It is important to understand what scale is appropriate or available when soloing over a blues progression. The most common blues is a I, IV, V progression or a twelve bar blues. These progressions tend to contain the same types of chords, usually all of them being seventh chords, major or minor chords. The most common of these arrangements contains only seventh chords.
If we take the blues progression containing only seventh chords, we will find that one scale will not fit these chords perfectly, in a musical sense. If we try to match a scale with the chords, we could play the mixolydian mode over the I chord, in the same key of the I chord. We could take this approach to the other chords and play the mixolydian mode in the same key over the IV chord and V chord. This is one approach to solo over this type of progression.
When a blues progression is composed of entitely major chords, it is best to use the major scale, also known as the Ionian mode. The major pentatonic scale would also work well in this example. Both scales contain the notes which match these major chords perfectly.
A blues progression can be constructed with entirely minor chords. In this case use the natural minor scale to solo with. This scale will fit perfectly over this progression, because the chords contain the exact same notes as the corresponding scale.
I would like to introduce the most common blues guitar scale, and explain when it is best suited. This scale is simply called the blues scale, and is the same as the minor pentatonic scale, but has a flat five added to it. If you recall, I mentioned that the most common blues progression is made up of entirely seventh chords(R,3, 5,flat7). This is the one scale that is best suited to play over this type of progression. It may occur to you that this scale has a minor or flat third in it - whilst the chords are using major thirds. It doesn't fit, or make musical sense! Well, in a nutshell this is what gives the blues such a "bluesy" sound - the flat 5 also gives this "bluesy" sound.
If you are looking to find a scale to solo over a typical blues progression, typically a I, IV, V chord progression, firstly look at the I chord. If it is a seventh chord, you could use the mixolydian mode over this chord and then use the corresponding mixolydian mode over the other chords. Maybe you could just use the blues scale over the entire progression, in the key of G, you would use the G blues scale. If it is a G major or G minor as the I chord you would use the G major and the G minor scale respectively. You could also just use the G blues scale over these two progressions as well, or a combination. As you can see, there are many options available to you when soloing over the blues. So have some fun, and enjoy these different sounding blues guitar scales.
If we take the blues progression containing only seventh chords, we will find that one scale will not fit these chords perfectly, in a musical sense. If we try to match a scale with the chords, we could play the mixolydian mode over the I chord, in the same key of the I chord. We could take this approach to the other chords and play the mixolydian mode in the same key over the IV chord and V chord. This is one approach to solo over this type of progression.
When a blues progression is composed of entitely major chords, it is best to use the major scale, also known as the Ionian mode. The major pentatonic scale would also work well in this example. Both scales contain the notes which match these major chords perfectly.
A blues progression can be constructed with entirely minor chords. In this case use the natural minor scale to solo with. This scale will fit perfectly over this progression, because the chords contain the exact same notes as the corresponding scale.
I would like to introduce the most common blues guitar scale, and explain when it is best suited. This scale is simply called the blues scale, and is the same as the minor pentatonic scale, but has a flat five added to it. If you recall, I mentioned that the most common blues progression is made up of entirely seventh chords(R,3, 5,flat7). This is the one scale that is best suited to play over this type of progression. It may occur to you that this scale has a minor or flat third in it - whilst the chords are using major thirds. It doesn't fit, or make musical sense! Well, in a nutshell this is what gives the blues such a "bluesy" sound - the flat 5 also gives this "bluesy" sound.
If you are looking to find a scale to solo over a typical blues progression, typically a I, IV, V chord progression, firstly look at the I chord. If it is a seventh chord, you could use the mixolydian mode over this chord and then use the corresponding mixolydian mode over the other chords. Maybe you could just use the blues scale over the entire progression, in the key of G, you would use the G blues scale. If it is a G major or G minor as the I chord you would use the G major and the G minor scale respectively. You could also just use the G blues scale over these two progressions as well, or a combination. As you can see, there are many options available to you when soloing over the blues. So have some fun, and enjoy these different sounding blues guitar scales.
About the Author:
Clause N Dillon, a guitarist for over twenty years, has recently written an easy to follow and practical guide to guitar scales and soloing, and is available FREE for a limited time by clicking the blue text : Learn Guitar Scales or Blues Guitar Scales
