Bass Lessons - Blues Scale (and Examples Of It In Popular Music) bass tab

A Blues Scale

This is a very common blues scale, and a handy little one to know.

Not only does it sound cool, but many songs are also based off of it.

Here’s the general pattern:

G-----------0-2-

D-----0-1-2-----

A-0-3-----------

E---------------

The real magic happens when you play it backwards:

G-2-0-----------

D-----2-1-0-----

A-----------3-0-

E---------------

Sounds pretty bluesy, eh? You can play this same combination

of notes anywhere on the fretboard. For example, here it is further

down:

G---------------

D-----------5-6-

A-----5-6-7-----

E-5-8-----------

That above combination will produce the same sound as the general

pattern above, but you can play this same pattern anywhere to

produce almost any pitch you want.

Now, here’s the important part: the blues scale in popular music.

There are many songs that utilize this blues scale; most of which

date around mid- to late-60s, but it’s used in some popular music

today. Here are some examples of famous riffs that use this blues

scale:

Heartbreaker (Led Zeppelin):

G-------------

D-----0-1h2---

A-0-3---------

E-----------3-

Sunshine of Your Love (Cream):

G-2-2-0-2-------------

D---------2-1-0-------

A---------------0-3-0-

E---------------------

(Note: the above examples may not be the actual notes used in

the song, but are rather examples of the blues pattern in popular

music, shown through the incarnation of the blues pattern that

I tabbed above.)