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BluesGuitar101:TheLeadPlayer’sGuidetoImprovisation,FretboardMastery,andRockingSolosDanAmerson
Copyright2016byDanAmerson-AllRightsReserved.
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TableofContents
IntroductionChapterI-RefresheronNaturalandPentatonicScalesChapterII-TheCAGEDSystemChapterIII-RefresheronModesandScaleDegreesChapterIV-ExtendedChords/NotesChapterV-TheREALRootofBluesChordProgressionsBluesTrackModeTrackChapterVI-DominantBluesProgressionsChapterVII-MajorBluesProgressionChapterVIII-MinorBluesProgressionChapterIX-SoloIdeasforAllThreeTypesofChordProgressionsDominantMajorMinorTurnaroundsAppendixA:AdvancedBluesSoloingTipsCheckOutMyOtherBooks!WantaLessonWithMe!Conclusion
Introduction;WhatThisBookIsandIsn’t
Congratulations!Youhavejusttakenabigsteptowardsimprovingyourskillatguitar.
ThoughBluesisonlyonegenreoutofmany,theBluesisnotonlyfavoredbymanypeople,butitalsohasbeenafoundationforseveralothergenres.Hence,it’sausefulskilltohaveinyourmusicalrepertoire.
TheBluesisaveryinterestingsubjecttocover;therearesomestrictrules,yetothersaresoopenandvaguethatcoveringalltherulesandexceptionswouldonlyconfuseawillingstudent.
Wewillbecoveringrulesthatwillmakeyoursoloingfunandeasy,butonlyafteryou’vepracticedtheserulesforalittlewhile.
Ifyou’rereadingthisintheAmazon‘LookInside’reader,here’salittlemoreaboutwhatthebookisabout:
WhatThisBookIs
First,youneedtohaveabasicunderstandingofscales,especiallymajorandminorscalesinbothnaturalandpentatonicforms(4scalestotal).Wewillreviewsomeofthesescales,aswellasintroducenewones.
However,ifyouaren’tcomfortablewithscalesatall,mystrongrecommendationistobuyandreadmybookonthepentatonicscales.GuitarPentatonicScales:MastertheFretboardQuicklyandEasily&SoundLikeaPro,InOneHour(orLess)
Second,youshouldhaveintermediatemotorskills.Thisisaverysubjectivestatement,butIwouldconsidertheintermediate-levelastheabilitytoplayaseriesofnotes(riffs)withoutinterruption.Sure,youmayneedtopracticenewriffs,butyouareabletodoit.
Ifyoudon’thavethisskill,improvisationbecomesverydifficultbecauseyouneedtolearntwoskillsatonce;improvisation,aswellasfiguringouthowtomechanicallyplaythenotes.
Third,knowbasicchords;attheveryleastyoushouldknowthemajorandminorchords.Thedominant7thwouldbepreferable.Knowinghowtoplaychordsatanyplaceontheneckisaninvaluableskill.
Thoughwewillbeseeingspecificexample,youmaybeinterestedinlearningmore,ifso,youmaybeinterestedinreadingmybook,GuitarChordsHandbook:LearnAnyChord,ImproveFretboardVisualization,andReadFake-BooksWithEase
Fourth,knowingyourguitarmodeswillhelpyouallthemorewhenitcomestoimprovisation.Thefifthscaledegree’schordonadiatonicmajorscaleisaDominant7th,butintheBlues,theDominant7isusedoverallothermajorchords(thefirstandfourthscaledegrees).
TherewillbeenoughtheorytounderstandtheBlues,sothere’snoreasontofret.Ifbytheendofthisbookit’sstillabitconfusing,trymybookGuitarModes:LearnFretboardMastery,PlayAwesomeSolosandImproveatGuitarbyGainingtheSkillThatFewGuitaristsHave
Fifth,youneedonlytobeabletoreadguitartablatureandchordchartstobeabletoextractallthevaluefromthisbook.Mostofthevaluablematerialwillbeforright-handedplayers(usetheirlefthandonthefrets).
