guitar scale
A major blues
A1B2C♭3C♯3E5F♯6
Major pentatonic with a flattened third added next to the third — the two live side by side rather than replacing each other.
Written out
Every accidental is written in, rather than left to a key signature, so the letters can be read one at a time.
The step pattern
AWBHCHC♯W+HEWF♯W+HA
What is true of it
A major blues is A, B, C, C♯, E and F♯, and back to A.
Its steps are W – H – H – W+H – W – W+H, where W is a whole step and H a half.
Across the first twelve frets of the guitar its notes fall in 40 places, which is what makes a scale a shape rather than a list.
Chords made only of these notes
Found by testing every chord in the catalogue against these 6 sounds, not chosen.
Other scales on A
A major pentatonicpentatonicA minor pentatonicpentatonicA bluespentatonicA majormajorA natural minorminorA harmonic minorminor
C maj bluesC♯ maj bluesD♭ maj bluesD maj bluesD♯ maj bluesE♭ maj bluesE maj bluesF maj bluesall 374