Play better blues lead guitar

A video lesson with free, high-quality tab

Total Guitar (Richard Barrett), Fri 14 Aug 2009, 4:49 pm BST

The 12-bar blues has long been the staple of those making their first shaky forays into the world of lead guitar, but it's not always easy to get to grips with.

For example, when you play A minor pentatonic or A blues scale over an A7 chord (the approach most people start out with), there's the potential for some pretty nasty harmonies. An A7 chord contains a C#, which will sound dissonant with the C natural in the minor pentatonic and blues scales.

So, if you hold a C natural against an A7 chord for too long, it's going to sound bad. You can still use these scales though; just add an occasional C# into each scale and use the C natural notes sparingly, then you can keep the classic blues phrasing without the pitfalls.

Check out the tab below and look out for those C naturals over the A7 chords.