How to Improvise on a Three-Chord Blues Progression

It's relatively easy to improvise on the standard blues chord progression. An E-A-B major chord progression is the perfect backbone for a truly harmonious and nuanced guitar sound. Using a few guidelines will help you know how to enhance the chord progression without going off-track.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Learn chromatic scales. The chromatic is the basic "do-re-mi" scale. Knowing it is crucial to a guitar solo for a rudimentary sense of what notes sound good in relation to what the rhythm guitar is playing. Try soloing up and down the chromatic scale over your blues progression.
2. Learn pentatonic scales. The pentatonic is a different kind of scale that includes a five-note octave and can be played on a certain three-fret length of the fretboard. Use your pentatonic in relation to the chord progression and get used to playing it over your rhythm guitar.
3. Use complex chords. Adding notes to your basic bar chord will add to your blues style. Your basic major bar chord is (with the fretboard barred) your fingers on the A and D strings 2 frets higher than the bar, and your finger on the G string one fret higher than the bar. To add other notes, extend your finger (pinkie or fourth) up onto another fret. Try different chords until you hear one you like.
4. Practice sliding and bending notes. Blues masters get a lot of mileage out of one note, sometimes repeated throughout the composition. A guitar with good strings should allow for bending notes, pushing the strings higher or lower then their regular position.
5. Explore the fretboard. With the compositional tools you've acquired, try to improvise without adding dissonant notes. This is sometimes a process of trial and error; you have to play what's bad to know what's good.