ChapterI-RefresheronNaturalandPentatonicScales
Soloingismucheasierwhenyouknowtheappropriatescales;scalesareasortof“cheat-sheet”forguitariststoplaytheblues,sincetherightscalescontainalltherightnotesforyoutoplay.Youaretheonethatgetstochoosewhichnotesyouwanttoplay,aswellaswhenyouwanttoplay.Thisisthebasisofimprovisation.
Whenyou’reimprovising,you’retryingtocommunicateathoughtorfeelingthroughtheguitar.Yourthoughts/feelingsarebestbroadcastedbyplayingthecorrectnotes,whichmeansthatyouneedtoknowyourscales.
ScalestoChordstoPentatonicsSinceyouknowthemajorandminorscales,we’llreviewthemquicklyandshowtheconnectionbetweenthem.
Asyoualreadyknow,themajorscalehas7distinctnotes,andfollowsacertainsetofintervals.
Here’sCmajorasanexample:ThefirstnoteofthescaleisC.That’swhyit’sbolded.Eachgapbetweeneachnoteisawholetone(2frets)apart,exceptfortheE&F,andtheB&C,whichareasemi-tone(1fret)apart.
TherelativeminortoCmajorisAminor.Youcanfindtherelativeminorbytakingthemajor’sroot(Cinthisexample),andgoingdownthreesemitone.
Bothscalesusethesameframework,excepttheybeginondifferentplaces.
Whatisneedisthatwecanusethisframeworkofthemajorscaleforotherkey.Averysimplewayofdoingthisistochangethenotesintoscaledegrees.ThisishowIprefertoteach,somostofthisbookwillfeaturescaledegrees.
Ex:C=1;D=2;E=3,etc.
Let’sfinallygivetheminorscaleitsindependencebygiveititsownscaledegreesrelativetoitsroots.
The7thand4thareremovedfromtheNaturalMajortocreatethemajorpentatonic.
The2ndand6thareremovedfromtheNaturalMinortocreatetheminorpentatonic.
Hereistheconnectionbetweenthemajorandminorpentatonic;ontheleftside,youhavethemajorscale,ontheright,theminorscale.
ChapterII-TheCAGEDSystem
Whenyoufirstpickedupaguitar,youprobablybeganbyplayingsimplechords.
Amajor,Cmajor,Gmajor,Emajor,Dmajor.
Littledidyouknowisthatyouwereplayingchordsthatwouldhelpyouconnectthescalesinyourmind.WhatdoImeanbythis?
Imeanthattheguitar’sscalesareveryconnected,andthechordshelpconnectthesescalesinyourmind.
Tobegin,let’sfindtheeveryrootonyourfretboard.Inthisexample,we’lldothisonF#major.Checktheexamplebelow.Rememberthatthe4thandthe7thareremovedtocreatethemajorpentatonic.
IMPORTANTNOTE:I’mreferringtothemajorFORMS.EverysingleoneofthechordsaboveplayF#major,butbyusingdifferentshapes(Cmajor,Dmajor,etc),youcanplaytheF#major(andanyotherchord)allovertheneck.
Wow!Chordsyou’veprobablyalreadyplayedhundredsoftimesareindicatinghowtoplaythescalesalloverthefretboard,sinceyoucanusethechordsandmakeaninformedguessonhow/wheretoplayyourscales.
Theyareinterconnected.
There’saverydistinctpatternhere(thatyoushouldpracticeandmemorize).
Whenyoulookforit,you’llalwaysknowhowtofindtherootofanychordyou’replaying.
MinorScale:
Ifyouwhattoplaytheminorscaleacrosstheneck,followtheexamplebelow:
Whenplayingscalesandchords,themostaccessiblepositionistoplayinthe‘Emajor/Eminor‘form.
