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Fig. 1 · C# blues · first 12 frets

guitar scale

C♯ blues

C♯1E♭3F♯4G♭5G♯5B♭7

Minor pentatonic with one note squeezed in between the fourth and the fifth. It is written as a flattened fifth, so the fifth letter carries both of them and the fourth keeps its own.

The same sounds spelled from the other side are D♭ blues.

on ukuleleon piano

Written out

Fig. 2 · C# blues, ascending

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

C♯W+HEWF♯HGHG♯W+HBWC♯

What is true of it

C♯ blues is C♯, E, F♯, G, G♯ and B, and back to C♯.

Its steps are W+H – W – H – H – W+H – W, 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

C♯mminorC♯dimdiminishedC♯m7minor seventhC♯m7♭5half-diminished seventhEmajorEmminor

Found by testing every chord in the catalogue against these 6 sounds, not chosen.

Other scales on C♯

C♯ major pentatonicpentatonicC♯ minor pentatonicpentatonicC♯ major bluespentatonicC♯ majormajorC♯ natural minorminorC♯ harmonic minorminor

C bluesD bluesD♯ bluesE♭ bluesE bluesF bluesF♯ bluesG♭ bluesall 374