I started playing the guitar a little while ago, and some people recommened that I learn the Blues’ Scales. So, I bought this poster (http://www.123posters.com/bluesscales1.htm), and hung it up where I practice. Unfortunatly, the people who told me to learn the blues’ scales haven’t done so themselves, so they can’t help me.
How should I read this poster? Should I be playing the chords in the sequences shown, or should I be playing the notes individually? Either way it doesn’t really sound like the blues (probably just cause I’m not doing it right.)
Also I was under the impression the blues’ scales were used for improvised soloing. Is this true, and how can I use these scales for that purpose?
I need to know a little bit more about what you do know to be of specific help. For instance, do you know barre chords and the names of the notes on the guitar for at least the 5 and 6 strings? That poster sucks. Take it down. The great thing about guitar is that the fingerings for all the scales are exactly the same but just moved to start on another fret. You’ll notice that the fingering for A and F are the exact same thing if you start at the fifth fret(A) and first fret(F) respectively. The blue’s scale is a pentatonic minor scale that adds a flat fifth note, also called the “blue note.”
You’ve stumbled upon an incredibly important point: The blues scale is not the blues. Learn that lesson early. Rote pattern memorization is good in the beginning as long as you learn the concepts behind it. There is nothing more tedious than hearing people just play whatever is convenient given the scale fingering. Eventually you will want to play saxophone solos on guitar to learn just how much most recording guitarists have depended on the notes that the guitar scale fingerings makes convenient.
There are a ton of great guitar sites on the internet. Do a google search and meanwhile I’ll try and find some good resources for you.
Here are 3 books you absolutely must have and one I recommend:
“Practical Theory for Guitar” by Don Latarski (search amazon)
I also recommend Jamey Andrea’s “The Principles of Correct Practice for Guitar” (Don’t go too overboard with this one it can get overwhelming to do all the exercises.) http://www.guitarprinciples.com/
I cannot stress how incredible the fretboard logic series is.
The chart represents all the notes on the fretboard that are in the blues scale for that key. For example, the blues scale for “C” is C, Eb, F, G, Bb. If you look at the chart under C major, you will see every C, Eb, etc on the fretboard marked with a dot.
As KidCharlemagne said, the flattened fifth (for C it would be Gb) is used to great effect in the blues scale. That note is not on your chart.
I also agree that this approach is rather mindless, although Heavy Metal bands have made buckets of money mindlessly playing these patterns
