22.3 · The Pentatonic Scale
Add the blue note
Take the minor pentatonic and wedge in one outsider: the flat 5, squeezed between 4 and 5. That's the blues scale, and that one note is the blue note: pure friction, used on purpose, passed through rather than lived on. It's the crack in the voice that makes the blues talk.
Five plus one
A minor pentatonic, then the blues scale. One new note slides in and everything gets more human.
On the neck
The same box, with one addition: the dashed ring marks the blue note (E flat), sitting right inside the shape.
Hear it talk
A swung lick over an A7 shuffle, leaning on the blue note in both directions.
Quiz
1 / 3The blues scale is the minor pentatonic plus…