There are different types of blues scales that can be used for lead guitar playing. You can also use them to make some blues backing tracks so that you can play along with the tracks and learn faster. Blues backing tracks can help you to play solo or lead even when there is no second guitarist present and the best thing is that you can even purchase some of the best blues backing tracks from the Internet from companies such as 50Blues. Let's take a look at some of the most common blues scales used for lead guitar playing and for creating blues backing tracks.
Using Blues Scales
You can start with a natural A-minor scale also known as the A minor scale. Here's how it looks:
ABCDEFGA w w w w w
You can start practicing the natural A-minor scale till the time you are extremely comfortable using it. You can use all the notes that are there in this blues scale for playing the lead guitar with a blues backing track. There are many blues players who use the A-minor pentatonic or the Am pentatonic scale in a mix with the natural A-minor scale.
From time to time you should try and mix two scales together to bring out a varied blues sound. To play the natural A-minor scale, you can tune it to play the Dm7 chord. The Dm7 comprises of D-F-A-C notes. The only chord that is not in the A-minor pentatonic scale is F because A-minor pentatonic comprises of A-C-D-E-G notes.
On the other hand, the natural A-minor scale comprises of A-B-C-D-E-F-G notes. So what you should ideally do is emphasize on the F taken from natural A- minor scale while playing the Dm7 chord. This will bring out a definitive blues scale and sound that can be played as lead with blues backing track.
Some of the best blues scales are just minor pentatonic scales with some added notes. This added note is commonly referred to as the blues note and helps in bringing out the specific blues sound. You can play a basic minor pentatonic scale or the basic blues scale, which will consist of 6 different notes.
When you are playing the lead or creating a blues backing track for a solo then you will need to play all the points for all the 6 notes that are within one position. For example: If you use a C blues scale then you will find that it consists of C E F G G and B notes. Here are the notes that are found in the basic C blues scale:
The idea is that there are 6 different notes mentioned above and once you have reached your 6th note, you will need to start back from the C note and go over the process again and again to master the lead.
One of the most emotional forms of music that is played on the guitar is blues music. Blues guitarists seem to bleed out their emotions through their fingertips, and interweave a soul-bearing story using six strings. Many individuals who fall in love with playing the guitar soon fall in love with blues music, if they weren't already infatuated with it before.
One of the key elements to learning how to play blues music is learning the scales and chords that make up the foundation of what blues music is. There are a lot of different kinds of blues music and different styles within that genre that you can learn, so it's important to just start with the basic simple chords and scales and work your way up to the more complex ones.
The blues scale is a product of the meeting of African and Western musical cultures. It combines elements of the major scale with the blue notes of the music of the slaves and their descendents. A blues scale will have a blue third, a blue fifth, and a blue seventh, plus notes from the major scale. The basic blues scale is a pentatonic minor scale, but it has one additional note than the regular pentatonic minor scale. It's this additional note that gives the needed amount of tension to create the signature blues sound. The scale consists of six different note names, but when you actually play the blues scale you will play all the places for those note names within that specific position.
Once you learn that particular scale, you are now ready to master the timing, structure, and improvisational aspects of blues music. This is best accomplished by playing along with blues backing tracks. Practicing along to blues backing tracks is like practicing along with an entire blues band accompanying you. There are a lot of benefits that can come from using blues backing tracks to improve your practice time.
One of the benefits to using blues backing tracks to perfect your skills is it helps you to understand structure and how the scale fits in with the rhythm section. By playing along with blues backing tracks, you'll be able to combine the knowledge you have of the scale and apply what you've learned about music theory.
Another great benefit of blues backing tracks is the fact that it is a powerful weapon in mastering one of the trickiest parts of playing the blues, and that would be improvisation.
With these guitar backing tracks you have the freedom to improvise a hot lead solo based on your knowledge of the scale and your own creativity. Improvisation is an important technique, one that is crucial for the blues guitarist to flourish in, especially during a live performance, which these tracks are also good for as well.
Both Zack R. & Zack Roberts are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Zack R. has sinced written about articles on various topics from . Do you want to take your to the next level? Find out the secret of blues improvisions by using. Zack R.'s top article . to your Favourites.
Zack Roberts has sinced written about articles on various topics from Guide Guitar, Keyboard Synthesizer and Guide Guitar. Get 50 of The Best at 50 Blues Studios Take your playi. Zack Roberts's top article generates over 60500 views. to your Favourites.