[Harp-L] Should the blues scale be revised?

[Zvi Aranoff <zviaranoff@xxxxxxxxx>]

The Blues Scale is typically described thusly, in degrees from the  
tonic: 1, 3b, 4, 5b, 5, 7b.

What about the natural 3rd? Why isn't it part of the scale? It seems  
that there are good reasons to include it in the scale.

1) The natural 3rd is commonly used in blues. For instance, a Boogie  
does not have a flatted 3rd but a natural 3rd, and yet is considered  
blues. In fact, in early blues the flatted 3rd was hardly used. The  
natural 3rd was far more common.

2) The natural third is part of the chord triad. How could it/why  
would it be eliminated when playing 12 bar blues?

3) The flatted 3rd anyway tends to resolve to the natural 3rd, which  
means that often when the flatted 3rd is played we'll also find a  
natural 3rd.

Since a scale is defined as “a group of musical notes that provides  
material for part or all of a musical work” (Wikipedia), would it not  
make sense to include the natural 3rd in the scale, since it's part  
and parcel of Blues?

If the natural 3rd is included, would we need to drop a note to keep  
it hexatonic? (e.g., the natural 4th?)

-Z