[Harp-L] Re: Blues scale vs. Pentatonic scale



Will and Harp-L-

First Will, you're entirely welcome. For all of you who don't know him, Will can sustain the 1 OB all day, can sing his a$$ off, and can shout down ten ordinary men. Plus the dirty blues he sang at one of the circle jams was a gem of the genre. I don't have an answer as to what to call the scale that you call the major blues scale in your post and which you spelled: C D Eb  E D A C. Did you mean to have a G in the place of the second D? Michael Peloquin just posted about this scale as follows:

==================================================

For my esteemed colleague Mr Brooks-
There is more than one "blues" scale. The one that I will divulge, free of
charge to y'all is this one:
More of a major sound, very ueful in R & B, Pop, Country, Swing Blues
Over a C, C7, C6:


C D Eb E G A C

1 b3 3 5 6 1

====================================================

Possibly Michael will also divulge the name of this scale. I was unfamiliar with it and do not have a name for it. In any case, I stand corrected. Saying the blues scale is apparently not enough to describe s specific scale. It leaves the question "which one?"

I would, in every instance I can conceive of, defer to MP in matters of theory. I am puzzled, though. The scale as written by MP starts on C and has a D. Isn't the D the "2" (second degree) or, alternatively, the "9"? Using numbers to show how the scale is constructed (1 b3 3 5 6 1), Michael has the root, the flat 3 and the 3, 5, 6, and 1 (octave), but no 2 or 9. The numbers do not seem to match the scale as spelled with letters. I would like to understand this better. Where did I slip off the rails?

GB



On Oct 31, 2007, at 6:39 AM, Will Vogtman wrote:

First of all, thanks for your help in Denver!  I had a great time and learned years worth of material in days.
 
Second of all, a question.
 
I've used two forms of what I incorectly label as major and minor blues scales based upon the major and minor pentatonic scales.
 
Major Pentatonic in C
 
C D E D A C
 
Minor Pentatonic
 
C Eb F G Bb C   (just to stick with flats)
 
Major Blues in C
 
C D Eb  E D A C
 
Minor Blues
 
C Eb F Gb G Bb C   (just to stick with flats)
 
I've asked similar questions on this list before.  I'm interested in your opinion on a naming scheme for these scales.   I invented these two names for myself--just to have a place to put them in my brain.
 
Thanks,
Will
 



George Brooks <gbrooksvt@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> A Minor pentatonic:
>
> A C D E G

Yes.

> A Minor blues scale:
>
> A C D Db E G A

Not exactly. While there is both a major pentatonic scale and a minor
pentatonic scale, the blues scale is always a minor scale (flat 3rd
degree and flat 7th degree), so there is no such thing, strictly
speaking, as the "minor blues scale." It is simply the blues scale.
The blues scale starting on A is spelled:

A C D D# E G

or, alternatively:

A C D Eb E G

The blues scale starting on C is spelled:

C Eb F F# G Bb

I hope this helps.

GB

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