How to Play Blues Scales in Different Keys


Published on 26 January 2016
For more information from the source site of this video please visit: http://secretguitarteacher.com/youtube/intermediate/electric/VRgTwefEnzg/83670529-how-to-play-blues-scales-in-different-keys.php How to Play Blues Scales in Different Keys Once you are pretty adept at playing through all five positions in the key of E then it's time to extend your scale practice to cover other keys. When we were looking at the First position pattern for the key of E we started out with this: But this fingering, because it uses open strings can only be used in the one key -- the key of E. You may remember we mentioned the movable pattern with this fingering: (see video) This is a first position fingering that can be used for any key. As you can see the first note played indicates the key you are in. So for example... If you want to play in the key of G you start this pattern at the third fret If you want to play in the key of A you start this pattern at the fifth fret If you want to play in the key of C you start this pattern at the eighth fret And so on. Once you have located the first position, the second position overlaps it in exactly the same way that we have got used to in the key of E. Same with rest of the positions. Now when improvising using the key-specific methods that we are focusing on with this course, it is useful to have a feel for where all five positions are in each key. We are talking about 12 different keys multiplied by 5 positions -- that's 60 points of orientation to learn -- quite a task! Don't worry; we are going to take you through a tried and tested series of steps to help you. By the end of this process you will be able to pretty much immediately locate any position in any key. First step is to get into the habit of drilling the scales through all five positions in each key. That subject is fully covered by one of the Guitar Gym Sessions 2.8 Pentatonic Scale Drill and I strongly recommend checking that out after this lesson. (http://www.secretguitarteacher.com ) For now here's just a glimpse of what I mean by this: (see video) More detail on that is covered in the gym session -- please note that the pentatonic scale used in the Gym Session contains one note less than the blues scale patterns -- for now, though I am recommending you keep focused on the Blues scales for special reasons that will become apparent in a minute. After this lesson, if you click on the printout tab on the toolbox to the right of this screen (http://www.secretguitarteacher.com ) , you will find a copy of this chart: This may prove a useful aid TEMPORARILY, but of course you can't whip the chart out and look up where to play in the middle of a performance when halfway through a song in Eb your bandleader suddenly springs a solo opportunity on you! So here's another trick you can use that will help you orientate yourself on the fly. In each of the blues scale patterns you will find at least one place where you finger three notes in a row next to each other: Here are these notes picked out in traffic light colours: (see video) Now the blues scale has a sort of unique symmetry about it. This means that these three notes are bang in the middle of the scale. If we look at just one octave of the scale pictorially I think you'll see what I mean: (see video) In this diagram our three notes are again picked out in traffic light colours. In each octave of the scale this group of three notes is always just two scale steps away from the Key note, regardless of whether you are going up or down the scale. Let's demonstrate: In this diagram you can see how you can use this trick to locate key notes anywhere on the fretboard (see video) Spend a few minutes playing with that and you should start to find your orientation improving significantly. Now, of course the usefulness of this knowledge will be enhanced to the degree that you know the names of the notes on the fretboard and, to this end I strongly recommend the lessons on this site on the Chromatic Scale together with the Guitar Gym Session on Chromatic Chanting (Great fun!). The Lesson on the CAGED system is also very useful in this respect. If all this seems a bit confusing at first -- don't worry, over the next few lessons we are going to take a number of steps, all of which will help you improve your sense of orientation on the fretboard. For now, my best advice is to drill the scale patterns through all five positions through as many different keys as you can stand. I can promise you that this really is the fastest route to full fretboard mastery!