ask james guitar show
Blues Scales: What Scale Do I Play Over a Blues?
If you are just starting out with the Blues and you are wondering where to begin to create your solos, then this lesson is for you. I will be answering here a very common question that is ‘which scale should I use to play over a 12 bars blues?’. I will show you here the most important scale you need to know to play blues and the number one mistake many guitar players make so you can avoid it.
If you want to find out all of this and more, watch this lesson, subscribe to my Youtube channel and Join thousand of other guitar players in my free online community by clicking the yellow box bellow!
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Blues Scales Lesson – What Scale Do I Play For Blues?
So what scale can you play over a 12 bar blues if you want to solo? There are lots of possible scales you can use…but there is one that ALL the blues legends use most of the time: the minor pentatonic scale.
In this episode of the Ask James Guitar Show I’ll show you how to play the scale, how to use it over the 12 bar blues and I’ll also tell you the no.1 mistake that many new blues guitarists make with the scale which stops them sounding great when they use it.
Here’s a breakdown of what’s in this guitar lesson:
0:17 What scale should you use to play over a blues? The major scale? The minor scale? Pentatonic scales? This is a question I hear a lot!
0:40 There are lots of scales you can use over a blues but the most common is the minor pentatonic scale. This is the best starting point and definitely where you should begin.
0:50 Here’s exactly how to play a minor pentatonic scale in the key of G.
1:35 Lots of guitar player think you need to move the scale around when the chords change in the 12 bar blues- but you don’t!! You can play the minor pentatonic scale over the entire blues chord sequence…there is no need to move it anywhere.
2:27 Hear the sound of the scale over a 12 bar blues – it works great!
It’s simple and easy to do meaning you can focus on the important things…like playing stuff that sounds good and makes you sound like a blues guitarist!
3:00 You need to play the scale in the right key though!
TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT CHANGING KEYS CLICK HERE!
3:30 Knowing the scale is a great start but you also need to build up a library of great sounding blues licks you can use to make your playing sound musical.
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Major Pentatonic Scale…Easy Guitar Soloing in a Major Key!
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Learn to use the major pentatonic scale to play smoking leads in major keys!
The major pentatonic scale is the most commonly used guitar scale when playing a guitar solo in a major key. In this short lesson you’ll learn everything you need to know to get started playing and using the major pentatonic scale in your guitar solos.
Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll learn in this guitar lesson:
0:20 I’ve had lots of guitar players ask about how to play a guitar solo in a major key. In this lesson I’ll show you a simple hack for using your minor pentatonics in a major key as well!
0:55 Major keys and minor keys – what’s the difference? In a minor key it’s common to use the minor pentatonic scale to solo. But this won’t work in a major key. For that we need the major pentatonic scale.
1:25 If you take a minor pentatonic shape and move it down 3 frets it becomes a major pentatonic scale. This is a super handy because you can now use all your minor pentatonic scale patterns to solo in major keys. You can also recycle lots of your favourite pentatonic licks and bends into major pentatonic licks. They won’t always work but often they will.
3:25 I’m going to solo over a chord sequence in the key of D major. For this I can move my D minor pentatonic shape at the 10th fret down 3 frets to the 7th fret and play D major pentatonic scale.
4:51 You can hear how the major pentatonic scale fits great with the chord…sounding melodic and strong. Learn how to decide whether to play in major or minor when you play a solo.
5:23 Can you mix up major pentatonic and minor pentatonic scales on guitar. Yes you can, but it’s good to get the hang of using them seperately first before you try mixing them together.
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Bending Vibrato Guitar Lesson: How Do I Vibrato String Bends?
Vibrato can sound awesome on string bends and it’s a sound we hear all the killer rock and blues guitar players use in their solos!
But how can you do it without the bend just, er…fizzling out completely when you vibrato it?
In this lesson I’ll show you
- The right way to add vibrato to a bend (for a big, exciting and punchy sound!)
- The No.1 problem guitarists have with this technique (and how you can fix it…easily!)
- 3 things you need to make your vibrato go from ‘so so’ to awesome !
So dive in and find out how this technique can literally transform the sound of your licks and solos!
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Bending Vibrato Guitar Lesson – How Do I Add Vibrato To String Bends?
0:23 Hear a demo of what vibrato sounds like with string bends. Notice how it makes bends so much more expressive and energetic!
0:48 Bending Technique and hand Position
If you’re getting a poor sounding string bend to start with…then no amount of vibrato will get it sounding good! Here we look at some key pointers for solid bending technique. I suggest putting your thumb firmly over the top of the neck when you bend and make sure you use the next door fingers to help push the string. This makes it easier to move it as well as providing much needed stability and strength.
