E blues major contains E, F♯, G, G♯, B, and C♯. Its root on string 4, fret 2 makes Box 1 a compact four-fret shape.
E blues major contains E, F♯, G, G♯, B, and C♯. Its root on string 4, fret 2 makes Box 1 a compact four-fret shape.
E blues major adds G to E major pentatonic, producing a minor 3rd against E and a minor 2nd against F♯. The major 3rd G♯ remains, so G and G♯ clash a semitone apart. G and C♯ form a diminished 5th, the scale's only tritone.
E blues major fits E major and E minor chords, covering both thirds. It also works over F♯ 5th and B 5th for open-string rock lines. Use it in E blues and country-rock fills.
Learn Box 1 first. The root sits on string 4, fret 2, and the pattern covers frets 0–3.
E blues major in box 1 runs from fret 0 to fret 3, 12 notes across 6 strings, from E on the low E string at fret 0 up to G on the high e string at fret 3. The root falls on the low E string at fret 0, the D string at fret 2 and the high e string at fret 0.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 0, 2, 3 | E, F♯, G |
| 5 (A) | 2 | B |
| 4 (D) | 2 | E |
| 3 (G) | 0, 1 | G, G♯ |
| 2 (B) | 0, 2 | B, C♯ |
| 1 (e) | 0, 2, 3 | E, F♯, G |
E blues major in box 2 runs from fret 2 to fret 5, 14 notes across 6 strings, from F♯ on the low E string at fret 2 up to G♯ on the high e string at fret 4. The root falls on the D string at fret 2 and the B string at fret 5.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 2, 3, 4 | F♯, G, G♯ |
| 5 (A) | 2, 4 | B, C♯ |
| 4 (D) | 2, 4, 5 | E, F♯, G |
| 3 (G) | 4 | B |
| 2 (B) | 2, 5 | C♯, E |
| 1 (e) | 2, 3, 4 | F♯, G, G♯ |
E blues major in box 3 runs from fret 4 to fret 7, 13 notes across 6 strings, from G♯ on the low E string at fret 4 up to B on the high e string at fret 7. The root falls on the A string at fret 7 and the B string at fret 5.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 4, 7 | G♯, B |
| 5 (A) | 4, 7 | C♯, E |
| 4 (D) | 4, 5, 6 | F♯, G, G♯ |
| 3 (G) | 4, 6 | B, C♯ |
| 2 (B) | 5, 7 | E, F♯ |
| 1 (e) | 4, 7 | G♯, B |
E blues major in box 4 runs from fret 7 to fret 10, 12 notes across 6 strings, from B on the low E string at fret 7 up to C♯ on the high e string at fret 9. The root falls on the A string at fret 7 and the G string at fret 9.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 7, 9 | B, C♯ |
| 5 (A) | 7, 9, 10 | E, F♯, G |
| 4 (D) | 9 | B |
| 3 (G) | 9 | E |
| 2 (B) | 7, 8, 9 | F♯, G, G♯ |
| 1 (e) | 7, 9 | B, C♯ |
E blues major in box 5 runs from fret 9 to fret 12, 14 notes across 6 strings, from C♯ on the low E string at fret 9 up to E on the high e string at fret 12. The root falls on the low E string at fret 12, the G string at fret 9 and the high e string at fret 12.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 9, 12 | C♯, E |
| 5 (A) | 9, 10, 11 | F♯, G, G♯ |
| 4 (D) | 9, 11 | B, C♯ |
| 3 (G) | 9, 11, 12 | E, F♯, G |
| 2 (B) | 9, 12 | G♯, B |
| 1 (e) | 9, 12 | C♯, E |
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 has both a minor and major 3rd. It is a six-note blues scale.
E blues major fits E major and E minor chords. It also works over F♯ 5th and B 5th. The scale contains the chord tones of those harmonies.
E blues major adds G to E major pentatonic. The added note creates a minor 3rd against E and a minor 2nd against F♯. This gives the scale its blues colour.