The Pattern You'll Wish You Had Always Known!

Added: 2026-05-06

[00:00:00]What is that really tasty note that your favorite guitarist keep using in their solos? And more importantly, how can you incorporate it into your own soloing?

[00:00:09]Today we're going to answer that question by learning the blues scale with that ever tasty blue note. And by the end of this video, you'll know exactly how and when to use it to create tasty phrases with a great blues twist.

[00:00:22]And by the way, if you're just getting started with soloing, make sure to download my free beginner soloist handbook. It's packed with all kinds of scales and arpeggios and reference materials so that you have it all in one place. The link is in the description below. Now, the blue scale is essentially a minor pentatonic scale with an added blue note, which introduces tension into the scale. It's the kind of tension that we've come to recognize in blues playing so much that even if you don't know exactly what you're hearing, you know it's that blues sound. The minor pentatonic scale consists of the first, the flat third, the fourth, the fifth, and the flat seven. So, it's a five-note scale, hence the name pentatonic, which means five tone. When we add this particular sixth note to it, it will become a hexatonic scale, which is a cool name for a scale, but you really don't need to use that terminology because we're just adding a note to the scale you already know. The standard blues scale formula consists of the following intervals: the first, the flat third, the fourth, the flat five, the five, and the flat seven. Now, the flatted fifth, also known as the blue note, is what gives the scale its characteristic bluesy sound. It sounds like this all together. So, in the key of A minor, for example, here's A.

[00:01:41]If I play the A minor pentatonic, this is the traditional box one, >> [music] >> but if I play the A minor blues scale, I insert the flat five right [music] there, right behind the the five.

[00:02:03]>> [music] >> And then again, right here.

[00:02:10]>> [music] >> One more time.

[00:02:18]>> [music] >> And I just ended it on A there to resolve it. Now, you could take this flat five right here and also play it on the B string over here if [music] you want to use it as a slide into this note.

[00:02:38]So, keep that in mind. So, you could actually play >> [music] >> like that.

[00:02:49]>> [music] >> Now, you wouldn't ever want to sit on the blue note. It's a note of tension, not a note of resolution where you want to end a phrase, for example. So, just make sure if you're learning a phrase with a blue scale that you don't linger on the blue note for too long. Now, the blue scale is incredibly versatile, allowing guitarists to improvise over a variety of chord progressions. In a typical 12-bar blues progression, for example, the scale can be played over all three chords, the one, the four, and the five, making it a really reliable choice for soloing. This blending of minor and major elements is what gives blues solos their identity and makes it very distinguishable from other scale shapes people use to solo. For example, in an A dominant blues, the one chord would be A7.

[00:03:36]That's a major chord, [music] but we can use the A minor blues scale over it.

[00:03:42]>> [music] >> And it will sound great. In fact, it will also work over the four chord in A blues, >> [music] >> which is the D7.

[00:03:53]So, I can play the D7 chord and >> [music] >> works fine there. And then, the five chord in A dominant blues is E7.

[00:04:06]>> [music] >> So, there you can play it.

[00:04:12]And it works just fine. Let's just take a look at the standard pentatonic blues box over a track.

[00:04:18]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> As you can hear, that works really well.

[00:04:55]You can also do the same thing with the diagonal minor pentatonic. Now, if you're not familiar with the diagonal minor pentatonic blues scale, let's take a moment to show how that shape works.

[00:05:06]First, we need to talk about the diagonal minor pentatonic before we turn it into a blues scale. So, the diagonal minor pentatonic is this scale shape that is only going to use two strings at a time, and I'll show you what I mean.

[00:05:18]We'll keep it in A minor, so I'm going to go down here to the sixth string. I'm going to play the third fret, and then the fifth fret, >> [music] >> which is my root. So, my root is the second note of the shape.

[00:05:32]And then I move on to the fifth string and I play the third fret, >> [music] >> fifth fret, and seventh fret.

[00:05:38]And that is your diagonal minor pentatonic in A.

[00:05:45]And the way you use this is by copying and pasting that exact same shape right below where you end. So, here I'll play the two notes >> [music] >> with A being the root there again, and then three notes.

[00:06:04]So, it's a two-three pattern that works really well. And then I shift up a half step because of the tuning difference of the B string, and I play the exact same shape again. Two notes followed by three notes.

[00:06:22]Well, here's the beauty of using the diagonal pentatonic and adding the blue note because it's going to occur in the exact same spot every single time. So, you're using a very simple shape, and the blue note is right here.

[00:06:36]>> [music] >> So, in your pattern of three, it's always right between the last two of them, >> [music] >> right there. So, or fret it this way.

[00:06:50]>> [music] >> And then we go to the next octave, >> [music] >> it's right there. So, that's the cool thing about using the diagonal minor pentatonic is the shape is exactly the same, so you're able to see where that blue note is every time. When you're using the traditional box system, many times you'll just have to memorize exactly where that flat five is because every shape looks different. These all look the same. We'll shift up again, and there it is, right there.

[00:07:26]>> [music] >> All together.

[00:07:32]>> [music] >> Now, the diagonal minor pentatonic can seem like a really big scale shape if you play all three octaves, and I would never recommend practicing that way in your sessions.

[00:07:48]Let's just focus on one octave at a time because you'll always be more musical when you limit what you're playing so that you can listen to the music better and be more intentional with the notes you choose. So, in this case, I'm going to try to focus on >> [music] >> just five fret positions at a time, and you'll probably see me shift to another five fret positions, but most of the time I'm going to be focused on just two strings with that blue note in there.

[00:08:20]Okay, let's try it over a track.

[00:08:25]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Now, remember to master the blues scale on guitar, you should practice different positions, sequences, and rhythmic variations in order to get accustomed to where that blue note sits in all those shapes. And don't play the blue scale only over blues progressions. Try it over other types of music and see how it fits for you. It doesn't always work perfectly, but you'll be surprised how often it actually sounds quite fitting and creates the right amount of tension and release. Let's try it over a completely different A minor track.

[00:09:31]>> [music] [music] [music] >> So, hopefully, whether you use the box [music] pentatonics or you use the diagonal pentatonics, start incorporating that flat five. It really gives you that moment of tension and release that you've been hearing in solos and works so well. Now if you're looking to up your game with pentatonics, I recently made a video that will help you learn creative ways to phrase within pentatonics and you can watch that next right here.