1:41 Adding Vibrato to a Bend.
To add vibrato to a bend you basically let the bend down a fraction then bend it back up to pitch. This takes a little control to get sounding good! Only let the string down a very small amount before bending it back up again.
2:05 Vibrato and Bending (Tips for Success!)
So that’s the mechanics of how it’s done. Now let’s look at some crucial tips you need to know about to get your vibrato on your bends sounding good.
2:15 Vibrato Tip 1- Make your vibrato sound rhythmic.
Give your vibrato a rhythmic ‘pulse’ so it sounds musical, controlled and polished.
2:45 Vibrato Tip 2 – Bend the String Back to Pitch
Out of tune vibrato is not good! After you let the bend down make sure you bend it all the way back up again. If it’s ‘in between’ then it’ll sound like an out of tune bend…not good.
3:14 Vibrato Tip 3 – Even ‘Let Downs’
Try to let the string bend down the same amount each time. This will make the tone and pitch of your bending vibrato consistent and smooth. If you’re doing this and making your vibrato rhythmic at the same time then you’re on your way to getting great vibrato and string bending technique.
3:50 Vibrato Tip 4 – ‘Pin’ the String
As you bend and vibrato you need to keep pressing the string ‘into’ the fingerboard of your guitar. If you release the pressure here then you’ll lose the sound and note. So it’s essential to keep a strong grip on the string even though you’re pushing it up and down.
4:40 Bending Vibrato Practice Exercise
One of the best ways to practice your bending vibrato is to take a common scale like the minor pentatonic and practice adding vibrato to the most often used bends from the scale. I demo this using the A minor pentatonic scale.
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The Major Pentatonic Scale
and Soloing In Major Keys
The major scale? Blues scales? Minor pentatonic scales? All of ’em?
There are several answers to this question…which can make it kind of confusing if you’re just starting out!
But there is one simple scale that worksgreat most of the time…the major pentatonic scale.
So if you need to kick start your major key soloing skills, aren’t sure what the major pentatonic scale is or how to play it, or if you just want to brush up your major key solos…then this episode of the ASK JAMES GUITAR SHOW is for you!
In this short lesson I’ll show you:
- How to play the major pentatonic scale (hint: if you know your minor pentatonic scale it’s easy!
- How to avoid the mistake many guitar players make in major keys (it don’t sound good!)
- How to spot a major key chord sequence so you know when to use the major pentatonic scale (this confused me for years…)
Have fun…and remember you can ASK A QUESTION on the Ask James Guitar Show page…
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The major pentatonic scale is the most commonly used guitar scale when playing a guitar solo in a major key. In this short lesson you’ll learn everything you need to know to get started playing and using the major pentatonic scale in your guitar solos.
Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll learn in this guitar lesson:
- 0:20 I’ve had lots of guitar players ask about how to play a guitar solo in a major key. In this lesson I’ll show you a simple hack for using your minor pentatonics in a major key as well!
- 0:55 Major keys and minor keys – what’s the difference? In a minor key it’s common to use the minor pentatonic scale to solo. But this won’t work in a major key. For that we need the major pentatonic scale.
- 1:25 If you take a minor pentatonic shape and move it down 3 frets it becomes a major pentatonic scale. This is a super handy because you can now use all your minor pentatonic scale patterns to solo in major keys. You can also recycle lots of your favourite pentatonic licks and bends into major pentatonic licks. They won’t always work but often they will.
- 3:25 I’m going to solo over a chord sequence in the key of D major. For this I can move my D minor pentatonic shape at the 10th fret down 3 frets to the 7th fret and play D major pentatonic scale.
- 4:51 You can hear how the major pentatonic scale fits great with the chord…sounding melodic and strong. Learn how to decide whether to play in major or minor when you play a solo.
- 5:23 Can you mix up major pentatonic and minor pentatonic scales on guitar. Yes you can, but it’s good to get the hang of using them seperately first before you try mixing them together.
Questions? Leave them in the form on the ASK JAMES GUITAR SHOW page
Hope this lesson helped you out and see you next time!
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The ‘Must Know’ Blues Guitar Scale!
How to Play and Use It Over a 12 Bar Blues
There are lots of answers to this question…which can make it kind of confusing if you’re just starting out!
But there is one simple blues guitar scale that all the blues legends use most of the time.
