So… you think you know your blues boxes pretty good, huh?
Well, you probably do, just not as well as you think. Because what happens is most students learn the boxes, up and down, from bottom to top and back.
That’s great… it’s a great first step…
But as I’ve said before, you really have to know your boxes in all sorts of arbitrary ways because… in the heat of battle (in the middle of a solo) that’s where you’ll find yourself and you’ll be lost.
Now in a previous post on this subject I mentioned the idea of flash cards to help randomize your practicing with this. And lo and behold, a resourceful BGU’er came to the rescue.
Harry (Patterson at http://www.visiontm.com) sent me a little program he wrote to basically create the flash cards and randomize them… and he said I can share it with you.
Now after playing with it for a while I realized I wanted it slightly different so I actually added one more card and had it all dolled up with some fancy images… and now it’s really quite fun and a great little learning tool.
So first, watch this video… then, check out the Blues Scale Guitar Trainer (for lack of a better name…)
Now I won’t lie to you, if this sort of thing is really new, it’ll be a challenge. But that’s how you get better, right?
79 replies to "So You Think You Know Your Blues Scales?"
This is interesting
The scale trainer is a great program but requires online access. Can we get a stand-alone copy?
Thanks SO MUCH! It cleared up for me many things on theory.It helped me understand so much more. Again thanks!
I have no problem finding the major left or right.
I do have a problem finding the minor left or right.
I think I must have amental block since I can find the
Major but I can’t see the minor
Hey Griff,
You are right, playing the Blues 5 Boxes are slightly different to the Pentatonic scales which I have learnt. I have also tried to use different keys in Minor and Major with a lot of difficulty. This Lesson and the PDF helped heaps. But as someone earlier here has said it would be great to get the (WMV to download & save) of your lesson. Basically this is the technical side of soloing. I have used so many different boxes in different keys that I am finding it so hard to remember the phrases until this lesson. As you once said No Guitar player plays the same solo twice.
All great.
Michael-Sydney-Australia
Why not just learn the intervals. Then when you know your boxes you will always know where you are.
makes perfect sense to me!
Griff, Any way to down load this? It would be useful to play with off line.
Love it.
Mike
Yes?? No??
The Ant video downloader toolbar for Mozilla Firefox will allow you to download the video to your computer and play it locally (without internet connection).
Sounds wonderful but what if its over my head Griff? Theres guitar then theres guitar and this is greek to me.
love all your help and your extreme energy!
Sounds like you need to take a beginner course. This is somewhat advanced.
Excellent! Hey Griff – how about a phone app for this great tool??!!!
Peace,
Alan
Damn Griff I’m right in the middle of starting to learn the boxes and scales! Perfect timing.Had to get a teacher to bounce things off of. I’m definitely not leaving just needed someone to get one on one with. Couldn’t of been better timing! Let ya know how it goes!
Hi Griff,
This is a great tool and very handy. Easy to spend 10 minutes a day on. I thought I knew my stuff pretty well but do get caught up on some of them so obviously spending more time at this is very worthwhile.
Hi Griff,
I read everything you email me. You are a great teacher.
Although I don’t solo on guitar I do play the jazz chords and can work out a rhythm part. I am at home on the piano.
The box positions are a nice, but.. I have to stare at them for 5 minutes to get my bearings. Now I see the nut, frets, 6 strings, finger positions, although I’m disoriented as to where the heavier 6th string is.
This probably because these neck shots are not standard. Piano, no problem.
I look at one 5 hours each day and play. as for the guitar: is the one the instructor’s lap, am I looking at from above on my lap, is it “guitar Hero” on my daugher’s Wii?
I’m not critical, as I try to balance that with praise as I teach. It’s that I love what you do and I’m a disfunctional chart reader.
George
George, The 1st string is the thin tinny string and the 6th the heavy thicker one. As you are holding the guitar the 1st is the bottom one and the 6th the top one nearer your face. Hope that helps
Mike
Do you approach this with a guitar in your lap? You will be able to get your bearings better by doing so. Find the root notes first. That will help when you are going between M and m pentatonic scales.
Hi Griff,
I made up the cards and started playing with them then decided to look at it differently and came up with this table.
