Blues Scales And Progressions

This little document is mainly on how to solo using the blues pentatonic scales. A blues pentatonic scale, from what I understand, is simply a minor pentatonic scale with a blues note between the 3rd and 4th tone. Now, the scale is located on five places on the fretbord.
The first one is the simplest I think, as it is the one most popularly known. It goes like this:

Ascending Decsending
|---------------------------0-3-||-3-0-----------------------------|
|-----------------------0-3-----||------3-0------------------------|
|-----------------0-2-3---------||-----------3-2-0-----------------|
|------------0-2----------------||------------------2-0------------|
|-------0-1-2-------------------||-----------------------2-1-0-----|
|-0--3--------------------------||----------------------------0--3-|
Box I

Obviously, seeing the tabs, this scale is in E. However, if you want to make it in, say, G, then all you have to do is transpose all the tabs up three frets... get it? Now then, while you can actually use just this little box to solo with (and quite nicely, too), I think that it would highly benefit you to learn the next four boxes, as well.

Now, all these are in E, so in order to make them into a different key, you must simply transpose them accordingly. Also, (and this refers to the previous scale as well), the fingers used really depend on your preference; I personally use my index and ring finger, and occasionally my middle, which leaves my pinky to be used only when holding a chord. So, it's all up to you.

Ascending Descending
|------------------------------3-5-||-5-3--------------------------|
|--------------------------3-5-----||-----5-3----------------------|
|------------------2-3-4-----------||----------4-3-2---------------|
|-------------2-5------------------||-----------------5-2----------|
|--------2-5-----------------------||---------------------5-2------|
|-3-5-6----------------------------||------------------------6-5-3-|
Box II

Ascending Descending
|--------------------------5-6-7-||-7-6-5--------------------------|
|---------------------5-8--------||--------8-5---------------------|
|-----------------4-7------------||--------------4-7---------------|
|-----------5-7-8----------------||---------------8-7-5------------|
|-------5-7----------------------||-----------------------7-5------|
|-5-6-7--------------------------||--------------------------7-6-5-|
Box III

Ascending
|-----------------------------------7-10--|
|-------------------------8-10-11---------|
|--------------------7-9------------------|
|-------------7-8-9-----------------------|
|-------7-10------------------------------|
|-7-10------------------------------------|
|
|Descending
|-10-7------------------------------------|
|-------11-10-8---------------------------|
|------------------9-7--------------------|
|----------------------9-8-7--------------|
|------------------------------10-7-------|
|------------------------------------10-7-|
Box IV

Ascending
|------------------------------------------10-12-|
|-------------------------------10-11-12---------|
|-------------------------9-12-------------------|
|-------------------9-12-------------------------|
|-------10-12-13---------------------------------|
|-10-12------------------------------------------|
|
|Decsending
|-12-10------------------------------------|
|--------12-11-10--------------------------|
|-------------------12-9-------------------|
|------------------------12-9--------------|
|----------------------------13-12-10------|
|------------------------------------12-10-|
Box V

So, there's the boxes. Now, if you just didn't want to play those middle notes, and just use the pentatonic scale, well, that would be alright, but it wouldn't sound as... rich, for lack of a better word, when played with a blues song. It's a little difficult to incorporate that note into a solo, but when you find out where it fits, it adds a nice touch to the song. Oh, and let me throw in a hint for soloing: when I first started, I solo'ed only picking in one direction, which slowed down my tempo. If you alternate picking a string down and up, your speed could more than double. I dunno, that was just meant for beginners.

Now, onto the blues progressions. The 12 bar blues progression is simply made up of the first, fourth, and fifth tones in a major scale, and is spread over twelve measures (bars). For example, in E, the first tone would be E, then - (E, F#, G#, A) - A would be the fourth, and - (E, F#, G#, A, B) - B would be the fifth. Thus, the chords would be E, A, & B. Now, we know the chords... what about the progression? Well, let's say that each letter below is a whole note held in that chord (in 4/4 time, so whole note = 4 beats). In order to play just the plain old 12 bar, you would go:

E - E - E - E - A - A - E - E - B - A - E - E (end)

E A B
E|-0-| E|-0-| E|-2-|
B|-0-| B|-2-| B|-4-|
G|-1-| G|-2-| G|-4-|
D|-2-| D|-2-| D|-4-|
A|-2-| A|-0-| A|-X-| (muted)
E|-0-| E|-0-| E|-X-|

Go on, play it. Get the hang of it. Now, most blues songs aren't in the major. Most are in seventh. So, try it in seventh now.