Whensoloing,thesepositionsaretheeasiestwaytofindhomebase,givingyouananchorfromwhichyoucangoinanydirectionyouplease.Thereisnotonlytherelativemajorandminor(whicharenexttooneanother),butanyonepositionandrootcouldbebothmajorandminor.Note:youshouldlearntojumpfromamajortoaminorscaleandviceversa.
Unfortunately,thisisonlyapartialanalysisofthemajorandminorpentatonicscales.
Thisisbecausewecouldspendtheentiredaytalkingaboutthepentatonicscales,andthatisn’tthescopeofthisbook.Ihave,however,writtenabookthatextensivelycovers
pentatonicscales.
Ifyouwantthecomplete,unabridgedversion,checkitouthere:GuitarPentatonicScales:MastertheFretboardQuicklyandEasily&SoundLikeaPro,InOneHour(orLess)
Exercise:Practicethemajorandtheminorscaleandfindtheconnection(relativemajor/minor).
Then,cutofftherespectivenotestocreatepentatonicscales.
Last,practicethemajor/minorscalesonthesameroot(starting)note.
ChapterIII-RefresheronModesandScaleDegrees
Scaledegreesmightbeconfusing,butit’scrucialthatyouunderstandthem.
Firstly,lookatwhetherthelettersabovethechordsareupper-casedorlower-cased.Ifitisupper-cased,it’smajor.Ifitislower-cased,it’sminor.
TheIistherootofamajorkey.Theotherchordsarebasingthemselvesoffthenotesofthismajorkey.
Theyplayaroleinchordprogressions;noticethatthefirst(I),fourth(IV)andfifth(V)chordsaremajor.Thesechordsareacrucialpartof12barblues.
Themodesbasedthemselvesoffofthesechords.Modesarequiteinterestingsinceyou’replayingthesamemajorscale,butyou’restartingatdifferentpoints.
Justlikethechords,thefirst,fourth,andfifthscalesaremajor.
I-IonianIV-LydianV-Mixolydian
Justlikethechords,thesecond,third,sixthscalesareminor.
ii-Dorianiii-Phrygianvi-Aeolian
Justlikethechord,theseventhscaleisdiminished.
vii-Locrian
Here’sarepresentationofthescaledegrees,withanoteassignedtoeachone.
IfyoustartfromtheIscaledegreeandmoveuptotheIscaledegree,youhavetheIonian(naturalmajor)scale.
Ifyoustartfromtheiiscaledegreeandmoveuptotheiiscaledegree,youhavetheDorianscale.
Ifyoustartfromtheiiiscaledegreeandmoveuptotheiiiscaledegree,youhavethePhrygianscale.
IfyoustartfromtheIVscaledegreeandmoveuptotheIVscaledegree,youhavetheLydianscale.
IfyoustartfromtheVscaledegreeandmoveuptotheVscaledegree,youhavetheMixolydianscale.
Ifyoustartfromtheviscaledegreeandmoveuptotheviscaledegree,youhavetheAeolianscale(naturalminor).
Ifyoustartfromtheviiscaledegreeandmoveuptotheviiscaledegree,youhavetheLocrianscale.
Ifyouchangethekeyofthesong,you’reessentiallyshiftingthatsetofchords,makingtheIchordtherootofthekey.
MinorKeyYoucanalsostartthatsetofchordswiththeAeolian(naturalminor),whichmeansthatyoustartthesequenceatadifferentplace.Therelativeminorkeystartsonthe‘vi‘scaledegree.
Wecanrenamethescaledegreesinordertomaketherootthe‘centre‘andgiveitasenseof‘home-base‘.
Thechordsabovemeanthatifyou’reinthatspecificminorkey,thenthechordsintheexamplewillsoundquitenice.
ChapterIV-ExtendedChords/Notes
Extendedchordsaren’tterriblydifficult,butitrequiresunderstandingbasicchords(major,minor,dominant7th)beforegoinganyfurther.
