Eb Blues Scale on Piano

The Eb Blues scale sounds gritty and vocal. It runs Eb – Gb – Ab – A – Bb – Db and is written with five flats.

It shares its key signature with Gb major, its relative major.

Interval Circle

W+HWHHW+HWCDbb7DEb1EFGbb3GAb4Ab5Bb5B

All twelve semitones, root at the top. Filled dots are the notes of the scale, the outer numbers are their degrees, and W / H mark the whole and half steps between them.

About This Scale

The minor pentatonic with a chromatic passing note squeezed between the 4th and the 5th. That blue note is a decoration, not a destination — it works best slid through on the way somewhere else.

Fingering

Right Hand (ascending)

1-2-3-1-2-3-4

Left Hand (ascending)

4-3-2-1-3-2-1

Why this fingering

5 black keys (Eb, Gb, Ab, Bb, Db) sit in this scale, and the thumb has to avoid them. In the right hand the thumb crosses under onto A; let the elbow drift slightly outward as it passes rather than twisting the wrist.

The blue dots on the piano below show which keys to press — they turn green when you play the right note.

Notes in Eb Blues

NoteIntervalRH FingerLH Finger
EbEb4Root (1)14
GbGb4Minor 3rd (b3)23
AbAb4Perfect 4th (4)32
AA4Tritone (b5)11
BbBb4Perfect 5th (5)23
DbDb5Minor 7th (b7)32
EbEb5Octave (8)41

Other Blues Scales

Other Eb Scales