I get a lot of questions about “blues” tunes that aren’t actually blues…
Sure, they are really “bluesy,” but they aren’t an actual “blues,” so the blues soloing approach doesn’t actually work… and my students don’t understand why.
So, since I’ve been working so much with students doing songs that aren’t “just a blues,” I’ve broken down the process of determining your approach into something quick and simple…
And I’ve put that approach in this video. I hope you dig it and that it helps you make a lot of great music đ
The short of it –
- Is it a blues (12 bar, 8 bar… all dominant 7 chords?) – If so, blues approaches are the way to go.
- Since it’s not a blues, do you understand the harmony and how to approach it? If yes, you’re good đ
- It’s not a blues and you don’t understand the harmony – play “follow the chord.”
Happy Soloing!
30 replies to "How To Solo Over Bluesy Tunes"
Griff….thank you….and I managed to get confused (I only have fledgling theory). Were you/are you saying, if playing in key of A major and using chords D and E (say, as in Dixie Chicken), can you play A major pentatonic over the A, D major pentatonic over the D, and E major pentatonic over the E. Or were you saying to play in the A major pentatonic over all 3 chords. Many thanks for all your lessons….I’m loving the recent one on mixing major and minor.
Sweet insight for intermediate players. Explains how things actually work. Opens doors to new opportunities. Reduces terror when playing an open jam. Fundamental. Very valuable.
Griff,
Please teach a classic Frank Marino lick!
Thanks
Griff, thanks! a few lightbulbs went off as you discussed the process. I am working on a couple of “bluesy” songs, and will put this process to work!
HEY GRIFF. FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME IN 8 YEARS YOU LOSTME. IM GONNA REWATCH ACOUPLE OF TIMES TO SEE IF ANYTHING STICKS SUBSEQUENTLY. I GET WHAT MAKES A BLUES SONG AND WHAT DOESNT BUT……….. THANKS GREG H PS CAN YOU DO A VIDEO ON STILL GOT THE BLUES FOR YOU. I THINK IT SOMEHOW FALLS INTO THIS CATEGORY
Sorry, my last sentence should have said: (or minor pentatonic scale for a song in a minor key).
If you know the key of a song, can’t you use the pentatonic scale for that key to solo over it without chasing the chords? For example, if the song is in A major, can’t you use the A major pentatonic scale to solo over the entire song (assuming all the chords in the song are built off of that scale)? I realize that a song might start out in a certain key and then either change keys or have chords from other keys used as well, in which case I can see where chasing those chords would be necessary, but I thought using the major pentatonic scale for a song in a major key (or minor pentatonic scale for a chord in a minor key) would work. Is that not correct?
Griff,
Someone else asked about it here but I would like a little clarification. For the D9 chord you referenced major or minor pentatonic without specifying whether youâre talking about D as the root of the scale or A. So based on a lot of your other videos in this example it seems to be the options for playing over the D9 cord would be;
1. treating it as if itâs in an A blues as the four chord and play A minor pentatonic.
2. Chase the chord and play a D major pentatonic, or D7 arpeggio
And maybe more far-fetched but..
3. The one chord in a D blues and play either D major or D minor pentatonic
4. The five chord in a G blues and play a G minor pentatonic.
Thank you so much for this lesson, it’s perfect for where I’m at in my guitar journey. I often practice by picking some compilation of blues songs on YouTube and trying to solo over whatever came up (it’s great practice for jamming IMHO, since it’s a no penalty zone). But when I switched to other kids of music, I often found it hard to make it sound good. Now I know what to do and work on. Thank you!
I’m confused about the dominant 7. At 6:32 you say the D9 is not the iv chord bc it’s dominant 7. It’s the iv chord for blues in A, isn’t it? Then when you discuss it again @ 7:32-7:59, you say the minor pent doesn’t go with dom 7 unless it’s the i chord. I thought the minor pent always goes with the i, iv, and v chords in a blues progression. Also, you say you could use the major pent with the d7, but i think in blues progression, the major pent goes only with the i chord. i realize the you’re not doing a traditional 12 bars blues in this video, and that accounts for these differences, but i’m just having trouble grasping this. Any thoughts?
Thanks
In 12 bar blues, every chord is a 7th family chord (7,9,11,13) but in any other type of music, only the V chord can be dominant 7th… otherwise you’re stepping out of bounds (which is called a secondary dominant, usually) and things get much more complex.
It’s another example of blues being different than everything else!
Good question Terry.
Regarding the IV chord, I think he means you can use the major pentatonic based on the IV chord itself (not based on the I chord). When he says the minor pentatonic there doesn’t work he means don’t use the minor pentatonic based on the IV chord as the key. I’m not sure he answered your question, so perhaps this helps a little.
I absolutely love it when the light bulb illuminates and I have an AhHa moment, thanks Griff!
Makes things so much easier…no guessing.
3/11/21
Thanks Griff, this is a helpful video. One question: if youâre following the chord and power chords are involved, are both major and minor available, or is one a better option? Thanks!
Usually power chords are used in place of a major or a minor chord, but you can usually just try one or the other and choose the one that sounds best to you.
If you know what key it is in (assuming its not traditional “Blues” where could potentially play a minor or major over the Dom 7 ) but whether that power chord chord you are on in that key is normally major (The 1, 4 or 5 chord) or minor the (2 ,3 or 6 chords) then use Major Pent if its normally major . If its Minor use Minor Pent . …If its a “Mode ” song though may check the tone centre and relative scale to decide what number chord you are actually on ..if that makes any sense . If in doubt play the chord then try the major and minor see which one sounds best.
Can We assume that if a progression features 9ths and or diminished chords throughout,1. 1.its not a blues( but sounds like it, like jazzy funk,mayhaps) 2.could following the chords Not work or are there alternatives?
inquiring minds and all that.
9th chords are dominant family so can still be blues. Diminished chords would potentially be outside of blues, but a “jazz blues” can still be approached like a traditional blues… or you can get freaky with it đ
Griff, this is off subject but have you ever, and if not, would you do a video explaining the circle of fifths?
I really don’t use it much, I have other options for the things that the circle of 5ths is often used for. However, I’m down to talk it through for you in an upcoming video, for sure.
If a chord progression is not âthe bluesâ, canât you just use the major or minor pentatonic scale of the key that the song is in and be ok?
Maybe… but that falls under the, ” do you know how to handle it” umbrella. Depending on the chords it may, or may not, all be in one key.
See??? That’s what I’m talkin’ about. Time for a new course to learn “how to handle it” And how to determine which chords would (or wouldn’t) allow it to all be in one key. I have to believe you can turn this subject of soloing over non blues into a popular course.
This
Are you cooking up a new guitar course? I hope so. This is a subject I have a great interest in. I’ve been trying to solo over songs that are not blues with limited success. All I know are the major and minor pentatonic scales (truth be told, I don’t know them that well). I’ve tried “following the chord” and other approaches, but it doesn’t come out quite right. This would be a guitar course I would be looking to buy if it were available.
Not a new one, but if you want to learn more about the “follow the chord” approach, check out The Little Wing Lesson.
I’m with Jeff. But, directionally, would we be looking at playing thirds or diatonic while considering how CAGED might create landing notes across the fretboard as we solo? I noticed Griff playing thirds in the intro. So, I’m guessing there’s something in my thinking in the “not following chords” path. Follow the thirds if you will and then try to harmonize or flat the third to bluesify a note here and there. Something like that.
Good info, Griff… thanks for sharing it with us!
herzlichen dank
dieses video hat mir gerade sehr geholfen.