It really has been a very long while since I posted and added any new content.
I've not dissapeared, I've just been busy with life.
Much as I love the blog real, world things have to take priority now and then...
I had a request through my Facebook the other day for some diagrams of combined Major and Minor Blues Scales. While I'm not about to become a free custom diagram service, this did tweak my curiosity.
I've been goofing around with adding extra notes to the Pentatonic and Blues Scales in my own playing and in particular playing with ideas like Minor Pentatonic Add 3 and Minor Blues Scale Add 3 (I'll be blogging both these in the coming weeks, as well as a lesson on some cheats on how to start adding extra notes to the Pentatonic Scale) so this idea did tie in nicely with some of that work.
The Minor Blues Scale: 1,b3,4,b5,5,b7
The Major Blues Scale: 1,2,b3,3,5,6
Combination of both works out as: 1,2,b3,3,4,b5,5,6,b7
Which is a lot of notes, 9 in fact.
I love the sound of the Major Blues Scale and some of the Add 3 variation I mention above sound amazing, so I get the idea that blurring those two scales might sound awesome but for me, it just doesn't sound how I expected it to.
I've also mapped them out as 3 NPS, 4 NPS and as standard Minor Blues shapes with extra notes added so they might feel more familiar, but they still feel really awkward under the fingers to me.
I've included all version below.
It was an interesting intellectual exercise, and I'm glad I spent a few days playing around with this idea with the diagrams and on guitar, but if you're looking to blur the Major/Minor divide I'd check out MIXOLYDIAN ADD 3/DORIAN ADD b3
Or if you want to get a b5 in there for bluesy fun, try MIXOLYDIAN ADD b5 or DORIAN ADD b5
However, Minor Pentatonic Add 3 and Minor Blues Add 3 will be coming soon.
EDIT: Diagrams are now on the blog for:
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