A♭ minor blues (Ab minor blues) scale on viola
A♭ minor blues has 6 notes: A♭ B D♭ D E♭ G♭. Degrees: 1 ♭3 4 ♭5 5 ♭7. Formula: W+H W H H W+H W.
What notes are in the A♭ minor blues scale?
A♭, B, D♭, D, E♭ and G♭. It has 6 notes; its formula in whole and half steps is W+H W H H W+H W.
What does A♭ minor blues sound like, and when do you use it?
Minor pentatonic + the "blue note" (♭5): what makes it sound like the blues. Use it over the three 7 chords of a blues.
Chord progressions to improvise with A♭ minor blues
In Jam mode (the Jam button above) a band of grand piano, upright bass and drums (recorded instruments) plays these progressions as swing, bossa, groove or ballad, and the fingerboard lights up the notes of each chord as it plays. It's a backing track made for this scale in A♭:
- Blues (I7–IV7–V7): 12 bars over A♭7, D♭7 and E♭7. The 12-bar blues: three 7 chords with the scale on top. The clash between the ♭3 and the chord's 3rd is the blues.
- Minor blues (i7–iv7–♭VI7–V7): 12 bars over A♭m7, D♭m7, F♭7 and E♭7. Minor 12-bar blues. Bars 9 and 10 bring the ♭VI7 and the V7: aim for their highlighted notes.
A♭ minor blues on the viola: first position
No frets: string by string (C G D A), from the open string to the fourth finger:
- C string: D♭ D E♭ G♭
- G string: A♭ B D♭ D
- D string: D E♭ G♭ A♭
- A string: B D♭ D E♭
Same notes as
Minor blues in other keys
On other instruments
A♭ minor blues on piano · A♭ minor blues on guitar · A♭ minor blues on bass · A♭ minor blues on ukulele · A♭ minor blues on mandolin · A♭ minor blues on banjo · A♭ minor blues on violin · A♭ minor blues on cello · A♭ minor blues on alto sax · A♭ minor blues on tenor sax · A♭ minor blues on trumpet · A♭ minor blues on flute · All scales