Category: Blues Soloing
This is an excerpt from 25 Guitar Scale Hacks, check out the full eBook here. If you’re getting into blues soloing, you’re probably already familiar with the minor/major pentatonic and blues scales. While these scales are of course the bread and butter of blues improvisation, it’s worth considering the Mixolydian mode and working back from […]
This lesson follows on from the approach we looked at in Blues Soloing Tricks: How to Blend Major and Minor Sounds, so be sure to check that one out if you haven’t already as it contains the building blocks for where we’re headed next. The 4 is an interesting interval in a blues, yet a […]
The blues note is of course the b5, and if you’ve been following this series of blog posts, you’ll find it just after the 4, which we looked at in Blues Soloing Tricks: What to Do with the 4. I remember discovering the b5 through learning the blues scale (1, b3, 4, b5, 5, b7), […]
In my opinion, the hallmark of good blues soloing is the ability to seamlessly blend major and minor scales/licks/runs to exploit that minor/major third ambiguity in the blues. If you feel that your blues soloing isn’t sounding authentic enough, this is probably what’s missing. Most people’s approach to this seems to be either some kind […]
Transitioning from blowing up and down pentatonic scales to purposely crafting your solos by taking the chord changes into account can be frustrating for guitarists. It’s also a blow to the ego as you basically have to suck it up, slow down, and really pay attention to the notes you’re playing. The blues is a […]
Eric Clapton spearheaded the British blues explosion back in the sixties during what many believe to be his best playing. I personally love all of Clapton’s eras, and can only admire his evolution as a guitarist, songwriter and musician over the years while remaining a bluesman at heart. I’m sure Hendrix would have done the […]
If you’ve been following this series (go to: Part 1 | Part 2), and practicing the material, you should now have more than enough patterns and concepts under your fingers to be able to get some tasty blues soloing happening over the I and IV chords. In Part 3 we’ll look at how to finish […]
In Part 1 we looked at four of the most common scales used in blues soloing and how to learn them in positions. We also focused on learning the individual sounds of these scales and blending them to create more authentic-sounding blues licks and runs. While these scales are a great starting point, what we […]
I recently got back into blues playing, so I thought I’d share this practice routine for getting the fundamental blues scales down and incorporated into your playing. Over the years, I’ve found that if I really want to learn something, I need a systematic approach that’ll take me through to the goal I’ve set for […]
The Minor Pentatonic Box 1 was probably one of the first things you learned when you started improvising on guitar, and it’s probably the most used shape/pattern in rock and blues improvisation. It feels like home, it’s a safe, controllable place that can provide a sturdy backbone to our blues and rock soloing, but it […]
