Is the minor pentatonic the blues scale?

Recently a fellow asked:

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I'm struggling to understand the blues scale: is it the same thing as the minor pentatonic?

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Major pentatonic, minor pentatonic, blues scale, mixolydian… there are so many terms being tossed around by guitar players out there – it makes sense why this player feels this way.

Not knowing what scale to use for a solo, or where to even begin on the neck can be downright frustrating.

Often guitarists feel like they are getting traction learning theory etc. For example, they unlock how an A minor pentatonic scale can work over a C major chord. But then they get completely confused when someone is playing a blues in the key of C but uses the C minor pentatonic…

How does that work?

Well, to answer their question… 

No the pentatonic and the blues scale are not the same. They are two different scales. Two completely different sounds. In fact, many times guitarists think the go-to scale for soloing over the blues is the pentatonic. But that’s actually wrong.

In fact, the pentatonic often doesn't even sound bluesy at all. Just go listen to any Chinese zither music and you’ll hear the pentatonic used extensively with virtually zero blues inflection.

The biggest difference between these two sounds is the addition of the diminished 5th interval. This one note ends up making the blues scale a 6-note scale, while the pentatonic only uses 5. 

The word Penta- in Greek means “five”. 

However, with the addition of just that one note, you start to tap into a bluesier grittier sound. This sound can get a completely different emotion than the pentatonic.

Here’s another interesting point newbie blues players don’t understand. The blues breaks all the rules of traditional Western theory. It’s like trying to put a square peg in a round hole.

My old mentor and grand poohbah of the blues Kenny Burrell used to say, “playing the blues is like hitting the notes in the cracks of the keys on the piano.”  

That’s where players really start unlocking their phrasing and blues feeling.

But before all of that can happen you’ve got to know the fundamentals.

If you’ve struggled with this, then get your hands on my free blues scale pdf guide here:

In it, I reveal some of the same patterns used by Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and all the greatest blues legends. They used them to play unforgettable blues leads, anywhere on the neck. And it’s completely free.

Jon MacLennan