Why Learn the Blues? 3 Tuning 3The Chromatic Scale and Notes on the 6th String 4Notes on the 5th String 5Common Notes Between the 6th and 5th Strings 6The I-IV-V Chord Progression 6Chords in Blues 9Groove: Straight vs. Shuffle/Swing 16The 12-Bar Blues 17Chord Fragments 19Vocal Elements 22Pentatonic Scales 25
Table Of Contents
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Ex.1
6
4&
‰ÊGuitarTuning:
=D3
=E2
=A2 ‚·„=G3
=B3
=E4
WhyLearntheBlues?
Tuning
Beforeplayinganythingelse,itisimportanttogetyourguitartuned.Forthiscourse,wewillusestandard
tuningasshownbelow:
1.YouprobablyliketheBlues.Youlikelisteningtoit,goingtoconcertsfeaturingyourfavoritebluesar�sts,
etc.becausetheBluesisinspiringtolistentoandwatchpeopleplayit.
2.Ithasalltheelementsyouneedasaguitarplayernoma�erwhatstyleofmusicyoufavorplaying.
3.Bluesisaveryeffec�vemeansofcommunica�onamongstmanymusicians.Itisveryconsistent.
Itdoesthesamethingsoverandoverforthemostpart.Itissopredictablethatmanymusicianscan
playtogetheralmostinstantly.
ThesearethreereasonswhyyouwillwanttolearntheBlues.
BluesSoloingMasterclass-Week1
SteveS�ne
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E F F# G G# A A# B C C# D D#
Ex.2
2
E Eb D Db C B Bb A Ab G Gb F E
3
&
TheChroma�cScaleandNotesonthe6thString
Tounderstandtheguitarfretboard,weneedtounderstandthechroma�cscale(allofthe12
possiblepitchesinmusic).Thisisbecausetheguitarfretboard'sisdividedbyfretwiresinaccordancetoit.
Eachfretisseparatedfromeachotherbyahalfstep.Playingallthenotesonasinglestringonallfretsin
successionproducesthechroma�cscale:
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Whatweseearethenotesoverthe6thstringthatweneedtomemorize.Todoso,takenoteofthe
following:
1.Theopen6thstringisE.
2.The1st,3rd,5th,and7thfretshavethenotesF,G,A,andBrespec�vely.Thesetypicallyhavefretmarkers.
3.Inbetweenthe9thfretareCandD(8thand10thfret).The12thfretnoteisE.
4.Therestofthenotes(accidentals)canbederivedbychroma�cscalelogic.
Whileitwouldbenicetobeabletomemorizeallthenotesperfret,thereisaneasierandsmarterway
ofgoingaboutit.Takenoteoftheimageofthefretboardbelow:
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œ œ#œ œ#
œœ œ#
œ œ#
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
œ œbœn œb
œnœ œb
œn œbœn œb
œnwn ™
12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
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A A# B C C# D D# E F F# G G#
Ex.3
5
A Ab G Gb F E Eb D Db C B Bb A
6
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Notesonthe5thString
Inthesamemannerasthe6thstring,wecanalsoderiveachroma�cscalefromthe5thstring
star�ngwithA:
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Lookingatthepictureabove,thesmartestwaytomemorizethenotesofthe5thstringisasfollows:
1.Knowthattheopen5thstringisA.
2.The2nd,3rd,5th,and7thfretshavethenotesB,C,D,andErespec�vely.Exceptforthe
2ndfret,thesetypicallyhavefretmarkers.
3.Inbetweenthe9thfretareFandG(8thand10thfret).The12thfretnoteisA.
4.Therestofthenotes(accidentals)canbederivedbychroma�cscalelogic.
⁄
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œ œ#œ œ#
œœ œ#
œ œ#
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
œn œbœn œb
œnœ œb
œn œbœn
œ œbwn™
12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
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A A B B C C D D E E F F G G
Ex.4
8
I IV V
Ex.5
11
5
4
4
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CommonNotesBetweenthe6thand5thStrings
Theques�onnowiswhyisitespeciallyimportanttomemorizethenotesofthe6thand5thstrings?
Thisisveryimportantbecauseitmakesiteasiertolearnscales,chords,andpa�ernsifweknowthe
notesofthe6thand5thstrings.Eachnotethenbecomesalandmarkforvariousscaleandchord
pa�erns.Onceyouhavemasteredthenotesoverthe6thand5thstrings,youcangetevenbe�er
ifyoulearnthenotesoftherestofthestringstobecomemoreconfidentwhenplayingtheguitar.
