E blues major contains E, F♯, G, G♯, B, and C♯. Box 1 spans frets 2–5 with root on string 2, fret 2.
E blues major contains E, F♯, G, G♯, B, and C♯. Box 1 spans frets 2–5 with root on string 2, fret 2.
E blues major adds a minor 3rd to E major pentatonic. The scale contains a tritone between G and C♯, but no leading tone. Its step pattern is W, H, H, 1½, W, 1½. Compare it with E major pentatonic.
E blues major fits E major and E minor chords. Use it over 12-bar blues in E and rock progressions. Try it over E major and E minor.
Practise Box 1 first. Its root on string 2, fret 2 keeps the scale low and sets up Box 2.
E blues major in box 2 runs from fret 2 to fret 5, 9 notes across 4 strings, from F♯ on the E string at fret 2 up to B on the G string at fret 4. The root falls on the D string at fret 2.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 2, 3, 4 | F♯, G, G♯ |
| 3 (A) | 2, 4 | B, C♯ |
| 2 (D) | 2, 4, 5 | E, F♯, G |
| 1 (G) | 4 | B |
E blues major in box 3 runs from fret 4 to fret 7, 9 notes across 4 strings, from G♯ on the E string at fret 4 up to C♯ on the G string at fret 6. The root falls on the A string at fret 7.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 4, 7 | G♯, B |
| 3 (A) | 4, 7 | C♯, E |
| 2 (D) | 4, 5, 6 | F♯, G, G♯ |
| 1 (G) | 4, 6 | B, C♯ |
E blues major in box 5 runs from fret 9 to fret 12, 10 notes across 4 strings, from C♯ on the E string at fret 9 up to G on the G string at fret 12. The root falls on the E string at fret 12 and the G string at fret 9.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 9, 12 | C♯, E |
| 3 (A) | 9, 10, 11 | F♯, G, G♯ |
| 2 (D) | 9, 11 | B, C♯ |
| 1 (G) | 9, 11, 12 | E, F♯, G |
Every chord here uses only notes from the scale. Tap one to open it.
E blues major contains E, F♯, G, G♯, B, and C♯. The scale includes both minor and major 3rds. It has a tritone between G and C♯.
E blues major fits E major and E minor chords. It also works over F♯ 5th and B 5th. Use it for blues and rock bass lines.
E blues major adds a G to E major pentatonic. This creates a minor 3rd alongside the major 3rd. The added note gives a bluesy colour.