Trio · Night Train (1962)
5. “Doodlin’”, Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers · Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers (1954)
6. “Bags’ Groove”, Miles Davis · Bags’ Groove (1954): Thelonious Monk’s piano solo
7. “The Sidewinder”, Lee Morgan · The Sidewinder (1963): Barry Harris, piano
8. “Sack o’ Woe”, Cannonball Adderley · The Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Francisco (1959): Bobby Timmons, piano
9. “Back at the Chicken Shack”, Jimmy Smith · Back at the Chicken Shack (1960): organ
10. “Freddie Freeloader”, Miles Davis · Kind of Blue (1959): Wynton Kelly’s piano solo