Hi,

Can anybody tell me if there is a standard fingering for a 1 octave blues scale on C?

I've tried it out and would probably suggest:

C Eb F Gb Gnatural Bb C

1-3- 1- 2- 3- 4 -5

But I just wondered, (not being a blues expert by any stretch of the imagination!), if this was a good choice?! And, does it matter so much for blues/jazz styles??!

Thanks!

I wouldn't really say it matters - it's jazz
I only really play blues scales on the piano when messing around, but I tend to use 1-3-1-3-1-3-4 (unconventional, but it works for me!)

I felt slightly guilty on reading this because I teach the blues scale a lot and don't know whether there's a standard fingering, nor do I particularly insist on one. My favoured fingering is 1 2 3 4 1 2 3, only because I have found less experienced students can find finger 5 quite difficult in a blues scale. A fellow teacher told me that she allowed a similar fingering to that described by Madbassoonist because her students found it easier to do the scale using the naturally stronger fingers.

>I wouldn't really say it matters - it's jazz

Thanks, that's what I thought....!

LizzieT: thanks for your thoughts. Sometimes I forget that it's important to consider using naturally stronger fingers so thanks for reminding me of that!

I shall see what is favoured by pupils and take it from there I think!

I use lots of different fingerings:

a. 1234, 123
b. 12, 12, 123
c. 12, 12, 134
d. 12, 12345

depending on speed, and on what comes before or after, or whether it is just a fragment of the scale rather than the whole thing.

In b. c. and d. using 3 on Eb is an alternative. There is not much to choose, as they are both strong fingers, but 3 is more sensible on the way down if you are planning to turn back and make use of the D in any figuration.

I agree with the fingering.
It would say it does matter. Fingering is fingering, jazz or classical .
What fingers would you use if it were classical music?

Well, my "classical" training led me to my 1312345 fingering. But this does not necessarily suit a smaller (child) hand. I like madbasoonist's option but it has alot of position changes which can be confusing for little ones.

I think the important thing is to FIX a particular fingering according to context and shape of hand.

My original post was really a query as to whether there was a standard fingering taught out there... it seems not!

The fingers you use don't matter at all, but I'm with madbassoonist on the pattern of: 1-3-1-3-1-3-4

Everyone's hands are different, so do what suits you best!