The ‘Must Know’ Blues Guitar Scale!

How to Play and Use It Over a 12 Bar Blues

What’s the most important blues guitar scale and how should you use it to solo 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

Questions? Leave them in the form on the ASK JAMES GUITAR SHOW page

Hope this lesson helped you out and see you next time!