Oneofthethingsthatcanbeno�ceda�erlearningthenotesofthe6thand5thstringsisthatyou
caniden�fycommonnotesbetweenthetwostrings.Thishastheaddedbenefitofbeingableto
navigatethefretboardbe�erandlearnpa�ernsmoreefficiently.
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A D
E
TheI-IV-VChordProgression
InBlues,thefundamentalchordprogressioniscalledtheI-IV-V.InthekeyofA,forexample,theI-IV-Vis
A-D-E.Inmusictheory,eachmajorscale/keysignaturehassevennotesandwillthereforehavesevenchords.
Wetakethefirst(I),thefourth(IV),andthefi�h(V)chordfromthatkeysignatureandplaytheminsequence
togettheI-IV-Vchordprogression.ManybluessongsfollowtheI-IV-V.Takenoteofthepa�ernbelow:
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Ex.6
12
I IV V
Ex.7
13
I IV V
Ex.8
14
&
Ifyoulookintothepreviousexampleclosely,therootoftheIchordisatthe6thstring,therootoftheIV
chordisjustunderneathitatthe5thstring,andthentheVchord'srootisatthe5thstringtwofretsaway
fromtheIVchord.AsforourexampleinthekeyofA,theIchord'srootisatthe6thstring5thfret,theIV
chord'srootatthe5thstring5thfret,andtheVchord'srootatthe5thstring7thfret:
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A D
E
SincewecannowfindwheretherootnotesoftheI-IV-Vare,allwehavetodoisfleshoutthechords:
⁄
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GC D
Becausethispa�ernisconsistent,wecanjustmoveitanywhereonthefretboardtoplayaI-IV-Vchord
progressioninanykeywewant.Forinstance,allittakestoplayaI-IV-VinthekeyofGistomovethe
pa�erntothe3rdfret:
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5
5 7
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I IV V
Ex.9
15
I IV V
Ex.10
16
I IV V
Ex.11
17
&
A D E
Forthenextexample,let'sputtheIchordonthe5thstringthis�me.Thepa�ernforourI-IV-Vwilllooklike
this.Wewillplotouttherootnotesfirst:
⁄
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A5 D5 E5
YoucanseethattheiftheIchordrootisatthe5thstring,youcanfindtheIVatthe6thstringtwofrets
backandtheVchordjustaboveit.Wecannowfleshthemoutaspowerchords:
⁄
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E5
A5 B5
RememberthataslongasyouknowwheretherootofyourIchordis,youcandothesepa�ernsallover
thefretboardindifferentloca�onstoplayindifferentkeys.Let'sapplythe5thstringrootpa�ernforthe
keyofE:
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12
10 12
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12
14
10
12
12
14
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C A G E D
Ex.12
18
F A‹ B‹ E‹ D‹
19
5
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ChordsinBlues
ToknowhowtoapplychordsintheBlues,weneedtoknowhowtoplayour10essen�alopenchords:
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C7 A7 G7 E7 D7
Ex.13
20
F7 A‹7 B‹7 E‹7 D‹7
21
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BecausetheBluesischaracterizedbytheuseofdominantseventhandminorseventhchords,weneedto
learnhowtoconvertouropenchordsintothesekindsofseventhchordsbyaddingaminorseventhto
eachofthem.Insomeofthechords,wehave"rootless"voicings:
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bn
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Open E chord
E
F major
F
Ex.14
22
F© G
4fr
A¨
5fr
A
Ex.15
23
4
4&
Barat1stfret,Eshapemovesuponefret
Barrechordsarenothingmorethanopenchordsthathavebeenmoveduptheguitar,withthefirst
fingerbeingusedtobaracrossafrettofunc�onasthenut.Sixthstringbarrechordshavetherootat
thesixthstring(asthenameimplies)andarebasedontheopenEchordshape:
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&
Giventhattheshapeiseasilymovable,youcanplayall12possiblebarrechordsbysimplymovingitwhere
youneedittobe:
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E‹ F‹ G‹
5fr
A‹
Ex.16
24
A B C
5fr
D
Ex.17
25
&
Theminorchordversonofthe6th-stringbarrechordworksthesameway:
⁄
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Anotherkindofbarrechord,the5th-Stringbarrechord,worksinthesamewayexceptitisbasedontheAshape:
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A‹ B‹ C‹
