Tone Blue
2009
Intro To The A Major Blues Scale
The pentatonic blues scale is the back bone of all great blues guitar licks and solos. In this article I want to share with you how the blues scale is built, how it's similar yet different to the regular pentatonic scale and also how to best incorporate this into your playing.
The A Pentatonic Scale
There are five notes in the pentatonic scale. Some of those notes are played more then one time going up and down the scale. Here is the A major pentatonic scale in tab (this is just one of the five shapes on the neck).
e-----------------------5-8-5------------------------------
B-------------------5-8-------8-5--------------------------
G--------------5-7-----------------7-5---------------------
D----------5-7-------------------------7-5-----------------
A------5-7---------------------------------7-5-------------
E--5-8------------------------------------------8-5--------
This is the scale being played up and down.
The Blues Note
There is only a 2 note different between the A blues scale and the A major pentatonic, these two notes are known as the blue notes. Here is the above A major pentatonic scale but with the blue notes added in.
e-----------------------5-8-5------------------------------
B-------------------5-8-------8-5--------------------------
G--------------5-7-8---------------8-7-5-----------------
D----------5-7--------------------------7-5----------------
A------5-6-7--------------------------------7-6-5---------
E—5-8------------------------------------------8-5--------
Added in are two notes one is the 8th fret of the G string and the other is the 6th fret on the A string. These notes are known as the diminished or flat 3rd and diminished or flat 7th.
When you play through the scale up and down again you'll hear those notes stick out. They do have a nice bluesy feel to them. This would be known as the A major blues scale or blues pentatonic scale.
Using the Scale
Playing scales over and over is great for getting the feel under your fingers and building speed on the fret board but learning licks and making up your own is what allows you to become more creative during your jams. Licks are what you play and use to build a solid lead part in a blues song.
The quickest way to use these scales is to play with some backing tracks in different keys. Playing blues scales in a particular key over a backing track lets me experiment, come up with my own licks and incorporate other licks much faster.
To learn more and grow your understanding you may to take a few blues guitar lessons. With more knowledge comes more versatility in your playing.
Options to consider are private blues lessons, blues guitar dvd and also online blues lesson available at some general lessons websites.
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