Chapter 9: Major Blues Workout

You’re now ready for your next big test, soloing over a jazz blues with pentatonic
scales!

In this chapter you solo over a G blues with pentatonic scales, patterns,
ornaments, rhythms, and sidestepping.

Here’s a checklist to use as you work through this chapter. When you can play 3
or more of these items you’re ready for Chapter 10.

Chapter 9 Checklist
1. Solo over slow backing track with both positions of Gm pent.
2. Solo over medium backing track with both positions of Gm pent.
3. Solo over fast backing track with both positions of gm pent.
4. Add scale patterns to your solos.
5. Add approach and passing notes, enclosures, and 4123 to your solos.
6. Add triplets to your solos.
7. Add sidestepping to your solos.

Technical Details
1. Backing tracks are a 12-bar G jazz blues.
2. Slow backing track is 60 bpm.
3. Medium backing track is 90 bpm.
4. Fast backing tracks is 120 bpm.
 Musical Goals
1. Solo with pentatonic scales over a jazz blues progression.
2. Integrate diatonic vocabulary into your solos. (patterns)
3. Integrate chromatic vocabulary into your solos. (sidestepping, approach
notes, passing notes, enclosures, 4123 pattern)
4. Integrate triplet rhythms into your solos.

Soloing Exercises
1. Solo over the slow backing track with 6th-string Gm pentatonic scale.
2. Solo over the slow backing track with the 5th-string Gm pentatonic scale.
3. Mix both scales together over the slow track.
4. Add in the scale patterns from the previous chapter to your solos.
5. Add in chromatic ornaments to your solos.
6. Add triplet rhythms to your solos.
7. Add sidestepping Gm-Abm-Gm into your solos.
8. Repeat with the medium backing track.
9. Repeat with the fast backing track.
10.Sing along as much as possible.
 Bonus Exercises – Doublestops
Using pentatonic scales to play doublestops, two notes at once, is an effective
way to bring new textures and interest to your lines.

When playing double stops you can strum both notes, pluck both with fingers, or
pluck one with your pick and one with a finger (hybrid picking.)

Here are exercises to explore as you expand your soloing with doublestops.

1. Solo over the slow track and add doublestops to your lines.
2. Solo over the medium track and add doublestops to your lines.
3. Solo over the fast track and add doublestops to your lines.
4. Add in passing and approach doublestops to your solos.
5. Add in enclosures, 4123, and sidestepping doublestops to your solos.
G Blues Chord Chart