How to Play Blues Guitar Scales

Playing scales will immediately help you understand the underlying structure of any song you hear and want to play, if you've been learning chords and simply strumming up to this point in your guitar-learning career. This scale, the Minor Blues Pentatonic, is arguably the most-used scale in all of rock music.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Hold the guitar correctly. Plant the thumb of your chord hand in the center of the fret board, behind the center spot where you are going to play your notes. Keep the thumb in the center as you shift position. This allows your fingers to easily reach any position on the fret board.
2. Use all four of your fingers. Resist the temptation to slide your ring finger up a fret to cover the string that your little finger should be covering. This takes time to practice, as your little finger isn't usually very strong or coordinated compared to the others.
3. Start with an A-minor run for the scale. Once you learn this progression, you can apply it up and down the fret board for any key. On the low-E string, apply pressure in the center of the string on the fifth fret. Play that note; this starts you off on A.
4. Place your little finger on the E string (eighth fret) and play the C note. Place your index finger on the A string (fifth fret) and play D. Then place your middle finger on the A string (sixth fret) and play E-flat. Then place your ring finger on the A string (seventh fret) and play E.
5. Go to the D string and place your index finger on the fifth fret and play the G note. Then place your ring finger on the seventh fret and play A. Drop down to the G string and place your index finger on the fifth fret and play C. Then move your ring finger to the seventh fret and play D, then your little finger to the eighth fret and play E-flat.
6. Drop down to the B string now, and play the E note with your index finger on the fifth fret. Then play G with your little finger on the eighth fret.
7. Finish this scale by placing your index finger on the high-E string, fifth fret. This gives you a high A, and this ends the minor blues pentatonic scale.
8. Practice going up and down this scale many times, until you can easily use all four of your fingers while maintaining correct thumb pressure on the back of the fret board.