Notes: A – C – D – D# – E – G · Formula: 1 – ♭3 – 4 – ♭5 – 5 – ♭7
B
A Minor Pentatonic
Root3rd4th5th7th
Notes: A – C – D – E – G · Formula: 1 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭7
What's the difference?
Shared notesA1C♭3D4E5G♭7
Only in BluesD#♭5
Only in Minor Pentatonicnone — every note is shared
Every note of Minor Pentatonic is also in Blues — Minor Pentatonic is contained within Blues.
Why it matters: The blues scale is the minor pentatonic plus one note — the ♭5 'blue note' wedged between the 4th and 5th. It's almost never landed on; players slide or bend through it, and that passing tension is the entire sound of the blues.
Shown in A: the 5th-fret box is where both scales are almost always first taught, and it matches the A Blues and A Minor Pentatonic pages.