B

Pentatonic Scale

B Blues

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

Notes in B Blues

B1
D2
E3
F4
F#5
A6
B8

Chords in B Blues

6 diatonic chords
DegreeChordNotesQuality
iB?B – E – F#—
iiDmD – F – Aminor
iiiE?E – F# – B—
ivF?F – A – D—
vF#?F# – B – E—
viA?A – D – F—

Other Scales in B

MajorB, C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A#Natural MinorB, C#, D, E, F#, G, AHarmonic MinorB, C#, D, E, F#, G, A#Melodic MinorB, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A#DorianB, C#, D, E, F#, G#, APhrygianB, C, D, E, F#, G, ALydianB, C#, D#, F, F#, G#, A#MixolydianB, C#, D#, E, F#, G#, ALocrianB, C, D, E, F, G, AMajor PentatonicB, C#, D#, F#, G#Minor PentatonicB, D, E, F#, AWhole ToneB, C#, D#, F, G, ADiminished (H-W)B, C, D, D#, F, F#, G#, ADiminished (W-H)B, C#, D, E, F, G, G#, A#Phrygian DominantB, C, D#, E, F#, G, AHungarian MinorB, C#, D, F, F#, G, A#Lydian DominantB, C#, D#, F, F#, G#, A

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 B BluesHear the scale and practice recognising it →Chord Recognition TrainerIdentify the chords above by ear →Progression TrainerIdentify common progressions in this key →

Chords in B Blues

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

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

To develop your ear for the B 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.