If you’re just starting to get into playing blues guitar then this episode of the ASK JAMES GUITAR SHOW is for you!
In this short lesson I’ll show you:
- How to play the exact scale shape used by all your favourite blues legends…most of the time!
- How to use it over the 12 bar blues (it’s easier than you might think!)
- The common mistake many guitarists make with the scale (which makes it much harder to use than it really is)
- The next step you need to take to start sounding like a blues guitar player
Have fun…and remember you can ASK A QUESTION on the Ask James Guitar Show page…
SUPERCHARGE your Blues Trick Bag with my awesome ‘Blues Guitar Bundle’!
Here’s a breakdown of what’s covered in this lesson:
- 0:17 What blues guitar scale should you use to play over a blues? The major scale? The minor scale? Pentatonic scales? This is a question I hear a lot!
- 0:40 There are lots of scales you can use over a blues but the most common is the minor pentatonic scale. This is the best starting point and definitely where you should begin.
- 0:50 Here’s exactly how to play a minor pentatonic scale in the key of G.
- 1:35 Lots of guitar player think you need to move the scale around when the chords change in the 12 bar blues- but you don’t!! You can play the minor pentatonic scale over the entire blues chord sequence…there is no need to move it anywhere. It’s possible to only know this one blues guitar scale and still sound amazing!
- 2:27 Hear the sound of the scale over a 12 bar blues – it works great!
It’s simple and easy to do meaning you can focus on the important things…like playing stuff that sounds good and makes you sound like a blues guitarist! - 3:00 You need to play the scale in the right key though! See button below to watch a helpful video on changing keys
- 3:30 Knowing the scale is a great start but you also need to build up a library of great sounding blues licks you can use to make your playing sound musical. See links below for helpful videos showing you great licks to get started on
ERIC CLAPTON STYLE BLUES LICKS LESSON
EASY JIMI HENDRIX STYLE BLUES LICKS
ESSENTIAL BLUES LICKS AND TECHNIQUES
BLUES STARTING LICKS…HOW TO START YOUR SOLO!
Questions? Leave them in the form on the ASK JAMES GUITAR SHOW page
Hope this lesson helped you out and see you next time!
SUPERCHARGE your Blues Trick Bag with my awesome ‘Blues Guitar Bundleand your Members Only ‘Video Powerpack!”
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Blues Turnaround Lesson
How To Add the Classic Blues Turnaround Into Your Solos
In this episode of the ASK JAMES GUITAR SHOW I’m going to show you exactly how to do it.
Watch this short lesson to find out:
- What is a ‘turnaround lick’ and how you can use it to give your playing that ‘polished’ sound
- How to play the classic turnaround lick all the blues legends use (step-by-step breakdown included!)
- How you can learn to ‘drop into’ the lick anytime at the end of your solo for that classic ending
- How to practice this skill…for speedy results!
Have fun…and remember you can ASK A QUESTION on the Ask James Guitar Show page…
SUPERCHARGE your Blues Trick Bag with my awesome ‘Blues Guitar Bundle’!
Here’s a breakdown of what’s covered in this lesson:
- 0:25 What is a ‘turnaround lick’? Here I answer this question and demonstrate the turnaround lick we’re going to be using.
It’s in the key of G and I’m going to demonstrate it over a 12 bar blues in the key of G. - 1:12 Here’s how to play the G blues turnaround lick we’re using in this lesson.
- 2:18 The lick begins on beat 2 of the 11th bar of the 12 bar blues. So you need to improvise up to that point before dropping seamlessly into the turnaround lick. I’m going to demonstrate how to do this over a 12 bar blues backing track.
- 3:21 Here I explain what I did in my improvisation. Also how to learn to ‘feel’ when it’s time to begin the turnaround lick.
- 3:44 If we isolate the final 4 bars of the 12 bar blues and practice playing round and round over that section it focuses our attention on combining the lick in with our solo. Do this unaccompanied at first. Then take a 12 bar blues backing track and loop the final 4 bars around so you can play over it.
- 5:07 Another tip for tagging your turnaround lick onto the end of your blues solo.
- 5:46 The ‘turnaround’ isn’t just a lick! It’s actually the final 2 bars of the 12 bar blues chord sequence. You don’t have to play a ‘turnaround lick’ there at all if you don’t want. It’s fine just to carry on your solo. Hear me demo this approach.
Questions? Leave them in the form on the ASK JAMES GUITAR SHOW page
Hope this lesson helped you out and see you next time!