5fr
D‹
Ex.18
26
I IV V
Ex.19
27
I IV V
Ex.20
28
3
4
&
Theminorchordversonofthe5th-stringbarrechordworksthesameway:
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G
I-IV-Vstar�ngwith6th-stringbarrechordinthekeyofG
C D
CombinedwiththeknowledgeofhowtoplayI-IV-Vchordprogressionsstar�ngfromthe6thor5thstring,
youcanplayI-IV-Vchordprogressionsinanykeyusingbarrechords:
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Eb
I-IV-Vstar�ngwith6th-stringbarrechordinthekeyofEbb
Ab
Bb
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i iv v
29
6th-string
barre chord
Two-string
power chord
Three-string
power chord
Ex.21
30
5th-string
barre chord
Two-string
power chord
Three-string
power chord
Ex.22
31
&
Am
Dm
Em
Youcanalsoplaytheminorversion,i-iv-v,inbarrechords,usingthesameprinciples.Thisexampleisin
Aminor:
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G G5 G5
Nowthatyouknowyourbarrechords,powerchordsarejustthetoptwoorthreestringsofany6th-or
5th-stringbarrechord:
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C C5 C5
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™™™™
™™™™
Ex.23
32
™™™™
™™™™
Ex.24
33
4
4&
A5
Major6th
Ifwechangeourfi�htoamajorsixthatbeatstwoandfour(bysimplyextendingthefre�ngfingerthat
playsthefi�htwofretsaway)wegettocreateaBluessoundingrhythmguitarpassage:
⁄
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A5
Major6th
Minor7th
Wecanaddanotherextension,aminorseventh,toourpowerchordtocreatethefamiliarsounding
bluesriff:
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™™
™™
™™
™™
Ex.25
34
Ex.26
35
Ex.27
36
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A5
Groove:Straightvs.Shuffle/Swing
Astraightgrooveinbluessimplymeanseighthnotesbeingplayedinatypicalmanneri.e.each
eighthnoteisbeingplayedwithequallength(marchingrhythm).Mostmusicinexistencehas
thiskindofgroove:
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3 3 3 3
Aswing/shufflegrooveinbluesisbasedonatripletrhythmaswri�enbelow:
⁄
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Playedas: Wri�enas:
3 3 3 3
Aswing/shufflegroove,however,omitsthesecondnoteofthetriplet,givingtherhythmthetypical
swingorshufflefeelfeaturedinbluesthathastheimpressionofaheartbeat:
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Ex.28
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™™9
™™Ex.29
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GroupI:FourmeasuresoftheIchord
I
The12-BarBlues
The12-barbluesisthefundamentalforminblues.Itisimportanttolearnallaboutthisformbecause
amajorityofbluessongsarewri�enwiththisformatinmindsuchasZZTop's"Tush",RobbenFord's
"TalktoYourDaughter",etc.Whathappensina12-barbluesisthatitlaysouttheen�recyclewhere
theI-IV-Vchordprogressionhappensaswri�enbelow.Wecanalsoiden�fythreedis�nctfour-measure
groupsorperiodsasfollows:
&
GroupII:TwomeasuresofIV,twomeasuresofI
IV I
&
GroupIII:V,IV,I,V
V IV I V
&
A (I)
Hereisanexampleofthe12-barbluesinapar�cularkeysignature.ThisoneisinA:
&
D (IV) A (I)
&
E (V) D (IV) A (I) E (V)
#
#
#
V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V
V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V
V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V
V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V
V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V
V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V
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™™
™™
ModerateSwing q =104
Ex.30
13
16
19
™™
™™
22
4
4&
#
#
#
A (I)
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Asaprac�calexampleofhowtoplaya12-barbluespa�ern,hereisa12-barblueschorusinA
withembellishmentsasnotedtomakeplayingali�lemoreinteres�ng:
⁄. . . . . . . . . . . .
&
#
#
#Chroma�cwalkup
..
D (IV)
. .. . . .
Chroma�cwalkup
.
.. .
⁄. . . . . . . . . . . .
&
#
#
#
A (I)
. .
7th-to-6thembellishment
. . .
E (V)
Chroma�cmovement
. . . .
3
⁄. . . . . . . . .
&
#
#
#
D (IV)
. .
A (I)
. .
. .
E (V)
Chroma�cturnaround
. . .