Whataretheextendedchords?
Inshort,theyarechordsthataddextranotes;theygivethechorda‘jazzy’feel.
Themostcommonextendedchordsincludeeithera9th,11th,ora13thnoteinthechord.Ifyouincludethe9th,11thor13thinyourscalesorsolos,you’replayingextendednotes.
Thesenotesareverysimilartothescaledegreeswe’vealreadycovered.
Asyougoupthescale,youreachtherootnote;youcancalliteitherthe8thorthe1st.Asyoumovealong,youmoveupasthoughyou’rebuildingoffofthe8thnote.That’swhereyouget9th,11th,and13thnotes.
Let’sapplythisexampletoamajorscale;youhavethesamenotes,buttheyarenameddifferently.
Chordsusethisconceptaswell;ifachordfeaturesa‘9’initsname,thenthe9thnoteofitsrespectivescaleisheardinthechord(seebelow).
Ifachordfeaturesan‘11’initsname,thenthe11thnoteofitsrespectivescaleisheardinthechord(seebelow).
Ifachordfeaturesan‘13’initsname,thenthe13thnoteofitsrespectivescaleisheardinthechord(seebelow).
Therearethreetypesof9ths,threetypesof11ths,andthreetypesof13ths;major,minor,anddominant.Theyareidentifiedwiththe3rdand7thnotes.
Forinstance,amajor9th,11th,or13thchordneedstoincludethemajor3rdandthe
major7th.
Aminor9th,11th,or13thchordneedstoincludetheminor3rdandtheminor(flat)7th.
Adominant9th,11th,or13thchordneedstoincludethemajor3rdandtheminor(flat)7th.
ChapterV-TheREALRootofBluesChordProgressions
Thisiswherethebluesgetsveryinteresting;thoughthereisachordprogression,itisabitmorecomplicatedthanthat.
Atypical12barblueschordprogressionlookssomethinglikeso:
ThoughE7isthetonicchord,dowebaseeverythingontheE7chord?DoweautomaticallyconsiderittheIonianposition?
WecouldindeedbaseeverythingontheIchord,butitwouldlimitustremendously.
Hereismybestanswerwhenitcomestosoloingovertheblues.
ThereAreTwo“Tracks”ForSoloing1)ThefirsttrackrevolvesaroundtheTonic(firstscaledegree)anditdoesn’tchange,despitethenumerouschordsthatareplayed.
2)Thesecondtrackrevolvesaroundthechordthatisplayed,andchangeswhenthechordschange.
Let’sfocusoneachindividualtrack,andtricksformemorizingallofthem.
Track1-TheBluesTrackThistrackiswhatyouwouldtypicallyequatetotheBlues;pentatonicandbluesscalesallaroundthefretboard.
Thistrackisprettysimpleafterenoughpractice,butyouneedtobeabletoviewthesescalesondifferentpositionsoftheneck.
Onthistrack,yourrootisthetonicchord’sroot;inthisexample(E7);therootisE.
EvenifthechordschangetoA7orB7,youwillbeplayingaroundtherootofE.
HereisTrack1;itshowstherootofeachchordthatisplayedontheEstring.
Onthetonic’sroot,youalsohavetherootoftheminorblues,theminorpentatonic.
Ontheflat3rdscaledegree,youhavethemajorpentatonic.Thismakessense,sinceitisthetonic(minor)‘srelativemajor.
Sincethey’resocohesive,wecancombinetheminorbluesscaleandtheminorpentatonicscaleintoonescale,whichwe’llsimplycalltheminorbluesscale.
Lookhowsimilartheyare;theonlydifferencebetweenthetwoscalesisthe‘Blues’note;a#4.
Sinceyouwouldwanttobeabletoplaythesescalesallovertheneck,hereisaneasychartthatwillhelpyou:
Let’slookattheMinorBluesScale,allovertheneck.