SUPERCHARGE your Blues Trick Bag with my awesome ‘Blues Guitar Bundleand your Members Only ‘Video Powerpack!”
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Nail Sweep Picking Technique
with this awesome lesson & workout
Learn how to sweep pick and how to practice sweep picking plus loads of monster sweep picking tips.
Here’s a summary of what’s in the video:
0:37 Why you need to get the basics right and three super common sweeping triad shapes.
2:15 What is sweep picking? Here you’ll find a basic explanation of the technique and why you might use it. Discover the advantages of sweep picking over alternate picking when playing certain types of passages and how overcome many problems guitarists encounter when they start trying to learn how to sweep pick.
3:22 How to start sweeping in one continuous down or up pick with the plectrum. We don’t want our sweep to be several small up or down picks. It needs to be a single smooth ‘glide’ or ‘sweep stroke’ with the pick. This takes a little practice to feel natural, but once it does you’ll find the technique comes together quite quickly.
3:55 Essential picking hand guidelines for sweep picking. Your hand should be relaxed and free of tension and try to pick from the wrist rather than elbow or arm. Pick firmly enough to get a clear, solid note from the string but don’t pick too hard or you’ll get a harsh and ‘unmusica’sound.
4:30 Some guitar players like to angle the pick slightly as they sweep as they find it helps them cross the strings more easily. I don’t really do this but feel free to experiment and find the pick angle that you prefer the most!
4:46 Often with sweep picking players put a lot of emphasis on their picking hand but the fretting hand has a crucial role to play if you are to develop great sweeping technique. Your fretting hand fingers need to ‘roll on and off’ the notes as the pick passes through them. Don’t hold down a fixed or locked chord shape and sweep across it or the notes will ring together and be unclear. This will only come from slow and accurate practice.
6:14 Let’s take a look at some three string ‘sweep arpeggio shapes’ and fingerings for A minor, G major and C major.
9:10 One of the best ways to practice sweeping these shapes is to break them into two parts. Then you can focus on perfecting each half before joining them together. Use a metronome and focus on getting your sweeping really in time. Check the notes are lining up with the click of the metronome so that you know you’re getting it right!
13:40 Now we’ll join up the two parts of the sweep to play the entire shape. Watch your timing and cleanliness here – it is absolutely crucial!
14:45 How can you build up speed in your sweeping? Here I’ll show you how to using a simple practice method to help you really supercharge your sweep picking big time! Take your time with this and increase the speed of your metronome more gradually than I do here!
18:20 Here’s a complete sweep picking study or practice exercise for you to learn and use to hone your sweep picking chops! It uses only the three shapes we’ve seen so far but we’re going to move them around a bit to get F major and Bb major triads as well.
23:30 Here I demonstrate the etude at a few different tempos taking care to stay in time with the metronome at all times.
Have fun with this lesson and take your time to get the basics of the technique right. It will pay off big time!
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Here’s How Easy It Is
…to move your scales into all keys
How To Change Key of a Scale Shape on Guitar
If you want to improvise or play and make up your own guitar solos or licks then it is crucial that you can move your scale shapes around into different keys. When you can do this your guitar playing will take a massive step forward and you’ll be able to play and express your ideas more fluently than ever before on your guitar.
In all the guitar lessons I’ve done (over 17,000!) I’ve seen this basic skill hold up more players than almost anything else – the lessons I teach you in this video are essential!
Here’s a breakdown of what you learn in this video:
0:21 Why you need to be able to move your scales around into other keys to play any music – blues, country, rock, metal – anything!
0:47 Step 1 is to learn some of the notes along the low E string on your guitar. This basic step is super important and not knowing them can have a disasterous effect on your guitar playing and soloing! So here I show you the notes, complete with description and fingering guidelines.
2:20 How to use the root note in the scale pattern to figure out where to play the scale on the neck to be in the right key. Here I demonstrate it with C minor pentatonic and G minor pentatonic. Note that the scale pattern stays exactly the same – we’re just playing it at a different fret.
4:20 How to use the root note to move the A blues scale into the key of D to turn it into D blues scale.. Complete with description and fingering guidelines. This fingering is great for covering more of the guitar neck.
5:00 Watch these videos if you haven’t seen these two guitar scale shapes before.
5:10 Summary of what we’ve learned so far and how it can help your guitar playing.
5:50 How to move the major pentatonic scale around to other keys. Hee the root note is played by the little finger. I demonstrate this here by moving A major pentatonic up to the 12th fret to become E major pentatonic.
7:20 Here I show you how to move your scale shapes up above the 12th fret to get the scale up an octave.
