Learn the essential guitar scales for playing blues and how to use them in your solos.
There’s something magical about the blues—its emotional depth, the way it tells stories through music, and the iconic solos that have shaped so many great songs. If you’ve been playing guitar for a while, you’ve probably heard that learning blues scales is a must for anyone wanting to dive into this genre. But where do you start?
In this post, we’ll break down the essential guitar scales for blues playing, show you how to apply them in your solos, and give you a few tips to help you start improvising with confidence.
Whether you’re new to the guitar or just starting to explore blues, this guide will help you get up to speed.
Before we dive into the specific scales, let’s talk about why scales matter in blues guitar. Scales are the building blocks of melodies and solos. When you listen to blues guitarists like B.B. King, Eric Clapton, or Stevie Ray Vaughan, you’re hearing them use scales to create expressive solos, often filled with bends, slides, and vibrato.
Learning scales helps you understand which notes sound good together and gives you a foundation to improvise and create your own solos. In blues, two scales stand out as the most important: the minor pentatonic scale and the blues scale.
Let’s take a closer look at the two scales every blues guitarist should know.
The minor pentatonic scale is the bread and butter of blues guitar. It’s simple to learn, easy to play, and sounds great in almost any blues context. This scale is made up of five notes, which gives it a clean, uncluttered sound that’s perfect for soloing.
Here’s the formula for the minor pentatonic scale:
1 (root) - b3 - 4 - 5 - b7
For example, the A minor pentatonic scale contains these notes:
5678AA♯BCDD♯EFGG♯AA♯CC♯DD♯EFF♯GAA♯BC
Practice playing the A minor pentatonic scale up and down the neck, focusing on accuracy and timing. Once you feel comfortable with the shape, experiment with bending and sliding between notes to add a bluesy feel.
The minor pentatonic scale is used in countless blues songs, making it a must-learn for any guitarist looking to get into the genre. If you’re just starting out, spend plenty of time practicing this scale (for example, here on StringScales) — both in position and across the fretboard.
The blues scale is essentially the minor pentatonic scale with one extra note—the flat 5th, also known as the "blue note." This note adds a touch of tension and dissonance, giving your solos that classic bluesy sound.
Here’s the formula for the blues scale:
1 (root) - b3 - 4 - b5 - 5 - b7
For example, the A blues scale contains the notes:
5678AA♯BCDE♭EFGG♯AA♯CC♯DE♭EFF♯GAA♯BC
That added b5 (Eb) note creates a slight dissonance that gives the blues its characteristic “tension and release” feel.
Play the A blues scale, paying special attention to the b5 note (in this case, Eb). Practice incorporating that blue note into your solos. You’ll notice it adds extra flavor to your licks, especially when resolving from the b5 back to the 5th note (E).
You can practice the minor blues scale in different keys on StringScales
Now that you’ve learned the two essential scales, how do you actually use them in your playing? Let’s talk about how to start improvising and creating your own blues solos.
Blues solos aren’t just about playing the right notes—they’re about how you play them. Phrasing is key to blues guitar, and it involves things like:
When you start improvising with the minor pentatonic or blues scale, don’t just focus on playing the notes in sequence. Instead, experiment with these techniques to make your solos more expressive.
Blues music is often built around a concept called call and response. This involves playing a phrase (the “call”) and then following it up with another phrase that “responds” to it.
For example, you might play a lick high up on the neck, then follow it with a response an octave lower. This technique helps create a conversation within your solos and makes them more engaging.
When improvising, it’s important to target the root note of the scale, as this helps anchor your solo. In the A minor pentatonic scale, for instance, the root note is A. Make sure to resolve your phrases back to this note to create a sense of resolution.
In the blues scale, you also want to emphasize the blue note (b5). This note adds tension, so using it in the right places—like between the 4th and 5th notes—gives your solos that classic blues sound.
Bonus tip: A great idea is to also bend in between the major and minor third of the 7th chord that is playing, emphasizing the tension that blues creates between major and minor, some kind of microtonality, is a great way to add that classic blues feel to your solo's.
One of the best ways to practice your scales is to jam along with blues backing tracks. These tracks provide a chord progression for you to solo over, giving you a chance to apply the scales you’ve learned in a musical context.
Start by picking a simple 12-bar blues progression in a key you’re comfortable with, like A or E. Play along using the minor pentatonic scale or blues scale, focusing on creating phrases and experimenting with different techniques like bends, slides, and vibrato.
When practicing your scales, it’s important to start slow and focus on playing cleanly and in time. Speed will come later, but accuracy is key at this stage.
Use a metronome or slow backing track to make sure you’re staying in time and hitting the notes clearly - but, here's the kicker: only set the tick of the metronome to hit every 2nd and 4th beat. It'll be a challenge to keep time, but you will have much better groove training while doing this.
A great way to build your blues vocabulary is to learn classic licks from your favorite blues guitarists. Whether it’s a riff from B.B. King, Muddy Waters, or Eric Clapton, learning these iconic phrases will give you new ideas to incorporate into your own solos.
Learning the minor pentatonic and blues scales is one of the most important steps in mastering blues guitar. These scales give you the tools to start improvising, creating your own solos, and expressing yourself through music. While it might take some time to get comfortable with these scales, consistent practice will make a huge difference.
So grab your guitar, practice those scales, and start jamming along to some blues backing tracks. You’ll be amazed at how quickly you can start playing blues solos that sound great.
Happy playing, and enjoy the journey of discovering the blues!