Let’sseparatethatintoitsindividualpositions.
Doyoualsoseethemajorpentatonicshapewithinthosenotes?
Beginonthe♭iiinote,andworkupthescale.♭3,4,5,♭7,1,♭3Thatisthemajorpentatonicinessence.
Ifyouincludethe#4,you’vegotthemajorbluespentatonic.
♭3,4,#4,5,♭7,1,♭3OR1,2,#2,3,5,6,1
Don’tworrytoomuchaboutthescaledegreesjustyet;simplyplaythenotesandpracticetheshapes.
Thistrackisveryeasy-goingsinceitwillneverclashwithanyofthemajorchordsinyourprogression.
Thefollowingtrackisabitdifferent;thetrackisaunifiedsetofscales,butitchangesdependingonthechordthatisplayed.
Track2-TheModeTrackThistrackiscalledthe‘Modetrack’becauseitcontains4positionsthateachrepresentonemode.
Thisisalsothetrackthatchangeswitheachchord.
Why?Playedoverthetonicchord,thistrackplaysoverthemajor3rdscaledegree(the3,notthe♭3).Allwellandgood,butwhatifyouchangetoaIV7chord?Ifyoukeptplayingthe‘ModeTrack’intheI7key,thenotesandthechordswouldbegintoclash.
Sowhatisonetodo?Simplychangethe‘Modetrack’tofitovereachchord.
Hereisthetrack:
MixolydianScale
Asstatedbefore,theroot(I)ofthistrackwillalwaysbealignedwiththerootofthechordthatyouareplaying.
TheDominant7tharpeggioplaysasetofnotes,whereastheotherthreescalesplayadifferentsetofnotes;withthelatterthreescales,the9thnoteisaccentuated.
Thebestpartaboutthis‘ModeTrack’isthatyoudon’tneedtoknoweachofthesescalesallovertheneckatalltimes.ItwouldbenicetoknowtheDominant7allover,sinceittellsyouwheretoplaytheotherthreestrings.Youonlyneedtoknowtheother3scalesintheirrespectivestring.Statedotherwise,eachscaleoccupiesonepositionontheneck.
Let’sstartlearning.
Dominant7th
Here,youhaveallthenotesyouneedtoplayeveryoneofthescalesoftheModeTracks.
Butlet’slookateachscalesothatyoucanunderstandwhattheyare.
Minor7(♭5)
Theminor7(♭5)scaleisasfollows:1,♭3,♭5,♭7,1It’smuchlikeaminorarpeggio,butthe5isflattened.
Thisscale’srootisontheDominant’s3rdnote.Italsoaccentuatesthe9thnoteoftheDominantscale,butglossesovertheDominant’sroot.
Hereisthescaleonthefretboard,withtheDominant7’srootasareference:
Minor6
Theminor6scaleisasfollows:
1,♭3,5,6,1
It’smuchlikeaminorarpeggio,butitcontainsamajor6,whichinaccentuatedinsteadofthe♭7.Thisscale’srootisontheDominant’s5thnote.Italsoaccentuatesthe9thnoteoftheDominantscale,butglossesovertheDominant’sroot.
Hereisthescaleonthefretboard,withtheDominant7’srootasareference:
LydianArpeggio
TheLydianArpeggio/Scaleisasfollows:
1,3,♭5,6,1It’ssimilartoamajorpentatonic,exceptthereisa♭5.Thisscale’srootisontheDominant’s7thnote.Italsoaccentuatesthe9thnoteoftheDominantscale,butglossesovertheDominant’sroot.
Hereisthescaleonthefretboard,withtheDominant7’srootasareference(thoughLydiantechnicallyusesa#4,weshallusea‘flat5‘inkeepingwiththeotherscalesintheModeTrack):
The‘ModeTrack’PutTogether
Let’sreviewthistrackbyreferringtotheinitialimage:
MixolydianScale
Ifyouwanttogetontothemodetracks,beginwiththeDominant7arpeggio,thenfindtheiii,theV,andthe♭vii.ThemostimportantthingtoknowisthatthelatterthreescalesskiptheDominant7throot,buttouchthe9th.
