A

Pentatonic Scale

A Blues

Minor pentatonic with an added flat 5th (blue note). The sound of the blues.

Notes in A Blues

A1
C2
D3
D#4
E5
G6
A8

Chords in A Blues

6 diatonic chords
DegreeChordNotesQuality
iA?A – D – E—
iiCmC – D# – Gminor
iiiD?D – E – A—
ivD#?D# – G – C—
vE?E – A – D—
viG?G – C – D#—

Other Scales in A

MajorA, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#Natural MinorA, B, C, D, E, F, GHarmonic MinorA, B, C, D, E, F, G#Melodic MinorA, B, C, D, E, F#, G#DorianA, B, C, D, E, F#, GPhrygianA, A#, C, D, E, F, GLydianA, B, C#, D#, E, F#, G#MixolydianA, B, C#, D, E, F#, GLocrianA, A#, C, D, D#, F, GMajor PentatonicA, B, C#, E, F#Minor PentatonicA, C, D, E, GWhole ToneA, B, C#, D#, F, GDiminished (H-W)A, A#, C, C#, D#, E, F#, GDiminished (W-H)A, B, C, D, D#, F, F#, G#Phrygian DominantA, A#, C#, D, E, F, GHungarian MinorA, B, C, D#, E, F, G#Lydian DominantA, B, C#, D#, E, F#, G

Blues in All 12 Keys

CC D# F F# G A#C#D♭Db E Gb G Ab BDD F G G# A CD#E♭Eb Gb Ab A Bb DbEE G A A# B DFF Ab Bb B C EbF#G♭F# A B C C# EGG A# C C# D FG#A♭Ab B Db D Eb GbAA C D D# E GA#B♭Bb Db Eb E F AbBB D E F F# A

Practice by Ear

Scale RecognitionIdentify the Blues scale by ear →Play A BluesHear the scale and practice recognising it →Chord Recognition TrainerIdentify the chords above by ear →Progression TrainerIdentify common progressions in this key →

Chords in A Blues

The A blues scale contains the notes A, C, D, D#, E, G. Minor pentatonic with an added flat 5th (blue note). The sound of the blues.

The diatonic chords in A blues are A? (i), Cm (ii), D? (iii), D#? (iv), E? (v), G? (vi). These are the chords you can use when writing or improvising in this key — every note in each chord belongs to the A blues scale.

To develop your ear for the A blues sound, use the scale and chord trainers linked above. Being able to recognise these sounds by ear — not just read them from a chart — is what separates musicians who truly hear music from those who only read it.