E7 - E7 - E7 - E7 - A7 - A7 - E7 - E7 - B7 - A7 - E7 - E7

E7 A7 B7
E|-0-| E|-0-| E|-2-| (Pinkie)
B|-0-| B|-2-| B|-0-|
G|-1-| G|-0-| G|-2-| (Ring)
D|-0-| D|-2-| D|-1-| (Index)
A|-2-| A|-0-| A|-2-| (Middle)
E|-0-| E|-0-| E|-0-|

B7 is hard to go into, but it sounds nice.

Now, then... you've gotten this far. To make it a little better sounding, let's throw in an extra A7, for extra flavor:

E7 - A7 - E7 - E7 - A7 - A7 - E7 - E7 - B7 - A7 - E7 - E7

That's what the song, "Sweet Home Chicago" uses in its progression. Now, to finish it off, let's add another B7:

E7 - A7 - E7 - E7 - A7 - A7 - E7 - E7 - B7 - A7 - E7 - B7

Like it? I do. Now, to make it sound better, use this stroking technique, where the sound isn't like "one-and-two-and" but is instead, "one-a-two-a" so that you sound like you are actually playing blues rhythms (listen to a few blues songs to get what I'm talking about)

Up..and down..up. and down..

I'm sorry, I just can't think of any other way to describe it. I don't have access to note symbols... Well, anyways, on to the next step. Now, you have the chords... let's add a little riff in there to make it sound better. We're still in E7, so here it is.

This next chords are E7 and A7, with an extra note in there to throw in so that it sounds more complex:

E7 A7
E|-0-| E|-2-|
B|-2-| B|-2-|
G|-1-| G|-0-|
D|-0-| D|-2-|
A|-2-| A|-0-|
E|-0-| E|-0-|

Now, use these extra notes with your ring or pinky finger (whichever is easier). Hit them every other beat, and your sound will be a lot better! B7 doesn't have an extra note as far as I know, or at least one that is fairly simple to reach. And now you know the 12 bar blues progression! I will answer any questions on the comments board, or you can email me at [e-mail]. Have fun!

Comments

[folk_rocknroll]

awsome!!!

[leijsa]

Very good article, it was really easy to understand. I learned alot from it. Great job!

[poontastic]

nicely done, i just had the greatest burrito. Congrats.
One of the best lessons iv seen

[stutterfly]

that is alright to play with some basic blues progressions but i still love KRISPY KREAM DOUGHNUTS

[thesmartguy50]

hey, glad you liked it. and yes, kryspey kreme doughnuts ROCK the HIZZOUSE

[TNfootballfan62]

Nice lesson for the basics. Especially the different positions for the minor pentatonic.

[Iboseth]

Nice lesson... 5 stars.

Most 12-bar blues follows this:
I7 IV7 I7 I7
IV7 IV7 I7 I7
V7 IV7 I7 V7
although your progression works as well.

-SD

[thesmartguy50]

Yes. "People, this progression is just as common as mine!" I forgot to add that one... Thanx man.

[thesmartguy50]

let me expand on my last comment, just because i have nothing else to do. Lots of songs use my basic I-IV-V progression, such as "Use the Blues," and just about every James Cotton song you can name. However, LOADS of songs use SilentDefTone's version, as well. It is quite popular. To say that MOST songs use that method, however... a bit of an exaggeration, but a good point nonetheless.

[thesmartguy50]

actually, it's pretty evenly divided between the two. However, it is true that your progression is very popular. There are even more progressions out there that are really wierd, like the I-IV-I-IV-V-IV-I, etc. But thanks for mentioning that one, because that is an important thing to know, especially if one wants to play "Sweet Home Chicago," or some such song. I'm probably going to do another lesson on harder progressions later. Keep the suggestions coming!

[jensan90]

all i can say it's ROCKS

[Strummin4him]

I had a chimichanga and broke a string...good lesson

[leavink]

nice

[Mr. Friction]

very good article, do you teach?

[minorbravo]

good article. five stars

[jimihendrixWee]

nicley done...lots other blues stuff in the Guitar One blues issue.. diffinetly a must have for the newbs of the blues... 5 stars

[we_all_rock]

nice article dude!!!

[IntlManOfMisery]

excellent except the blues note (a diminshed 5) appears between the 4th and 5th tones not 3rd and 4th...but you tabbed it fine

[guitar21@WE]

Damn good lesson dude

[demez]

iloved it
thanks mate

[codyatkin]

great lesson. i've been havin trouble comin up with blues stuff. shud help

[thesmartguy50]

Thanks for all your feedback. To answer Mr. Friction, I don't teach, as I'm only 15. BUT, if you wanna know anything else about the blues, I can do my best. Just private message me, or email me at [e-mail]. Also, I keep trying to post a lesson on modes, but they tell me that they won't post any modes lessons for awhile, so if'n theres anything you think I can help you with on that, feel free to contact me, as well.

