A New Approach to the Blues Scale

(Image credit: Glenn Proudfoot)

If I had to choose my favorite scale for soloing, it would be the blues scale, that cool, slippery scale that adds the flatted fifth (f5) to the minor pentatonic. Among traditional players and modern shredders, it is probably the most commonly used scale in blues and rock.

This month, I’m going to revisit the wide fret-hand stretching techniques we’ve examined in previous lessons and apply them to the blues scale on different areas of the fretboard to create very unique and distinctly challenging licks and runs. These kinds of licks can be applied to a great variety of musical styles, from blues to rock to jazz to metal, and they don’t have to be played at warp speed with maximum gain to sound cool.

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**

Join now for unlimited access

US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year

UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year 

Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Prices from £2.99/$3.99/€3.49