Minor Pentatonic Right Facing
Root(string) Box
1 1
2 3
3 5
4 2
5 4
6 1
What the table tells me is if I know what string I have the root on I know which box to use no matter what key I am in. Also if I know the right facing box I just subtract one to get the left facing box. I love the symmetry of the guitar and as I was putting this response together for you I realized that the left facing Major Pentatonic table would be the same and to find the right facing Major Pentatonic box you would just add one.
Please let me know if I am right, thanks for inspiring me everyday!
Mike
I am going to try this with the exercise cards.. If it works you have answered my long standing question. Thxs Mike.
Mike:
I had come up with the same chart you did. You are the only other one that I have found that did this. Music is the sound of math.. The fact that the chart works for both the major and minor as long as you are going right on minor and left on Major makes it simple. If you are going the opposite direction on minor, subtract one and the opposite direction on Major, add one. Fast and simple.
Have.you found any mistakes when you hit hint? I found at least one. It had the correct box but showed the root note on the wrong fret!!! It is a great tool.
Griff’s music theory course is great. I highly recommend it for any guitarist.
Thanks stan if u or anyone else has any other hand streaching exercises i could really use them it is making me lose interest in practising
Hi Eb,
In Australia their is a Health Product called Berocca it comes in a round Metal tube. Or in USA look in a chemist for a similar product that come ins a small metal tube or use a pipe. I use that tube to put between the fingers while watching TV. Start with 1st & 2nd Fingers see how you progress when the tube is right to the bottom. Do this year in & out and your fingers will stretch like from B 2nd Fret to 6th Fret no problem ( Blues in E -1 chord….A …1V & B …V… Stretch is testing. That’s good practice
Hope this helps
Michael-Sydney-Australia
Thanks Griff,this makes for a great practice regime.Its made me want to master the fretboard,and to learn all the notes as well.
Hi Grif
I’m confused. I use the formula but 8 out of ten I pick the wrong box shape. The others I pick fit and some sound ok but after pressing hint button I find I’ve chosen wrong box. Can you help please? Is there a pattern or starting reference point where I can relate to box one say on 6th string that can tell me I’m choosing the right box?
Sorry, but this is confusing to explain. Let’s say I’m on 3rd string Root is D and its Minor pentatonic. So that’s the 7th fret, can you explain, if I want to go L or R how I visualise a reference point that lets me choose the box I need to plug in?
Look at where the blue note is in relation to the root note. In the major blues scale the blue note is the minor third. In the minor blues scale the blue note is the augmented fourth (or diminished fifth). The blue note is the third note of the major blues scale. The blue note is the fourth note of the minor blues scale.
I think I can help… So, Let’s take 5th string D (only so we are not dealing with the B (2nd) string until further down the box.) If you are going to play minor you start the pattern exactly the same way on the 5th string as you would on the 6th string. So, 5th sting frets 5,8; 4th string frets 5,6,7; 3rd string 5,7; and so on adjusting one fret for the B string.
If you want to play Major then you play box 2 from the same place just like you would if you were on the 6th string so, 5th string frt 5,7,8; 4th strg frt 4,7; 3rd stg frt 4,7; and so on again, adjusting for the B string.
Now, if you want to go left do exactly the same thing only use the opposite box i.e. if you want minor use the box 2 shape and if you want Major use the box 1 shape. Don’t forget that going left you are starting from the opposite (right)side of the shape you’re using.
So minor (box 2 shape) would be 5th strg frt 5; strg 4 frt 3,5,6; stng 3 frt 2,5; strng 2 (adjust for the B string so) frt 3,6 and so on.
If you want Major going left (Box 1 shape and going down the neck) Strng 5 frt 5, strng 4 frt 2,3,4; Strng 3 frt 2,4; Strng 2 (make the adjustment) frt 3,5,(6 is the blue note) and so on.
Going up the neck (toward the sixth string) what ever you took off of the bottom of the box because you ran out of strings is what goes above your starting point regardless of what string you started on.
Hope that helps Lyn
Hi Rob6string,
Thanks for that, took me a bit of working through but I got there. Thanks so much for your help.
Well I won’t lie to you either, I am still working on timing and long term memory for solos and “strumming while counting” in the beginner course before I move on to the intermediate course. I am sure this will come in handy then.
Like the Ventures called it, “walk dont run” great instrumental from the late 50’s so I’m dating myself as I was a teen then.
This is a fantastic tool. I’m new to blues but this tool has greatly helped me increase my knowledge of the fretboard; thus keeping me out of no-man’s land. Thanks much.