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6th-string
barre chord
5fr
A7
5fr
A7
5th-string
barre chord
5fr
D7
5fr
D7
25
6fr
E7(#9)
26
&
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ChordFragments
Inblues,wemakeuseofchordfragmentsandembellishments...
1....tomakethingsabiteasiertoplay.
2....tomakeplayingalotmorefun.
Thefirstthingweneedtodoisturnourmajor6th-and5th-stringbarrechordshapesinto
dominantseventhchords:
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SincewealreadyhaveourIandIVchordsrespec�velyturnedintodominantseventhchordsintheexample
above,wecanmakeourVchordalotmoreinteres�ngbyturningitintoa7(#9)chord.WehaveanE7(#9)
shownbelow:
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4fr
D9
Ex.31
27
11
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WecanalsoturnourIVchordintoaIV9chordtomakeitmoreinteres�ng.WehaveaD9chordinthiscase:
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A7 D9 D#9 E7(#9)
Etc...
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Wecanalsousechroma�cmovementofourD9chordgoinguptotheE7(#9)chord(oranyother
chroma�cmovementtowardanychordforthatma�er):
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5fr
A‹7
5fr
D‹7
7fr
E‹7Ex.32
13
&
Thechordfragment/embellishmentconceptcanalsobeusedtotreatminorchordsinasimilarfashion.
The12-barbluesinminorsoundsmuchmorereservedandwouldtendtobelessflamboyantandalot
moresubtle.Weturnouri-iv-vchordsintominorseventhchordsfirstthengoaheadandplaysome
12-barblueswiththosechords.Youcanuseastraightorashufflerhythmicfeelwhenprac�cing:
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Ex.33
14
Ex.34
16
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Whole-stepbendtargetsapitchtwofretsaway. Whole-stepbendpitchshouldmatchthepitchbelow:
VocalElements
Whenwetalkaboutvocalelementsinblues,theseareguitartechniquesthata�empttoemulate
thehumanvoiceascloselyaspossiblewhenplayingmelodicorleadlines.Thesetechniquesare:
1.Bends
2.Vibrato
3.Hammer-ons,pull-offs,andtrills
4.Slides
Bendinginvolvespushingthestringupordownthesurfaceofthefretboardasplitsecond(orless)a�er
anoteisplayedtoproduceanaudibleshi�inpitchupwardstoanothernote.Thewhole-stepbendmoves
anoteawholesteportwofretsupinpitchfromitsoriginalpitch:
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full
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Half-stepbendtargetsapitchonefretaway.
Half-stepbendpitchshouldmatchthepitchbelow:
Thehalf-stepbendshouldproduceanotethatsoundsonefretupfromoriginalpitch:
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1/2
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Ex.35
18
Ex.36
20
Ex.37
21
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Step-and-a-halfbendtargetsapitchthreefretsaway.
Step-and-a-halfbendpitchshouldmatchthepitchbelow:
Thestep-and-a-halfbendshouldproduceanotethatsoundsthreefretsupfromoriginalpitch:
⁄
1 1/2
&
Bluesbend
Vibrato
ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ
Abluesbendchangesthepitchoftheoriginalabovetheoriginalpitchbutjustlessthanahalf-stepbend.
Itisusedasanaccentratherthanactuallymovingmelodically,andtheslightlyoffpitchitproducesis
usuallyresolvedtoachordtoneoranothernoteinthemelody.Toplayabluesbendproperly,youneedto
maketheoriginalpitchaudiblefirstandthenperformthebluesbendjustbeforeendingthatnote.
Thevibrato(representedbyasquigglylineabovethenote)isperformedusingasmall,oscilla�ngbendmo�on
overthefre�ednotethatcanrangefromasubtlerepe��tvedevia�on-from-and-return-topitchtosomething
thatsoundswild.Itistypicallyusedtoaccentuatelong,heldnotes:
⁄ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ1/4
&
Hammer-on Pull-off Trill
Ÿ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ahammer-oninvolvesplayingonepitchfre�edbyonefinger(usuallyindexfinger)andthensuccessively
hammeringanotherfingertoahigherpitch(whilekeepingonfre�ngthelowerpitch)WITHOUTpicking.
Apull-offistheoppositeasitinvolvesplayingahigherpitchthenpluckingofftoalowerpitchusingthe
fingerthatusedtofretahigherpitch.Atrillisarapidsuccessionofhammer-onsandpull-offs:
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Ex.38
24
Ex.39
25
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Slidefromsomewhere
Slidesinvolveanaudiblechangeinpitch(downwardsorupwards)fromonenotetothenextusing(asthe
nameimplies)aslidingmo�onacrossthefretboard.Otherthancausingachangeinpitch,slidesarealso
greatformovingacrossthefretboard.
