Here are all the notes we just learned from open to 12th fret.
This should add perspective and help you get comfortable shifting from one position to another.
= root (E for Blues in E)
= minor pentatonic scale tone
= third (G#) of the I chord (E7 in E Blues)
= third (D#) of the V chord (B7 in E Blues)
= third (C#) of the IV chord (A7 in E Blues)
Remember, the central idea here is the Minor Pentatonic scale.
First of all, just get the blue notes under your fingers, always using the indicated fingerings. Stretch for the other notes when you want to use them, but keep your hand centered in the Minor Pentatonic pattern.
Blues Approach for Guitar
Expanding the Pentatonic Scale
The single most versatile scale for playing all types of blues, and most other American folk styles for that matter, is the Minor Pentatonic. It’s everyone’s first B.B. King lick, or that catchy little phrase from “Back in Black”, or those cool notes that put the “blue” in a bluegrass guitar solo.
If you want to sound good quickly in many situations the minor pentatonic is the scale to use, but it’s just one of many possible sounds in the Blues. In this lesson I’m going to show you how to expand and add color to the minor pentatonic sound. But first of all, use these charts to learn the minor pentatonic inside and out. Its the one scale that can be used with every chord in almost any blues form. When that’s under your fingers, we can start working with some of the trickier notes that add color to the minor pentatonic sound.
Before we continue, lets make sure you know the chord progression for the basic 12 bar Blues in E.
Each chord gets 4 beats
E7 / E7 / E7 / E7
A7 / A7 / E7 / E7
B7 / A7 / E7 / B7