[5:15_Whofan]

4 stars. very comprehensive. wish i'd had it when i was just startin out

[A1D3N-T4B]

i am gunna try and learn these some times.

[80s_rock_girl]

This is an excellent article. I've been playing for 3 years and I don't feel like I've learned as much as I could. To remedy that problem I decided to expand my horizons and learn some new stuff. I've never tried blues so I find this very helpful though I do have a question since I haven't been exposed to much of the technicalities to the guitar. I've strictly used tabs. How exactly do you transpose, let's say an E scale to a G scale. I'd greatly appreciate anyone who could explain it. Wonderfull article. 5++ stars. )

[chicoguitarz]

Hey, great article. I've been noodling for years and keep getting stuck in a rut before I make the next breakthrough, and this has been a huge help in getting out of my current rut. By 'rut' I mean I'm sick of hearing the same old stuff while I'm warming up, you know? Thanks for the rut buster!

[thesmartguy50]

to answer 80s-rock-girl's question, to transpose from E to G, simply find the root note E on the guitar (that would be 0 on the thickest string) and move it to root note G (3rd fret on the thickest string). I should've emphasized the root note on my tabs... sry. but, i hope i've helped ya some, 80s.

[AnthonyZ Great]

you sux

[thesmartguy50]

oh, yes... very diplomatic, AnthonyZ.... you stated your reasons very efficiently and have proved your point beyond a shadow of a doubt. You know, it's arses like you that deserve to watch their own guitar get run over by a Mack truck. What is the point of your statement? Why bother writing that at all? You just make yourself look like an imbecile, you know that, right? I don't care that much, but one of these days, you're gonna do something ignorant like that and completely throw off a potential guitar star from ever posting a lesson again, simply because you wanted to make a little two word mark on a comments board. Real smooth, you ass.

[zep123]

great lesson,i should learn more about the blues, it sounds nice.

[TheNextPage711]

My god this has to be the one artical that has helped me the most
Five Stars***..!
CHEERS!!!

[donkeypunch]

great article i wish i was playing when i was 15

[dustin_maiden]

Dude i hav absolutely no idea about this style but the Way uve explaind seems realy cool im learnin guitar for 5 mnths nw but u knw i dnt wana learn the baby crap id like to knw which scales i shud learn to solo i mean ive seen guys solo to any tune!Man hws that posible however i have tried a few solos!Like i cn play the trooper solo quite well bt u knw i wana get the feel if anyone cn help me please id be real gratefull

[thesmartguy50]

All you've gotta do is start experomenting with scales. Just take that pentatonic scale up there, print it out, turn on some music, figure out what key it's in by tapping different frets to find the root note (sounds like a lot, but it isnt, really), and just mess around with the scale and improvise. See what sounds right and what doesn't, and eventually, you will develop your own style! It's as simple as that.

[nunchuckermofkr]

well that was just great but my guitar just doesnt work that way i cant do shit this sucks i cant play 4 shit what the hell anywho boobs r great!

[xfreakonaleash0]

pretty kool. It was useful. I was just in the middle of righting a solo for my band. and i added that middle note here and there. it sounds awesome.

[Rashomon]

BLUES BABY!!!.. YEAH

[sandwich_man]

kind of really basic chord stuff, but scales were nice.

[lil_angus_young]

Cool BlUeS RiFfS>>>ThE ErIk

[RockYourFace]

lil_angus_young, nice name. Good article. Anyone who reads this may end up being as good as Jake and Elwood Blues.

[flipfox_redoubt]

im new to blues...
*still figures out the context*

[W4T3V3R]

i am 14 and started last september so these are great, i can play loads already and reasonably well, ti am very patient to learn scales and theory as i hear thats what makes a great guitarist. aswell as other things. ALSO how do you put thme into different ones for g he says 3 frets up explain please somebody

[jhanvy]

nice work!!!

[TI-Tiko]

thesmartguy50 wrote:

oh, yes... very diplomatic, AnthonyZ.... you stated your reasons very efficiently and have proved your point beyond a shadow of a doubt. You know, it's arses like you that deserve to watch their own guitar get run over by a Mack truck. What is the point of your statement? Why bother writing that at all? You just make yourself look like an imbecile, you know that, right? I don't care that much, but one of these days, you're gonna do something ignorant like that and completely throw off a potential guitar star from ever posting a lesson again, simply because you wanted to make a little two word mark on a comments board. Real smooth, you ass.