Besidespractice,youhavehereallthatyouneedtomasterthistrack.
ChapterVI-DominantBluesProgressions
Here’satypicalchordprogressionforthedominantandmajorchordprogression.
Thesehavebeencolor-codedbasedonwhatyouareabletoplay.Theyarecontextdriven.
Thatsaid,wewillhavetogooverwhatyou’reabletoplayovereachchord.
WhatToPlayOvertheI7ChordSinceyou’reat“home-base”,youhaveplentyoflibertieswhenitcomestosoloing.
Forone,you’reallowedtoplaythemajor3rd“flair”whichistestamenttobluessoloing.
Thisisgoodnewsforyoubecauseabouthalfofthe12barbluesrevolvearoundthischord.
Hereisalistofscalesyoucanplay.
BluesTrack:
·I-minorbluesscale
·♭iii-majorpentatonicscaleModeTrack:
·I-Dominant7scale(Mixolydian)
·iii-minor7(♭5)arpeggio(Locrian)·V-minor6arpeggio(Dorian)
·♭vii-Lydianarpeggio(Lydian)
WhatToPlayOvertheIV7ChordAftermovingawayfromhome-base,youhavefewerfreedoms.Youcan’tplaythatmajor3rd“flair”anymore,butyouhavesomeopportunitiestogiveyoursolosomestyle.
Forone,youhavetheopportunitytohighlighttheroot’s9th,11th,and13th.Especiallythe13th;it’stheIV7th3rdnote,soitgivesitmoreflavor.Thescalesyoupickwillallowyoutodothat.
Hereisalistofscalesyoucanplay:
BluesTrack:
·I-minorbluesscale
·♭iii-majorpentatonicscaleModeTrack:
·IV-Dominant7tharpeggio(Mixolydian)
·vi-Minor7(♭5)arpeggio(Locrian)·I-minor6arpeggio(Dorian)
·♭iii-Lydianarpeggio(Lydian)IfyouleavetheIV7chordtogobacktotheI7chord,you’reallowedtousethemajor3rd“flair”attheveryendofthischord.
WhatToPlayOvertheV7ChordYou’renowneartheendofthe12barblues.Forthose1-2measuresyouhaveneartheend,heedthisadvice.
Accentuatethe7thand9thoftheroot(I),sinceitaccentuatestheV7verynicely.Otherwise,usethesescales.
BluesTrack:
·I-minorbluesscale
·♭iii-majorpentatonicscaleModeTrack:
·V-Dominant7tharpeggio(Mixolydian)
·vii-Minor7(♭5)arpeggio(Locrian)·ii-minor6arpeggio(Dorian)
·IV-Lydianarpeggio(Lydian)
TurnaroundsForthefinaltwomeasuresofthe12barblues,you’regiventheopportunitytoendthe12barswithabitofflair.Italsoservestointroduceanewsection,whichisanother12barsstartingontheI7chord.
TurnaroundsusetheI7andV7chords;wewillcoverthisingreaterdetaillateron.
WewilllookatspecificriffsandlicksthatyoucanplayintheDominantBluesProgression.
Theothertwoprogressions(Major,Dominant)willusethe‘BluesTrack’andthe‘ModeTrack’,buttherewillbevariations.
Here’swhy:TheDominantBluesScaleProgressionusesDominant7thchords,sothemodetracksaretailoredtobeplayedovereachDominant7thchord.
Sinceneitherthemajornortheminorbluesprogressionneedsadominant7th,theModeTrackappearslessfrequently.
ChapterVII-MajorBluesProgressionThemajorbluesprogressionsarerathersimilartotheDominantBluesProgressioninregardstoitsstructure.
