3 Magic Tips for Mastering The Blues Scale On Guitar

Have you ever wondered how to actually learn your blues scales?

What order you should go in?

And what’s a good way to structure scales in your practice sessions?

I’ve talked to many campfire guitar players over the years who want to learn how to add more depth, versatility, and skill to my playing in general with the blues scale. But many practice for years and never get it down.

They can’t navigate the neck, and they can’t improvise blues licks.

So today, you’re ole’ pal Johnny is going to reveal 3 powerful tips for mastering the blues scale on guitar. Starting with one, not a single online fake guitar goo-roo is going to tell you and that is…

1) Sing It

No, you don’t have to be a singer. You don’t have to sing onstage or sing loud. Just in the privacy of your own home. In fact, you can even lightly hum or whistle it. 

My old guitar teacher Kenny Burrell (I was in a band and he was the leader), used to whistle notes at me – and the other musicians in the band all the time. He had a clear pitch representation in his head of what he wanted to hear, and he could articulate it. But most people can’t. They are actually hearing a blurring mess in their mind. And this is where ear training can come in and help you out big.

So if you’ve struggled with this then grab my free ear training cheat sheet right here:

Here’s a guide for your voice to follow if you're a male. For a female vocal range try starting 7 frets higher on the note G as a general starting point.

The C minor blues scale is a six-note scale that includes the following notes:

• C (root)
• Eb (minor 3rd)
• F (perfect 4th)
• F# (diminished 5th or "blue note")
• G (perfect 5th)
• Bb (minor 7th)

To play this scale in 3rd position, play this: 

5th string: 

3rd fret (C)

6th fret (Eb)

4th string:

3rd fret (F)

4th fret (F#)

5th fret (G)

3rd string:

3rd fret (Bb)

5th fret (C)

Then come back down the scale, the same way. When you vocalize it, you'll internalize the notes and be able to hear the scale in real music. If you can't do this, you don't know the scale.

This now leads us to…

2) See the neck as one landscape

Many players try to cram their heads with all kinds of modal theory, and junk that gets in the way of flowing on the fretboard. The way the fretboard works is actually really quite simple when you know how. 

Because of this students don’t know how to flow around the neck. They are stronger in some positions and weaker in others. This can make their playing default to certain positions and phrases over and over.

The key is to understand how the neck is one big landscape. I teach a lot avout this is my program Essential CAGED Guitar System. But when you can see it there are no dusty areas on the fretboard. 

And finally tip #3 is…

3) Focus more on vocabulary than scale patterns

Many players end up having what I call “Fretboard diarrhea”.

This is where they know scales, and they’ve spent a lot of time practicing them. But they have close to zilch vocabulary. Vocabulary is how all the old-school blues masters learned to play without boring theory. It was passed down from generation to generation.  

Think about it. 

Robert Johnson wasn't sitting on the back porch in the Mississippi Delta learning the modes from Willie Brown. Instead, he was learning the language of the music. And, you can’t speak any language without vocabulary.

So there yah have it – 3 powerful tips for mastering the blues scale on guitar. 

If you’ve struggled to get this scale down so you can play screamin’ blues solos like the old-school blues masters, then get your hands on my free blues scale pdf guide right here:

Jon MacLennan