so the way i want you to think about it is  that the scale is the alphabet, particularly, like, the minor pentatonic scale. that is kinda your blues alphabet,  and using that one alphabet you can speak lots of languages  like country, blues, jazz or whatever, all of those different styles  all use the minor pentatonic scale, but what makes blues blues is the licks,  and the lick you can think of as being a word.