Blues Building Blocks

Blues Scales, Picking Technique, Making the Most of Simple Ideas

Session 3 : Blues Building Blocks

(^)

Scales for Blues

There are several types of scales that work great for blues playing covered in this

session. Scales are the building blocks of anything you create in music. The patterns

of notes used in various scales can color your sound and your solos. Here are some

of the primary scales you need to have in your bag of tricks as a blues guitar player.

The Major Scale

The major scale is the most fundamental scale in music. The major scale is a

combination of half-steps and whole-steps built off of a root. It is a specific pattern of

whole- steps and half-steps that when built on a specific note called the root create a

major scale.

Remember that there are half-steps between E-F and B-C. Apart from using sharps

and flats, these are the only two notes that are naturally a half-step apart.

The major scale pattern is...

Whole Step - Whole Step - Half Step

Whole Step - Whole Step - Whole Step - Half Step

Here is the major scale in the key of C or a C major scale.

Here is the F major scale. In order to get the major scale pattern to work out

correctly the 4th note B had to be flatted. So, in the key of F there is one flat--Bb.

“My blues are so simple, but so few people

can play it right.” Muddy Waters

Objectives

• Understanding the
  various scales used in
  blues playing.


• Playing using a strong
  picking technique.


• Learning the sus to
  hammer-on blues riff.

Key Ideas

The Major Scale is a

combination of half-steps

and whole-steps built off

of a root.

Terms

Half-Step

A Half-Step is the distance

between one note and the

next note--the distance of

one fret on the guitar.

Whole-Step

A Whole-Step is the

distance of two half-steps

which is the distance of

two frets on the guitar.

Position

A Position is a specific

range of frets on the neck

of the guitar defined by

the fret that the 1st finger

is on.

Playing Tip

Understanding major scales and keys is a huge benefit when

soloing and in knowing what notes are in chords. Refer to

the Keys and Key Signatures chart in Session 2 for help.

Blues Guitar with Steve Krenz 37 http://www.learnandmaster.com/bluesresources