I love your rudeboy 15 year old goin on 40 style --- but ya i had no clue bout blues this had to be the best blues lesson i've seen, actually combined with some chords from one of the other lessons i came up with a mean blues song. Im so pissed i dropped my electric with it still plugged in and busted it wtf, the input jack still looks mint the washer behind the nut is a little bent and everytime i plug it in it just slips out any can help it'b be much appreciated

[justin_fraser]

really good article but tl-tiko, lol...what can i say

[Mario-Guitar]

good article... altough if an guitarist has any understanding of his instrument he would understand this for himself. and for an extra good tip!!! try to build that scale up over the entire neck and allsow the other notes (SOW NOT ONLY IN E)

[the outlaw]

your rock dude

[thesmartguy50]

well, Mario, that would be a bit redundant and, quite frankly, time-consuming. The whole scale is easily transposable.

[Eruption_911]

pretty sweet

[Burning.Flag]

stutterfly wrote:

that is alright to play with some basic blues progressions but i still love KRISPY KREAM DOUGHNUTS

FAGGOT!

[f-e-z]

good job, helped me a lot, i now know what to do in school when we do blues work. Ta!

[Hardhead35404]

Nice Job chad... its quite easy to understand and learn from... i can see u are going to be a good teacher... lol

[Joe-Fish]

I learned a lot from it but got kinda confused in some but 4stars

[jakebury]

just read this article for the first time and it helped so much man i wrot like 3 sweet solos

[rambotchi]

Do the Boxes mean the same thing as the positions on the guitar?

[dannythemanrock]

nice 1 best blues scale eva AWSOME

[Pearlincubus]

I agree with everyone, this is a great teaching article. I've only been playing for five months and I've just been learning through tabs. This is the first time I've looked at scales and I can clearly see now why its so vital to learn theory to be a good guitarist. Thanks for making me a better guitarist.

[Guitar-Nooby]

hmmmm pretty gud dude nice job.

[scarfacesuit]

thanks a bunch man. i've been playing for about 3 years and i've just started dabbling in the blues and this article helped loads. good job

[hicksman]

Awesome..i wish i started playin at 15 ya lil bastard!!!
keep rockin!

[stonier-g]

G'day just read this article and i found it to be very helpful. Nice and clear for those of us with not to much theory behind us... Keep posting smart guy. By the way love the was you answered your critics yousure your only 15...lol

[cgreene1311]

man this helped a lot
im just a beginer at blues
but i already know so much
5 stars!!!

[gyzer_8970]

Boom patta tchak, boompta boom tchak,
Waka
Boom patta tchak, boompta boom tchak!

WOO HOO!

[nzstanton]

This is an excellent article. It's very concisely written, and it's informative. I learned a couple of new things, even though I've been playing blues for a while.

[thesmartguy50]

Hey, thanks guys. Check out Irish Blues on my profile for a utilized blues scale. I'm also on MySpace:

www.myspace.com/justplainchaddario

[Ramones Nutter]

great, well done mate

[Themansam]

Great Job!!!

[Ggirl]

very useful tool..

[Ggirl]

ive learned all scales really fast..like in a half an hour.good job!

[philipp122]

Wow, you have no idea how much this article cleared up for me. I'm giving this a 10.

[Jumboshrmp]

Thank you very much!
I liked the first bit, it helped me expand on the basic pentatonic scale and that's what I was looking for.
But then I got to learn some fun new chords!
I knew A7 and E7, I just never knew any songs that used them. B7 was tricky for a minute or two but it's fun!
And THANK YOU SO MUCH... B was the only major chord I never learned... I feel so stupid for not realizing all I had to do was move the A shape up two frets and barre it... I knew you could do that but it never occurred to me.

[Nick_Lionheardt]

Not bad man, not bad.
All the beginners out there, learn the damn scale and just play the scale around your favourite songs( even rock will do). And try to create a few licks of your own. If you cant figure out what scale the song is in, look at the chord progression and see in which major scale it fits.

[thesmartguy50]

Yeah, this is just a very basic intro to what will hopefully evolve into insane solos. The pentatonic scale is easier to be expressive with, so it's a good place to start!

[Ringtone]

I have a question, it said all those scales you put up were in E, but if, like, the second one started on the third fret of the E string, wouldn't that make it be in G?

[Ringtone]

By the way, great lesson!!

[thesmartguy50]

Yeah, it would be in G. The whole deal with the boxes is that the root note's position determines the key; if the first box starts on the third fret as you said, for example, then the key would indeed be G. Fifth fret, A; tenth fret, D; and so on.

