F blues scale
F blues scale is F – A♭ – B♭ – C♭ – C – E♭, with A♭, B♭, C♭ and E♭. Formula 1 ♭3 4 ♭5 5 ♭7. Press play and follow the keys.
Notes and steps
The step pattern is W+H W H H W+H W (W = whole step, H = half step, W+H = a step and a half). The half steps fall between B♭–C♭ and C♭–C. The wide steps are F–A♭ and C–E♭.
| Degree | Note | Interval from F | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | F | root | |
| ♭3 | A♭ | minor third | |
| 4 | B♭ | perfect fourth | |
| ♭5 | C♭ | tritone | |
| 5 | C | perfect fifth | |
| ♭7 | E♭ | minor seventh |
The sound of F blues scale
Add C♭ to F minor pentatonic and you get the F blues scale. Bend into it, slide through it, and resolve to the note either side of it.
C♭ is the blue note. Slide B♭ – C♭ – C and back, and you've played the most recognizable phrase in the blues.
F blues scale is F minor pentatonic scale plus C♭. Hear F minor pentatonic scale and compare.
Where your hands go
Keyboard players: three black (A♭, B♭ and E♭), three white. C♭ is a white key with a sharp or flat name, because each letter can appear only once in the scale.
15 notes fit in the box between frets 0 and 5, with F at the 1st fret of the low E string.
Chords that fit F blues scale
Every note of these chords is in the scale: Fm, Fm7, Fsus4, A♭, G♯m, A♭sus2, B♭sus2, E♭sus2, B♭sus4, E♭sus4, A♭6, G♯m6.
Finding F blues on the neck
Find F first: fret 1 and 13 of the 6th string, fret 8 of the 5th. Treat the ♭5 as a passing note; slide through it rather than landing on it.
On the piano, F blues scale uses 3 black keys (A♭, B♭ and E♭) and 3 white.
A good drill once the scale is under your fingers: play it in thirds, skipping one note each time. Here that's F–B♭, A♭–C♭, B♭–C, C♭–E♭, C–F, E♭–A♭.
Drills for F blues
Try these after the plain scale. Tap to hear each pattern at a steady speed, then play along.
- Three-note runs: F A♭ B♭ · A♭ B♭ C♭ · B♭ C♭ C · C♭ C E♭ · C E♭ F.
- Land on C♭: F C♭ F C♭ F: the ♭5, the blue note, squeezed between the 4th and 5th.
Try next, from F
Blues scale in every key
F blues scale: questions
What are the notes of the F blues scale?
F, A♭, B♭, C♭, C, E♭, F. As degrees: 1 ♭3 4 ♭5 5 ♭7.
How many sharps or flats are in the F blues scale?
Four: A♭, B♭, C♭ and E♭.
What's the difference between F blues scale and F minor pentatonic scale?
It adds C♭.
What chords go with the F blues scale?
Any chord built only from its notes, for example Fm, Fm7, Fsus4, A♭, G♯m and A♭sus2. In a 12-bar blues in F it also works over the IV and V seventh chords, where the clashing notes are part of the sound.
Notes and fingering generated from the scale formula and checked automatically against the step pattern. Updated September 2026.