IfaDominantProgressionusestheI7,IV7,V7(C7,F7,andG7)chords,thenamajorbluesprogressionmightusetheI,IV,V(C,F,andG)majorchords.However,itcanusebothmajoranddominant7thchords.
Thischangeshowweapproachourbluessolos.Forone,therootofanysongwiththisprogressionrevolvesaroundthemajorpentatonic/bluesscale(asopposedtotheminorwe’vebeensoacquaintedto).Youcanplaytheminorpentatonic/bluesscalesjustbehindthemajoronthefretboard;remember,they’reconnected.
Asforthe‘ModeTrack’,itiscompletelypossiblethatitmightnotmakeanappearance.Thatis,ifyouhavenoDominant7thchordinyoursong,youhavenowayofintroducingtheModeTrack.Tryplayingthe‘ModeTrack’ontopofaMajorchord,andyou’llhearhowitisn’tverypleasant.
Often,inthecasesinwhichyouhaveaDominant7thchord,it’sonlyforabriefmoment,soyouhaveasmallwindowoftimetoplayonthe‘ModeTrack’beforeyoujumpbacktothe‘BluesTrack’.
Ifthat’stoodifficult,playaDominant7tharpeggioforaquickmoment,orsimplysticktothe‘BluesTrack’
WhatToPlayOvertheI-IV-VChords
Whetheryou’reat“homebase”orinadifferentchord,thereisn’ttoomuchvarietyordifferencefromwhatyoucanplay.However,thatdon’tmeanthatyoucan’tcreateamazingriffsorchords,soherearethescalesthatyoucanplay:
BluesTrack:
·vi-minorbluesscale
·I-majorbluesscale
·I-major7tharpeggio(asfollows:1,3,5,7,1;the7thisonesemitoneawayfromtheroot).
·IV-major7tharpeggio
ModeTracks:
·UseonlywhenaDominant7thchordispresent,whichcouldbeanyalmostchord(I7,II7,III7IV7,V7,etc.)
WewilllookatspecificriffsandlicksthatyoucanplayintheMajorBluesProgression.
ChapterVIII-MinorBluesProgressionTheMinorBluesProgressiondiffergreatlyfromtheothertwochordprogressions.
Firstly,therootispositioneddifferently;wheretheMajor/DominantProgressionarebasedonamajorscale,theMinorProgressionisbasedontheminorscale.So,theintervalsaredifferent.
Here’sanexampleoftheminorscalevsthemajorscale;therootsarehighlightedandputinbold:
TheminorscaledegreescanberepresentedasmajororDominantscales.
Hereisanexampleofaminorchordprogression,fromBobMarley’s“IShottheSheriff”;noticethatthevchordhasbeenturnedintoaDominant7th.
WhattoPlayOverAllChords
BluesTrack:
·i-MinorBluesScale
·i-Aeolian(Natural)MinorScale
·iv-DorianMinorScale
·♭III-MajorBluesScale
ModesTrack:
·UseonlywhenaDominant7thchordispresent,whichcouldbeanyalmostchord(I7,II7,III7VI7,V7,etc.)
ChapterIX-SoloIdeasforAllThreeTypesofChordProgressions
Inthissection,wewilllookatindividualsolosthatapplyindifferentcontexts.Keepaneyeonthechordprogressions(notatedaboveeachmeasure),asyoucangetasenseofthenotescontrastingwiththechordprogression.
Someofthesolosbelongtoasong,whichwillbeincludedinthetitle.
Thesesolosarefilledwithgreatindividualriffsthatyoucanstealandapplytoanykey.
Noticethatalotofthesesolosarefullofnotes;thisistosavespaceinthisbook.However,it’sactuallyadvisabletogiveyourriffsandsolossomeairtobreathe.Therewillbeasectiononthislater.
3DominantProgressionSolosThesesoloswillincludethefirst10barsof12.Laterinthisbook,therewillbeabrieflistof‘turnarounds’,whichcoversthefinal2bars.
