Minor Blues vs Major Blues on Bass
The C minor blues and the C major blues share 3 notes — C, Eb, G. From there, the C minor blues adds F, Gb, Bb, while the C major blues adds D, E, A.
Bass · 4-string, tuned low to high: E, A, D, G. 24 frets.
- E string: fret 0 E (3), fret 1 F (4), fret 2 Gb (flat 5), fret 3 G (5 of C Minor Blues and 5 of C Major Blues), fret 5 A (6), fret 6 Bb (flat 7), fret 8 C (root of C Minor Blues and root of C Major Blues), fret 10 D (2), fret 11 Eb (flat 3 of C Minor Blues and flat 3 of C Major Blues), fret 12 E (3), fret 13 F (4), fret 14 Gb (flat 5), fret 15 G (5 of C Minor Blues and 5 of C Major Blues), fret 17 A (6), fret 18 Bb (flat 7), fret 20 C (root of C Minor Blues and root of C Major Blues), fret 22 D (2), fret 23 Eb (flat 3 of C Minor Blues and flat 3 of C Major Blues), fret 24 E (3).
- A string: fret 0 A (6), fret 1 Bb (flat 7), fret 3 C (root of C Minor Blues and root of C Major Blues), fret 5 D (2), fret 6 Eb (flat 3 of C Minor Blues and flat 3 of C Major Blues), fret 7 E (3), fret 8 F (4), fret 9 Gb (flat 5), fret 10 G (5 of C Minor Blues and 5 of C Major Blues), fret 12 A (6), fret 13 Bb (flat 7), fret 15 C (root of C Minor Blues and root of C Major Blues), fret 17 D (2), fret 18 Eb (flat 3 of C Minor Blues and flat 3 of C Major Blues), fret 19 E (3), fret 20 F (4), fret 21 Gb (flat 5), fret 22 G (5 of C Minor Blues and 5 of C Major Blues), fret 24 A (6).
- D string: fret 0 D (2), fret 1 Eb (flat 3 of C Minor Blues and flat 3 of C Major Blues), fret 2 E (3), fret 3 F (4), fret 4 Gb (flat 5), fret 5 G (5 of C Minor Blues and 5 of C Major Blues), fret 7 A (6), fret 8 Bb (flat 7), fret 10 C (root of C Minor Blues and root of C Major Blues), fret 12 D (2), fret 13 Eb (flat 3 of C Minor Blues and flat 3 of C Major Blues), fret 14 E (3), fret 15 F (4), fret 16 Gb (flat 5), fret 17 G (5 of C Minor Blues and 5 of C Major Blues), fret 19 A (6), fret 20 Bb (flat 7), fret 22 C (root of C Minor Blues and root of C Major Blues), fret 24 D (2).
- G string: fret 0 G (5 of C Minor Blues and 5 of C Major Blues), fret 2 A (6), fret 3 Bb (flat 7), fret 5 C (root of C Minor Blues and root of C Major Blues), fret 7 D (2), fret 8 Eb (flat 3 of C Minor Blues and flat 3 of C Major Blues), fret 9 E (3), fret 10 F (4), fret 11 Gb (flat 5), fret 12 G (5 of C Minor Blues and 5 of C Major Blues), fret 14 A (6), fret 15 Bb (flat 7), fret 17 C (root of C Minor Blues and root of C Major Blues), fret 19 D (2), fret 20 Eb (flat 3 of C Minor Blues and flat 3 of C Major Blues), fret 21 E (3), fret 22 F (4), fret 23 Gb (flat 5), fret 24 G (5 of C Minor Blues and 5 of C Major Blues).
Swipe the chart sideways to see all of it.
Both scales above are drawn on one bass fretboard in the key of C. Notes belonging to both are drawn as a split two-color dot, so the notes they share and the notes unique to each are visible in one picture.
How the formulas differ
Scale degrees are the key-independent way to compare two scales — these stay the same in every key, and they are what actually distinguishes one scale from another.
| Scale | Degrees |
|---|---|
| Minor Blues | R · b3 · 4 · b5 · 5 · b7 |
| Major Blues | R · 2 · b3 · 3 · 5 · 6 |
Notes in common
| Note | In Minor Blues | In Major Blues |
|---|---|---|
| C | R | R |
| Eb | b3 | b3 |
| G | 5 | 5 |
Notes that differ
- Only in the minor blues: F (4), Gb (b5), Bb (b7)
- Only in the major blues: D (2), E (3), A (6)