8:05 Summary of what we’ve studied in this video lesson.
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Mixolydian Licks
Start Getting That Tasty Mixolydian Sound In Your Solos
But how can you start it rip out cool, tasty mixolydian ideas in your solos (instead of just playing the scale pattern)?
These licks will help! Discover essential bends and note groupings which will quickly transform your mixolydian soloing and set you on the road to ‘mixolydian soloing mastery’!
The mixolydian scale or mixolydian mode is used extensively in blues, rock, jazz, funk and pop music. Knowing the mixolydian scale pattern is a good start – but you also need to build a vocabulary or library of cool sounding mixolydian licks and ideas to help you learn how to use it in your guitar solos and improvisations.
That’s what this guitar lesson is all about! You’ll learn 3 great mixolydian licks to kick start your mixolydian soloing TODAY!
Here’s a breakdown of what you learn in this video:
0:15 Hear me demonstrate guitar soloing using the mixolydian mode. Notice how the mixolydian scale has a bright but bluesy sound. Here I am soloing with E mixolydian over an E7 chord.
0:35 Lots of guitar players get very confused by the word ‘mode’. But simply think of it as another name for a scale. So the mixolydian mode is simply a name for a particular type of scale. Watch my lesson covering the theory behind the scale and when we use it by clicking here: https://youtu.be/RCG5iUMd6VU
1:00 How to play the E mixolydian mode or scale on guitar. Here you’ll learn a mixolydian scale pattern and an E7 arpeggio shape you can use. Fingerings and description included. These are the same patterns I covered in the Mixolydian Mode Lesson but moved to the key of E. If you’re not sure how to change the key of a scale watch here: https://youtu.be/Ft_uuN3n0M0
3:16 Mixolydian Lick 1 – A cool bluesy lick using a few cool bends. Remember to use your picking hand to control the bends by cutting them off before you let them down. Also try to learn which notes in the scale shape are good notes to bend – this will help you learn to effectively use the scale pattern in a musical way.
7:20 Mixolydian Lick 2 – Another cool phrase using a few tasty bending moves. Experiment with these string bending ideas in your own soloing.
11:33 Mixolydian Lick 3 – This lick makes extensive use of the notes from the arpeggio shape. This is the backbone of the scale so pay special attention to these notes in the scale pattern – very important!
14:45 What to do with these licks. Learn the licks, find a cool E7 backing track and practice using them over it. The next step is to take your favourite parts of these licks and use them as a starting point for your own ideas. Experimentation is the key to becoming a great improviser so make sure you do a lot of it!
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Start Using the Mixolydian Mode…
Today!
The mixolydian mode is used extensively in blues, rock, jazz, funk and pop music. But what is it? And what is a mode? This lesson will answer most of your questions about how to play and use the mixolydian mode on guitar in a clear and easy to understand fashion.
Here’s a breakdown of what you learn in this video:
0:15 Hear me demonstrate guitar soloing using the mixolydian mode. Notice it has a bright but bluesy sound. Here I am soloing with E mixolydian over an E7 chord.We’ll be looking at why this works so well in just a moment.
0:54 Lots of guitar players get very confused by the word ‘mode’. But simply think of it as another name for a scale. So the ‘mixolydian mode’ is simply a name for a particular type of scale which will work in a particular musical situation.
1:08 Here you’ll learn a mixolydian scale pattern you can use. Fingerings and description included. Get this down and you can start experimenting with using it in your playing straight away.
2:18 What do we use the scale for? If we examine the notes in the C mixolydian mode we see it contains the 4 notes which make up a c dominant7 (C7) chord. These notes are the ‘skeleton’ of the mode, giving it it’s basic sound. So it is used for soloing and improvising over dominant 7 chords. C mixolydian will work great over a C7 chord groove because the scale ‘outlines’ the sound of this chord.
3:55 It also works over other more colourful dominant type chords such as 9th, 11th and 13th chords. This is because these are basically just decorated versions of the basic C7 chord anyway. Find or record yourself playing a groove on a C7 or C9 chord and then start experimenting with using the notes in the scale over it.
4:35 It’s a great idea to learn the dominant 7 arpeggio which is hiding inside the scale pattern. This will really help you to make your mixolydian improvising and soloing sound more melodic. Here you’ll learn a fingering for a C7 arpeggio which goes with the C mixolydian scale pattern we just saw.
6:43 The scale and arpeggio shapes are totally moveable and have their root note on the low E string. Use this to move them to other keys.
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