Blues Scale Piano Workout: Major & Minor Blues Scales

Learn the blues scale on piano with Jason Zac of Nathaniel School of Music — major and minor blues plus a 12 bar two-hand workout in Bb. Learn the blues scale on piano the practical way — a two-hand workout built entirely around the major blues and minor blues. Both are hexatonic (six-note) scales, and we form them step by step in the key of Bb. We start from the major and natural minor, strip the tritone to get the pentatonic, then add the blue note to make it bluesy. For the major blues you add the flat 3 to the major third; for the minor blues you add the tritone (E) from the root. We cover fingering, why Bb suits blues and horn players, and how to blend both scales for improvisation. The left hand learns the bouncy 1-5-1-6 shuffle engine, its flat-7 variation and how to run it over the 12 bar blues in a loose, staccato swing. We break down wrist and forearm technique so the left hand plays on autopilot. The right hand runs the scales one and two octaves, up and down, in swing and full triplet feels — with accents on the 2 and 4. Great for pianists who know major and minor scales and want to actually sound bluesy for jamming, composing or backing singers. Try it slowly with a shuffle backing track, then tell us in the comments if you'd like more blues lessons. Watch our left-hand blues patterns and improvisation lessons in the dedicated blues playlist too. 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 ============================= 📹 Our Video Courses (Everything for Life Bundle) - https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🏡 Visit our Channel for more Tutorials & Performances - https://geni.us/NathanielYouTube ============================= ▶️ Related Videos & Playlists 📂 Bass Lines on Piano - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT_bA-24IkQ31GFjbWaN5qf8 📚 Piano Improvisation Tutorials - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT-b9x0Hk6hTmgkFoRoHalH_ 🗂️ Riffs with Backing Tracks - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT-2jApHIXHL_bkmCH2wNNFe 📋 Hand Independence - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT-On4vodpAoZqTlWDCS5jv7 🎶 Jazz Lessons - Chords, Standards & Exercises - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT9ZCriHyNonJasffWWSCS_E ============================= 🎓 Learn Music With Nathaniel School of Music & Jason Zac: https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All our YouTube lessons (1000+) categorised by skill level, topic & genre all in one place: https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com ⏳ Chapter markers 00:00 - Performance 01:03 - Introduction: Two-Hand Blues Workout 01:37 - What We’ll Cover: Major & Minor Blues 🎹 01:54 - Why We Use the Key of Bb 02:23 - Flats, Horn Players & Different Keys 03:01 - Why Pianists Must Know All Keys 04:02 - Hexatonic Explained: Six Notes 04:23 - From Bb Major to the Pentatonic 04:35 - Knocking Off the 4th & 7th (Tritone) 04:59 - Adding the Flat 3: The Blue Note 05:11 - Fingering the Major Blues Scale 05:41 - Using the Blue Note Sparingly 06:03 - Building the Minor Blues Scale 06:22 - From Bb Natural Minor to Pentatonic 07:08 - Understanding Tritone Inversions 08:14 - 🔗 Watch Our Other Blues Lessons 09:00 - Left Hand Pattern 1: 1-5-1-6 09:36 - 1-5-1-6 Over the 12 Bar Blues 09:55 - Playing Two Notes Together Cleanly 10:13 - Loose Wrist & the Trampoline Bounce 10:48 - 1-5-1-6 Over the 12 Bar Blues 11:20 - Doubling the Pattern: Straight vs Swing 12:05 - Left Hand Pattern 2: Adding the Flat 7 12:45 - Getting the Left Hand on Autopilot 13:13 - Wrist, Forearm & Attack Technique 14:40 - Right Hand: Major Blues Fingering 16:01 - Articulation: Accenting 2 & 4 16:20 - Emphasising the ‘And’ of Every Bar 17:04 - Major Blues Over the Full 12 Bar 17:35 - The Swing Feel as Triplet Permutation 18:05 - Right Hand: Minor Blues Fingering 19:07 - Chapter 34 19:32 - Minor Blues with Triplets 20:12 - From Scale to Lick: Real Song Context 20:47 - Major Blues Across Two Octaves 21:28 - Thumb Crossover on the Octave 21:59 - Minor Blues Two Octaves: Black-Note Thumb 23:46 - Putting It Together Slowly with Both Hands 24:52 - Two Octaves with Triplets & Accents 25:23 - Bass Line Variations for the Left Hand 25:50 - More Blues Lessons Coming: Licks & Improv 26:01 - Live Classes at Nathaniel 💰 Donate on PayPal: https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jasonzac 📞 +917760456847 (Mobile & WhatsApp) 📧 Customised & Private Classes: music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music: https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #BluesPiano #BluesScale #12BarBlues #BluesScale #BluesPiano #PianoTechnique