blues scale

noun

A minor hexatonic scale originating in the American musical genre blues, consisting of tonic, minor third, fourth, diminished fifth, fifth, and minor seventh, in which notes, particularly the minor third, fourth, diminished fifth, and minor seventh may be bent. It can also be called the minor blues scale when distinguishing it from its only other functional mode the major blues scale.

“The blues scale: {\set Staff.midiInstrument=#"alto sax" c'es'f'ges'g'bes'c2}”

Meanings

nounblues scale (plural blues scales)

plural blues scales

  1. entertainmentA minor hexatonic scale originating in the American musical genre blues, consisting of tonic, minor third, fourth, diminished fifth, fifth, and minor seventh, in which notes, particularly the minor third, fourth, diminished fifth, and minor seventh may be bent. It can also be called the minor blues scale when distinguishing it from its only other functional mode the major blues scale.

    The blues scale: {\set Staff.midiInstrument=#"alto sax" c'es'f'ges'g'bes'c2}

Cite this entry
APA

blues scale. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blues%20scale

MLA

“blues scale.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blues%20scale. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “blues scale,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blues%20scale.

Source: blues scale on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.