Althoughtherearemanyvaria�ons,thetwobasiconesarewhat'sknownasaslidefromsomewhere
i.e.playingafre�ednotedefini�velythenmovingtothenextpitchusingaslideandaslidefromnowhere
a.k.a."airplane"slidei.e.playinganindefinitepitchthenslidingquicklytoadefinitepitch:
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Slidefromnowherea.k.a."airplane"slide
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Ex.40
26
Ex.41
29
Ex.42
32
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PentatonicScales
ThemostbasicofscalesusedintheBlueshasalwaysbeenthepentatonicscale.Itisascalethathasfive
notesinsuccession.Itistheeasiestscaletolearnanduseinallofmusicjustbecauseallofitsnoteswill
soundgreatoveranychordprogressionaslongasitisplayedinthecorrectkey.Ithastwobasicvarie�es.
Thefirstonetypicallylearnedistheminorpentatonicscaleinthepa�ernshownbelow.Theexampleshown
istheAminorpentatonicscale.Thepa�ernwearestudyingiswhatwecallthefirstposi�on(sinceweare
star�ngatthefirstnoteofthescale).Thenextfourposi�onsarechartedaswell:
AMinorPentatonic-1stPosi�on
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AMinorPentatonic-2ndPosi�on
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AMinorPentatonic-3rdPosi�on
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5 7
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5 8
5 8 8 5
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7 5
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7 5
8 5
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8 10
7 10
7 10
7 9
8 10
8 10 10 8
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10 8
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10 12
10 12
10 12
9 12
10 13
10 12 12 10
13 10
12 9
12 10
12 10
12 10
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Ex.43
35
Ex.44
38
Ex.45
41
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AMinorPentatonic-4thPosi�on
⁄
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AMinorPentatonic-5thPosi�on
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AMinorPentatonic-5thPosi�on(LowerOctave)
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12 15 15 12
15 13
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14 12
15 12
15 12
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15 17
15 17
14 17
14 17
15 17
15 17 17 15
17 15
17 14
17 14
17 15
17 15
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3 5
3 5
2 5
2 5
3 5
3 5 5 3
5 3
5 2
5 2
5 3
5 3
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Ex.46
44
Ex.47
47
Ex.48
50
&
Thenextexampleshownbelowistheparallelmajorpentatonicscale.Theexampleshownbelowisthe
Amajorpentatonicscale.Wegettheparallelorcounterpartmajorpentatonicscaleofaminorpentatonic
bymovingtheen�repa�ernthreefretsbackwardBUTweemphasizethenotethatisfre�edbythepinkie
ratherthantheindexfingerasseeninminorpentatonic.Thisisthepa�ernwewillconsiderasfirstposi�on.
Therestofthepa�ernsarechartedaswell:
AMajorPentatonic-1stPosi�on
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AMajorPentatonic-2ndPosi�on
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AMajorPentatonic-3rdPosi�on
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2 4
2 4
2 5
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5 2
4 2
4 2
4 2
5
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5 7
4 7
4 7
4 6
5 7
5 7 7 5
7 5
6 4
7
9 7
9 7 5
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œœ
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œ#œ
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7 9
7 9
7 9
6 9
7 10
7 9 9 7
10 7
9 6
9 7
9 7
9 7
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Ex.49
53
Ex.50
56
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AMajorPentatonic-4thPosi�on
⁄
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AMajorPentatonic-5thPosi�on
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9 12
9 12
9 11
9 11
10 12
9 12 12 9
12 10
11 9
11 9
12 9
12 9
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œ#œœ
œ#œ
12 14
12 14
11 14
11 14
12 14
12 14 14 12
14 12
14 11
14 11
14 12
14 12
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Why Learn the Blues?
Tuning
The Chromatic Scale and Notes on the 6th String
Notes on the 5th String
Common Notes Between the 6th and 5th Strings
The I-IV-V Chord Progression
Chords in Blues
Groove: Straight vs. Shuffle/Swing
The 12-Bar Blues
Chord Fragments
Vocal Elements
Pentatonic Scales
Blues Soloing Masterclass - Week 1
30 GuitarZoom © 2014