Solo1
Solo2
Solo3-ComeWhenICall(JohnMayer)
3MajorBluesSolos
Solo1-BringItOnHometoMe(inCmajor)
Solo2-Don’tStopBelievingSolo(inEmajor)
Solo3-WhenaManLovesaWoman(inC#major)
3MinorBluesSolos
Solo1-HittheRoadJack(G#Minor)
Solo2-AnotherBrickintheWall(Dminor)
Solo3-IShottheSheriff(Gminor)
Turnarounds
Asmentionedbefore,turnaroundsgiveyoutheopportunitytoendyoursetof‘12bars’withsomeflair.Thissectionlooksatthefinaltwomeasures.MostofthetwomeasuresfocusesandplaysaroundtheIchord,thenrevertstotheVchordtobuildsometension.
Herearesomeexamplesthatyoucouldplayinalmostanykey:
AppendixA-AdvancedBluesSoloingTips
Thissectiondealsnotsomuchwithnewmaterial,butspecifictechniquestointegratethenewinformationthatyouhavelearned.Itinterpolatesandcreatesnewconnections.
·Usingthe‘ModeTrack’,youcanfigureoutwhichmodeyoucanplayinfourlocations.TheDominantshapeusestheMixolydianmode,theMin7(♭5)usestheLocrianmode,etc.Ifyouwanttospiceupyourplaying,playamodeinsteadofapentatonic/arpeggio.
·Findwaystointegratethe‘BluesTrack’andthe‘ModeTrack’inanywaythatyoucan.It’sprettysimple;findawaytointegratethe9th.Fromthe9th,gouptothe3rd,ordowntotheflat7,andyou’reonthe‘ModeTrack’.
·Anotherwaytointegratethetwotracks;youcanplayachromaticnotebetweenthe9thandthe3rd(9,♭3,3).The♭3and3areblues-related,soitseguesquiteeasily.
·Whensoloing,takeamomenttopauseandcollectyourself.Likeaconversation,playingguitarisan“in-out”sortofthing;youtakeafewmomentstosayyourpiece,andthenpauseamomenttobreathein.
·Listentoasmanydifferentbluesguitaristsasyoucan.Stealtheirriffs;figureoutwhatthey’redoing,andaddittoyourrepertoire.
·Anotherwaytomemorizethefretboardistolearnthesameriffsondifferentplacesontheneck.Thisway,youunderstandthenotes(scaledegrees)andNOTthepattern.Thisalsogivesyoumore“bangforyourbuck”,asyou’readdingtoyourbluesvocabularytwiceasfast,orfaster!
·Whenbending,you’renotonlyabletobendwholetonestootherstrings,butyoucanalsobendupasemi-tonewithina‘Big‘pentatonicnotegroup;thisworkseitherinthemajororminorscale.Thisallowsyoutobend(intheminorscale)fromthe2ndtothe♭3andthe6thtothe♭7and(inthemajorscale)fromthe#4thtothe5thandthe7thtotheroot.Practicebendingeverywhere,ineverypartofthescale.
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Conclusion
Younowhavetheinformationtoplayrockingbluessolos!Pleasereadthisbookoncemoretoassimilatetheinformation.Also,makesurethatyoupullouttheguitartopracticetheseindividualsections.
It’simportantthatyoupracticeeachsectionofthisbook-thepentatonicscales,thebluesscales,modes,extendedchords,thetwosolotracks,thechordprogressions(major,minor,dominant)andturnarounds-tobeabletocallupontheinformationwheneveryouneedit.
Igenuinelyhopethatyou’velearnedvaluabletipsofbluesguitar.Ifyouhave,thenI’dlovetohearaboutitonmyreviewpage.Amazonreviewstrulyhelpmegetthisinformationtomanymoreguitarists,helpingthemreachtheirgoals.
Thanks,
DanAmerson
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