The root notes are highlighted with orange note markers. The A minor blues patterns are derived from the A minor pentatonic scale, but also includes a ♭5. Minor Blues Patternsįor the examples shown here, we’re using the A minor blues scale. This helps enforce the sounds of the other scale notes in relation to the home, or root note, to establish a key center. Included below each diagram is the tab for that position.Īs a general rule of thumb when practicing scales, you want to start on the root note. Each diagram contains the scale shape, intervals, and recommended fingerings for playing the scale. Finally, we will show you the shapes of the blues scale in the entire fretboard of the guitar, because in string instruments, we have a different shape for each degree (as with the pentatonic scale). It is important to highlight this before we continue. The minor pentatonic scale is typically the first scale guitarists learn to solo with and is very commonly used to form solos in rock, blues, and other popular styles. We’ll start by going through each of the minor blues scale positions. Continue your learning in this book and mix your blues scale with other scales and resources to create your own flavor. A pentatonic scale is a scale that has 5 notes per octave. Similar to the pentatonic scale, there are five positions of the major and minor blues scale. If you’re already familiar with the pentatonic scale patterns, learning the blues patterns will be a breeze. Getting this scale shape down will be very fun because you will be able to jump right in with the jam tracks and. Let’s now take a look at how this scale is applied to the guitar fretboard. In this blues lead guitar lesson you will learn a shape for the blues guitar scale. Positions of the Blues Scale on the Guitar Combining this characteristic with playing the minor blues scale over a major chord progression, particularly those using dominant 7th chords, and you really achieve the authentic blues feel. In both scales, the blue note (♭3 in major, ♭5 in minor) creates a dissonant, unresolved sound.