C

Pentatonic Scale

C Blues

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

Notes in C Blues

C1
D#2
F3
F#4
G5
A#6
C8

Chords in C Blues

6 diatonic chords
DegreeChordNotesQuality
iC?C – F – G—
iiD#mD# – F# – A#minor
iiiF?F – G – C—
ivF#?F# – A# – D#—
vG?G – C – F—
viA#?A# – D# – F#—

Other Scales in C

MajorC, D, E, F, G, A, BNatural MinorC, D, D#, F, G, G#, A#Harmonic MinorC, D, D#, F, G, G#, BMelodic MinorC, D, D#, F, G, A, BDorianC, D, D#, F, G, A, A#PhrygianC, C#, D#, F, G, G#, A#LydianC, D, E, F#, G, A, BMixolydianC, D, E, F, G, A, A#LocrianC, C#, D#, F, F#, G#, A#Major PentatonicC, D, E, G, AMinor PentatonicC, D#, F, G, A#Whole ToneC, D, E, F#, G#, A#Diminished (H-W)C, C#, D#, E, F#, G, A, A#Diminished (W-H)C, D, D#, F, F#, G#, A, BPhrygian DominantC, C#, E, F, G, G#, A#Hungarian MinorC, D, D#, F#, G, G#, BLydian DominantC, D, E, F#, G, A, 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 C BluesHear the scale and practice recognising it →Chord Recognition TrainerIdentify the chords above by ear →Progression TrainerIdentify common progressions in this key →

Chords in C Blues

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

The diatonic chords in C blues are C? (i), D#m (ii), F? (iii), F#? (iv), G? (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 C blues scale.

To develop your ear for the C 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.