blues soling scales

when ever i solo to some normal 4 bar blues like lets say in "e" i always use the same old penatonic scale....its fn' boring i wanna learn some new ones!!! which scales would work? all look them up on the net

I really don't spend time thinking about scales in the middle of a solo any more. I spend time practicing scales, but the main reason I do is to make the pitch and position of notes so much of an instinct, that I can simply hear a melody in my head and play it.

That being said, explore using the relative minor scale for the key you're in, along with the blues scale. It can make an extremely nice "change-up" that makes a solo stand out.

For an example check this song out. The song's in the key of G. Most of the verse fills were done with double stops and use of a plain old G blues scale. The solo was done in Em pentatonic, which gives it a different feel, and lets it stand on it's own as a sperate melody from the vocals.

how do u no which is the relative minor scale if g is em....then wat r the other?

Wait.... just take two steps back.

Blues as a style relies on the blues scale - which is the minor pentatonic scale with an added b5. If you want it to sound like the blues, that's the only scale that's used... although you can use the blues scale of either the key or the relative key (as in Moonrider's G/Em example).

Blues as a form (the I-IV-V 12 bar progression) is a bit more open, and you can use other scales. When a different scale is used, you get a hybrid sound - it'll be 'blues rock' or 'jazz blues' or 'swing blues'. Scales that are used in hybrid styles are:

The major scale
The harmonic minor scale

With major scales, you can use the 1 or 5 as the keynote - in other words, you can build a solo in E major by using the E major scale or the B major scale. Using B will give you some 'modal sounds'... although there's a lot more to playing modal music than just the choice of scale you use.

If you're doing a minor blues, you can also use the natural minor scale - that's got the same notes as the major scale built on the 6th scale degree (in E minor blues, it's the C# major scale notes). Use your ear - it'll guide you to place the tones in the right places.

The harmonic minor scale will sound best if the chords are extended - ninths or 13ths instead of sevenths.

Your best approach to making your blues sound more interesting is probably by applying techniques to the scale you use now - add slides, bends, double stops, harmonics, muted notes, hammer ons, pull-offs. There are literally tens of thousands of great blues solos that use just the blues scale notes... there's a heck of a lot of expression you can get from those few notes, and if you want to be true to the style, they're the ones that fit.

how do u no which is the relative minor scale if g is em....then wat r the other?

Wait.... just take two steps back

... or five steps forward :wink:

The relative minor scales (that plural is not a typo - there's more than one type of minor scale) start with the sixth note of a major scale. For example, the notes in a C scale are these:

Root -C, 2-D, 3-E, 4-F, 5-G, 6-A, 7-B, Octave-C

So if ya go 5 steps forward from the root, or two steps back from the octave, you find the relative minor scales to be A minor.

Noteboat mentions "modal sounds" in his post. Using a relative minor is also referred to as playing in Aeolian mode.

You'll find some very good articles on scales and modes here:
https://www.guitarnoise.com/scales.php

..and some excellent tips on spicing up your solos here:
https://www.guitarnoise.com/improvisation.php

If you want one of he best references in book form, Noteboat's book, "Music Theory for Guitarists" is available at:
http://www.noteboat.com

ok guys i took this information you gave me and i studied a bit and this is wat i have come up with....

harmonic minor scales

e major scale

---------------------4-5-7-----------------------
---------------4-5-7optional beyond here---------
-----------4-6---------------------------------------
-----4-6-7------------------------------------------
---7------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------

the sixth note of this scale is a c#

therefore the relative harmoic minor scale will be:

c# minor

is this correct? so if i want to play a solo to a blues in the key of e a c# minor scale work work...i could use notes from it?

lol i hope this is correct or else i sound like a total idiot

You're right about the relative minor being C#, and your logic is sound in building the harmonic minor scale.

One of the characteristics of the blues is the flatted notes played against major chords - in E major you'd play an E blues scale:

E-G-A-Bb-B-D-E

If you look at how that lines up aganst the C# minor:

C#-D#-E-F#-G#-A-B#-C#

you've only got two notes the same as the E blues scale. If you use E harmonic minor (relative major is G), you've got:

E-F#-G-A-B-C-D#-E

and you've got twice as many notes that appear in the blues scale.

I mentioned that the harmonic minor is a good choice when the chords are extended - I meant the tonic minor (E minor), not the relative minor (C#). If you're playing an E9 instead of E, the ninth - F# - appears in the E harmonic minor scale, and you've got five of your seven scale notes appearing in either the blues scale or the underlying harmony. That's not the case if you're in the relative harmonic minor... you've only got three ntes.

alright thanks very much dude....im just short of one thing i dont no the C# minor scale lol...do u mine tabbing it out...thanks much apreciated