Skip to content

C♯ blues scale

The C♯ blues scale is C♯ E F♯ G G♯ B: six notes, gritty, with a blue note. Its formula is 1 ♭3 4 ♭5 5 ♭7.

Make a beat in C♯ minor

Opens the free editor with a trap beat in C♯ minor to play C♯ blues over. No account needed to start.

The notes of C♯ blues

From C♯ up to C♯: step and a half, whole, half, half, step and a half, whole. Tap a key to hear it.

C♯ E F♯ G G♯ B C♯

EGBC♯F♯G♯C♯
The notes of C♯ blues scale by scale degree
DegreeNoteFrom the root
1C♯Root
♭3EMinor third
4F♯Perfect fourth
♭5GDiminished fifth
5G♯Perfect fifth
♭7BMinor seventh

How C♯ blues is built

C♯ minor pentatonic with one note added: G, the flat fifth, between F♯ and G♯. That is the blue note, and the rub it makes against the notes beside it is the sound of the blues.

The minor pentatonic with one note added: the flat fifth, the “blue note” that gives blues, rock and soul their bite. Six notes in all. The blues scale in every key.

Chords to play C♯ blues over

A blues in C♯ moves between three chords, the first, fourth and fifth, each played as a seventh chord. The scale fits over all three.

C♯7 F♯7 G♯7

See them as a 12-bar blues.

Play C♯ blues over a beat

A beat on the chords of C♯ minor. Play the scale over it on the keyboard above, then open it in the editor and add your melody as its own part.

Hear it as

Questions about C♯ blues

What notes are in the C♯ blues scale?

C♯, E, F♯, G, G♯ and B. Its formula is 1 ♭3 4 ♭5 5 ♭7, counted from the major scale on C♯, and its steps from C♯ up to C♯ are: step and a half, whole, half, half, step and a half, whole.

What is the blue note in the C♯ blues scale?

G, the flat fifth, a half step above F♯ and below G♯. It slides into one of them more often than it stays, and that rub is what makes it sound like the blues. Without it the scale is C♯ minor pentatonic.

Blues scale in every key

C bluesC♯ bluesD bluesD♯ bluesE bluesF bluesF♯ bluesG bluesG♯ bluesA bluesB♭ bluesB blues

More scales on C♯

D♭ major (major scale)C♯ minor (natural minor scale)D♭ major pentatonicC♯ minor pentatonicC♯ bluesC♯ harmonic minorC♯ melodic minorC♯ dorianC♯ phrygianD♭ lydianD♭ mixolydianC♯ locrianC♯ phrygian dominant
Scales and modes
Major and minor keysMajor pentatonic scaleMinor pentatonic scaleBlues scaleHarmonic minor scaleMelodic minor scaleDorian modePhrygian modeLydian modeMixolydian modeLocrian modePhrygian dominant scaleWhole tone scale

Build a song in C♯ blues

Start with the beat, then add chords, a melody and your voice in the editor, part by part.

Make a beat in C♯ minorAll music scales

Keep going