Integrating Scales
Even though the blues is relatively simple to solo over, you may still have stumbling blocks. The key is integrating all of these scales in a convincing way. In some cases, one scale is more appropriate than another. In other cases, it is more effective to mix the scales in ways that form hybrid combinations. By experimenting with these combinations, and listening carefully to the outcomes, you can discover where each scale works best.
The minor pentatonic and blues scales are almost exactly the same. Moreover, they both work well on just about any blues or blues rock form. On the other hand, the major pentatonic and major blues scales should be used more sparingly unless they are switched on every chord so that the scale and the chord names match.
When you creatively combine all these scales, either in chunks or as hybrids, and then perform them as musical phrases, motifs, or riffs, you start to get something that sounds like a basic blues solo. If you combine that with an imaginative use of rhythm, which is a common characteristic of the blues, you'll have even more fun. Figure 11-15 is a solo that combines all these many elements.
Figure 11-15.
Basic twelve-bar blues solo
Note: Even though Figure 11-15 is an A major blues, the key signature used here is C major since it's easier to read.
Major blues scales use both major and minor thirds and minor (dominant) seventh intervals. If this etude were written in A major, you would be reading an overabundance of natural symbols.
