I invented a musical scale – This is so exciting!
I invented a musical scale!
Sort of. Not really – well kinda. Actually, not at all.
Let me explain.
One of my favorite things to teach is how to improvise musically – you know, ‘shred a solo’ or whatever you want to call it. You get to free yourself from the shackles of written lines and prescribed fingerings and explore the musical landscape with or without whatever constraints you want. The notes are your paint and the chords are your canvas. It’s a lot of fun, try it sometime.
The notion was introduced to me when I was a 6th grade sax student in the school jazz band. They told me, this is a blues song. For these measures, take a solo and play whatever you want, as long as the notes are G, B flat, C, C sharp, D or F. Simple as it was, the concept was something that would prove to hold true for any blues song in the key of concert B flat.
Indeed, the formula (at least intervallically) is the same for any 12-Bar Blues. Blues music in general requires wayyyyy more space than is allowed here to really truly explore all of the historical, cultural, and harmonic milieu, much less unpack the hundreds of years of oppression that birthed it. So I’ll skip it. If you’ve ever been to a jam session, chances are slim you have not heard this chord progression. And if you’ve been playing guitar for more than 6 months, you know the blues scale and have had your moment in the spotlight shredding a sick blues solo.
Generally for soloing, Blues song = blues scale: 1 b3 4 #4 5 b7
Six notes, pentatonic plus one, tried and true and rarely wrong.
BUT, there is way more you can do melodically to express what is on your harmonic canvas. I submit for your consideration the Super Blues Scale.
For those counting at home, that is:
1, ♭3, ♮3, 4, ♯4, 5, 6, ♭7
It’s part blues, part dorian, part mixolydian and all attitude. I didn’t invent it. Sorry for the click-baity title. I’ve codified it for my students but really it’s been in circulation as long as the genre itself. It’s got a unique and expressive character due to its mix of minor and major thirds, its tritone tension, and its dominant feel. The thing I like about it though is that it has actual harmonic application as it relates directly to the 12-bar Blues chord form:
The traditional minor blues scale will nearly always work. There’s a safe reliability in always being able to fall back on the same blues licks you’ve played a thousand times. Consider the Super Blues Scale like having more colors to paint with. More depths and shades that might better compliment the chords beneath. For example:
The presence of both ♭3 (minor third) and ♮3 (major third) over the I chord gives the scale that classic bluesy ambiguity. This is a defining trait of blues music, where players often slide between these two notes to create expressive brightness/darkness tension.
We can borrow the ♮6 from the Ionian mode, or major pentatonic to bring out the third of the IV chord. Indeed, the major sixth adds a touch of sweetness, like in much of B.B. King’s playing, and it’s balanced out by the grittiness of the tritone and minor third. If you’re feeling extra spicy try resolving from IV to I by means of M6 -♭6 -5.
Players like Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughn will also go so far as to use the Major 9th, giving their melodic lines a jazzy sound, and allowing for arpeggios over the V⁷ chord.
One word of caution: Follow the progression. A ♮3 on a IV⁷ will clash in a very ugly way. Also, stay away from the Major 7th; you’ll sound like a nerd.
As I matured in my playing from sixth-grade jazz band to college grad to private instructor, I had grown bored of the tired old 12-bar blues. After all, I had been exposed to and learned so many different types of music – jazz, classical, world music and the avant-garde. What, I’m gonna sit around and play the same six notes for an hour? Pass.
But soon after I started teaching, I inevitably encountered young students, who in their first year of school jazz band, had been dealt the seemingly insurmountable task of improvising a blues solo. Just as was done for me, I revealed the secrets of the age-old art form to them. I show them the paints, how to blend and mix them, and in the process rediscover for myself what makes improvisation around the form so much fun.
Interested in taking your guitar skills to the next level? Click the below and book a free lesson with us! We’re committed to helping you express yourself freely on the guitar without endless scales and theory. Happy playing!
Author: Daniel Powers Jr, the founder of Real Brave™, serves as the chief inspiration to thousands of students in the Real Brave music instruction program. He’s also the visionary behind PracticePad™, an online platform for live one-on-one online music lessons, lesson tracking, and scheduling. Beyond his entrepreneurial pursuits, Daniel leads a non-profit organization that provides formerly homeless children with access to music education, making a profound impact on their lives. His unwavering dedication to music, innovation, and education continues to inspire individuals to reach their fullest potential while creating positive change in communities. Follow Real Brave on all the socials:
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