This is a great tool. I have been doing a similar thing with a die. This is quicker. A good name would be “Random Scale Generator”
Thanks Griff I have a few of your courses and I have found that i struggled to adapt them to a particular song but the last set of emails i.e. mixing rhythm and lead, old standby blues etc helped me heaps to see how I can use them in other songs, keep up the good work, at my age 66 i need all the help I can get. Jim from Australia
Thank You Griff!
Hey Griff, is it possible to make this lesson here downloadable? It will be very useful in my study of the boxes.
This is a great exercise. How about adding a 30 second backing track about 3 seconds after the page loads? I’ve been working on it a lot trying to link the boxes together and visualising the fretboard! Exactly what I needed to make the next step. Thanks…
Griff,
Thank you for the tool. I am nearly finished with your ‘Major Minor Blues Shapes’ course and this is the perfect tool to nudge my fluency in switching from major to minor and back. I am surprised that you passed on an opportunity to plug your wonderful course selection so I’ll do it for you. I have both MMBS (mentioned earlier) and ‘Pentatonic Mastery’ and I recommend them both. Major Minor Blues Shapes has really helped my ability to see and use the boxes.
As they say in the Forum “+1.” This will be my fifth year with Griff and BGU, and as I watched this video I kept thinking that THIS (boxes mastery) is the key to “knowing” how (or where) to play the blues on guitar! Fantastic lesson!
Hi Griff,
Great lesson, good tool too. Can you put together a lesson on how to move from Box to Box please? I’m talking about position changes while playing the same scale, e.g. moving from Box 2 up to Box 3 (then to Box 4 etc) or from Box 5 down to Box 4 (then to Box 3 etc), in order to extend the range that we’re playing through. I guess I’m looking for some guidance on which string and which finger are best for position changes between the various boxes.
I’ve been studying for a year and have not be able to see the chart (map) for the box – can you help me?
Hi Annette. At the top of this page are a few printed paragraphs and then the video picture. Right about that video section it will say “Blues Scale Guitar Trainer”. That should be a link you can click on. It will take you to the training exercise which will contain another link to the 5 Blues Boxes. I’ve found it to be a fantastic way to learn the fretboard. It takes some work, but well worth it.
Great tool! I will try and use this 10 minutes a day to keep the (I’m lost) blues away!
Griff –
This is great and I really look forward to using this tool. However can’t fidn the link to the priogram. Where is the web page you put it on.
Also – Thank you Harry Patterson for taking on this task and coming up with the tool. Great initiative.
This is so cool…thank you:)
Excellent lesson. Thanks
thanks Griff, I know this will help.
Griff, you’ve done it again ! … almost uncanny how your contributions are so often well timed with the stage I’m at learning blues guitar. I’ve still got a long way to go but your material is always spot on and usually downright inspiring. The learning to be done with “So You Think You Know….. ” is quite demanding but deals with exactly what I’ve been struggling with. PLEASE, keep ’em coming.
would like to deal my set of cards as you have indicated at this site about the fine what you want.
Thanks griff. Great tool. Will this website tool stay active, or is there a down load (APP)?
I don’t always leave a response but I always get something out of your
lessons, this is no exception, what a great tool! I’ve just spent 20 mins
on it and love it. First I find the root notes then the scale that fits over them so I am learning the notes as well, thanks Griff.
Great resource! thanks as always. I found one instance where the example was a whole step low (C# root instead of D# called out on flash card) but good to keep us sharp (bad choice of words there). I suggest in future you do not fill in circles in your printed matter (purchased courses). I bought several and would prefer to be able to number the notes and/or fill in blue for blue notes. Anyway I love this program, which sort of doe that – and much more. It’s timely as I ‘thought’ I was finally getting there with regard to knowing the patterns. This will definitely help.
Hi Griff
Can this tool be downloaded on to our computors from your post.great learning tool.AS always griff you are awesome.thank for sharing.
Thanks for the Program. It is very helpful.
Griff,
I learned the pentatonic scale based on which string the root was on, and not on the box method. For example, going from left to right and starting from the sixth string, the scale would proceed as follows; 6th string 4th string, 2nd string, 5th string, 3rd string and back to 6th (using octaves).It seems that this way saves a step (i.e. converting from which box your in to what string the root is on). What is your opinion on this.
