Skip to content

Lesson 1 of 4

The blue note

Free preview

The blues scale is the minor pentatonic with one extra note: the flat five. In A that's E flat, squeezed between D (the fourth) and E (the fifth). On its own it sounds wrong. Passing through it, it sounds like the blues.

You'll play it in 5th position, the same place as minor pentatonic box 1. The flat five lives in two easy spots: A string fret 6 and G string fret 8.

Fingering

  • A string: index on 5, middle on 6, ring on 7. One finger per fret.
  • G string: index 5, ring 7, pinky 8.
  • The second exercise also bends the 7th fret on the G string up a half step to reach Eb without fretting it.

The rule: don't park on the flat five. Use it on the way to somewhere, usually up to the fifth or down to the fourth. Land on A, D or E instead.

The most common mistake is giving the Eb the same weight as the notes around it. Play it lighter and shorter, and let the next note take the accent, marked >.

How to practice

Play exercise one slowly and sing along. Then try the bend: play the 8th fret on the G string first as the target, then bend the 7th fret until it matches. It should sound tense going in and relaxed coming out.

Exercises

Through the flat five on the A string

70 → 110 bpm
  1. Bar 1
    1. A string, fret 5
    2. A string, fret 6
    3. A string, fret 7, accented
    4. rest
    5. A string, fret 7
    6. A string, fret 6
    7. A string, fret 5, accented
    8. rest
  2. Bar 2
    1. A string, fret 5
    2. A string, fret 6
    3. A string, fret 7, accented
    4. rest
    5. A string, fret 7
    6. A string, fret 6
    7. A string, fret 5, accented
    8. rest

Clean 3 times in a row? Raise the tempo by 5 bpm.

Flat five as a passing note

60 → 100 bpm
  1. Bar 1
    1. G string, fret 5
    2. G string, fret 7
    3. G string, fret 8
    4. G string, fret 7, accented
    5. G string, fret 5
    6. D string, fret 7
    7. rest
    8. rest
  2. Bar 2
    1. G string, fret 7, bend to fret 8
    2. G string, fret 7, accented
    3. G string, fret 5
    4. D string, fret 7, vibrato
    5. rest
    6. rest
    7. rest

Clean 3 times in a row? Raise the tempo by 5 bpm.

Up and down through both blue notes

60 → 100 bpm
  1. Bar 1
    1. A string, fret 5
    2. A string, fret 6
    3. A string, fret 7
    4. D string, fret 5
    5. D string, fret 7
    6. G string, fret 5
    7. G string, fret 7
    8. G string, fret 8
  2. Bar 2
    1. G string, fret 7
    2. G string, fret 5
    3. D string, fret 7
    4. D string, fret 5
    5. A string, fret 7
    6. A string, fret 6
    7. A string, fret 5
    8. low E string, fret 5

Clean 3 times in a row? Raise the tempo by 5 bpm.

Checkpoint

Move on when you can do all of these.

  • Name the flat five (Eb) on both the A and G strings
  • The half-step bend from the 7th fret of the G string lands on Eb (check it against the 8th fret), 8 of 10 times
Sign in to save your progress and clean takes.