The Blues Scale What many novice guitarists don't realize is
that improvising (also referred to as "soloing") does not
involve playing a series of random notes, in the hopes that they
will sound great together. Rather, guitarists generally draw
their guitar solos from a scale, using it as a template to
improvise with. The Blues Scale (seen in the image on the
right), despite it's name, is a scale which is used extensively
in all styles of guitar solos. Practice the scale forwards and
backwards, using alternate picking, making sure to play each
note cleanly and evenly. Next, try playing each note twice
before moving to the next note. Invent different ways to play
the scale that will challenge yourself technically. To use the
blues scale, play it so that the root of the scale (marked in
red on the diagram) starts on the letter name of the scale you
want to play. (If you haven't memorized the note names on the
6th string of the guitar, you'll want to spend some time
learning the Fretboard.) For example, to play