: )

[WhyLater]

By the way... the rhythm you're trying to describe is "swing". It's a dotted quarter note followed by an eighth note. You know... just thought I'd expound on the lesson you posted three years ago...

[thesmartguy50]

Haha... yeah. Looking back, I now see how very little I knew at that point. : )P

Although I think instead of a dotted quarter note with an eighth note (which would amount to 2 beats), you might be thinking of a triplet set with the first two triplets tied. That's how it's written on jazz transcripts, anyway.

[richievalens]

Thank you for the lesson. Helped out a lot.

Question, Playing in the key of "F" I assume would start on 6th string 1st fret right?

[can8ian]

beginner question:

how do you come up with the boxes? I see they move up the neck but what makes them stay in E?

when you say "in E" are you talking about key of E major or minor scale?

I know these are newbie questions, just starting to get into scales and such.

[can8ian]

sorry, I dont know how to explain.

I think your talking about key of E

But I don't know the difference between scales and keys.
could someone explain please? Just looking for a quick answer for now not the whole sha-bang

[thesmartguy50]

Yeah, "F" would start on the sixth string, 1st fret.

As for your question, Can8ian, a scale defines how many intervals the notes in said scale are separated by. The key determines what the first note, and thus the other notes, are.

Now, the scale you are referring to is in E minor, but it's a pentatonic scale because it has five (penta) notes (tonic). So it's Em pentatonic. It could also be called G major pentatonic because that scale could be used to solo over a G major progression (try it! it's true). I have another couple of lessons in UG limbo, since the staff at UG hasn't updated any lessons since last October, but one of them goes a little more in-depth about soloing with the pentatonic scales, and maybe throwing in some chromatics in there.

[Kneusje]

: Very nice.

[jlemos88]

I liked a lot off this lesson, thank you for posting, I know somethongs about blues but this explain very cleared come aspects.
keep going

[ddean1991]

nice lesson learned a lot

[frettlessIBANEZ]

nice lesson! very clear and easily understood. keep those blues lessons coming.

[dmils17]

great lesson! rock on

[anupkr]

zakaaaaasssss

[Raven]

I think this was a fairly helpful article. Being a more seasoned player (blues in particular), I didn't find it that insightful.

It was pretty much just showing you that you can play notes that you would normally bend to reach a certain pitch, rather than just playing the note.

Blues is all about feel, so I'd say incorporate more "kickassery" rather than plain, normal, text book scales.

[U501G]

Hey man thanks for the info. it's very good and clear. Very simple i like it. Thanks for helping us out. I'm a beginner in the Blues so I would'nt know the greatnes of this lesson,but I liked it. Thanks.

[redflag_ppl]

soo im still confused, E7 E7 E7 E7....ETC, what makes it E7? and in the order too?

the first tone would be E, then - (E, F#, G#, A) - A would be the fourth,

how du u get E, F#, G#, A? isnt thier a isnt thier a F before the F# and a G before the G#? thanks>G

[redflag_ppl]

and what do you mean by 'boxes'?

[FaTE_GaRRa]

it's very good..!!!
Awesome....!!!!

[thesmartguy50]

E7 is notation for "E dominant seventh," redflag, and it simply means that you would play a major chord with a minor seventh tagged on. A minor seventh is a major seventh brought down a half step. E's major seventh is D#, so the minor seventh would be D. Add that D to an E major chord, and you've got an E7.

Your other question refers to scale theory. An E major scale goes E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D#, E (octave, obviously). If you played no sharps in an E scale, that would be the phrygian mode and would sound quite different, haha.

Finally, boxes are just collections of pentatonic positions on the guitar. It's essential to learn these boxes, but unfortunately you'll have to break outside the barriers in order to truly be able to fly free with a solo.

[joe redd]

whats up

[noobshreddar317]

a good article, but during the jazz pentatonics, you gave us the eminor pentatonic scale, and then gave us chords from E Major. could you explain?

[thesmartguy50]

man, it's interesting thinking that I'm still answering comments four years after I posted this, haha.

for shreddar: if you play with the Em pentatonic scale over E7, that dominant seventh makes it alright, apparently. You can't argue with the sound, you know? If you wanna get fancy with it, you can play the EM pentatonic over the E7 and the B7, and play with the Em pentatonic over the IV, the A7. It sounds a lot jazzier that way.

of course, if you're just playing the chords without making it sound raunchy tone-wise, you'll want to just use a Dorian or Mixolydian mode to get a fuller solo sound.

[PattyMalloy]

awsome lesson. learned alot from it, good job!