Thanks
Super stuff Griff I usually run up and down the neck to get away from the vertical scale thing I don’t like going up and down low E to high E and back but the whole left right thing is way cool I also solo around root notes as well like the flash card concept as a learning tool thanks again for all you do !!!
OK. This tool is cool. A great way to mentally practice when you don’t have a guitar. Its good with a guitar too, but for me, there is lots of time for learning without a guitar. Thanks to you both.
Thanks for this Griff. You are always sending us great stuff to keep us pushing.
great tool, but I am having a problem. I though that right was major and left was minor. For example A on the 2 string, box 4 is major and box 3 would be minor. Did I get some bad information somewhere?
I would appreciate a reply, thank you. Paul
Right and Left can be for major or minor, AND your example is also true. With A on the 2nd string (10th fret) going left can get you a minor sound (box 2) or a major sound (box 3). Going right can get you a minor sound (box 3) or a major sound (box 4.)
Griff…. First timer here, been playing a long time, dig your approach, right, left. Etc. Any player out there should never think he knows it all, there will always be new concepts and variations. You Sir, are a fine example of open minded thinking. Keep up the good work. Maybe you’ll come down close to Austin one day and I’ll catch you then.
Probably one of the best learning tools I’ve seen for understanding the fret board for blues soloing. Griff, it would be very helpful if you would create a kit of actual flash cards, with the hints, that your students could purchase. Thanks.
can this be made into a stand-alone app for PC? (just in case web access is out?)
Would love this as a stand-alone program (just in case web connection was lost.)
Great tool, Griff. You’ve always pushed for seeing concepts from multiple angles, and this really accomplishes that. I am working my way through Slow Blues Supplement right now, and it’s doing amazing things to increase my familiarity with the boxes. The exercises of switching from the major sound to the minor sound, using two boxes superimposed on each other, is kicking my butt!
Thanks griff, this is a great exercise for me to help me learn to solo
I am a beginner and right now i dont hav time for lessons u r really giving me an interest in learning i aminto hard rock but since watching u i am getting into the blues
My hands r small and my finger spread is short do u hav any exercises for makin my fingers spread like i hav trouble with power chords when i try to spread wide my first finger turns in toward other fingers
The exercise I use for this is, taking box 1 in A minor, and playing that box from the first fret all the way up the neck to the 12th fret, one fret at a time, and then back down the neck to the first fret, one fret at a time. Be aware of your hand position in relation to the neck. Keep your index finger down on the string you are playing until you have played all the notes on that string. That helps me stretch the spacing between my fingers. Its weird to watch a 10 year girl (with small hands)make those stretching moves with ease, so it can be done with practice. Hope that helps.
wow, this is great. thanks for this and I’m learning this finally.
Griff, Thank you. I saw this awhile ago and have adapted it as follows. “3524”
for me it’s given as to where I am on 1st and 6th so, on 2nd string root note play to the right is minor pent box 3 to the left is major pent box 3. 3rd string play to right is minor box 5, to left is maj. box 5 etc. basically an abbreviation of what you explained above. I am still struggling a bit with mixing maj and minor but this approach is helping. thanks again.
mark
mark thanks for the little hint string. very helpful considering Griff’s tool.
Dang! Thanks Mark! Tremendously helpful hook. Bob
Great tool. It shows me that I know where the “dealt” note lives on the neck. But it also shows me that I don’t know my boxes at all. 🙁
However, I believe I found an error in the tool. I was dealt the following: “D 4 R MAJOR” but the hint showed me that the root note (in red) was on the 4th string ELEVENTH fret. I’m thinking that’s wrong.
Griff , this is a great tool .you should see about making an app for the phone for this.
Super cool tool Griff. Doesn’t get any better than this. Thank you!
Thanks for this one, Griff.
You’re an excellent teacher!
Great training tool! Thanks!
Straight out of Your Slow Blues Supplement! Great stuff
Thanks! You really are very good at what you do!
Griff,
Thank you SO MUCH for reinvigorating my playing “fire,” especially in my passion for the blues. I was curious about your opinion/experience with guitar alterations like the Earvana but or Buzz Feiten system. I’ve altered the nut of my main Strat with an Earvana nut, and have generally been pleased with the results. I value your opinion about anything that extends our experience with playing well. Thanks!