Soloing with Mixed Blues Scales

Play a mixture of major and minor for an authentic blues sound

Learn how to solo with mixed blues scales by combining the major and minor pentatonic scales with the dominant scale


If you’re familiar with playing guitar riffs and solos, you know that, in some cases, notes fall outside of common pentatonic and major scale patterns. This is especially true in blues and blues-influenced styles of music including pop, rock, country, and jazz.

So, what’s happening in these situations?

A popular blues technique involves mixing major and minor pentatonic scales along with the fifth mode of the major scale, Mixolydian. In fact, the technique of mixing scales is so common that any guitarist serious about playing popular styles of music must understand it and be able to do it.

To help you get a handle on this essential guitar technique, I put together this mini-course called Soloing with Mixed Blues Scales.

In this four-step guitar lesson, you see exactly how different scales are applied and mixed to make the blues sound we all know and love.

The four steps include:

  1. How to use the dominant scale
  2. How to use the major pentatonic scale
  3. How to use the minor pentatonic scale
  4. How to combine all the scales playing a mixture of major and minor intervals with chromatic passing tones (this is the MOST IMPORTANT step!)

After completing Soloing with Mixed Blues Scales, you will know how to compose tasty lead lines that mix major tonalities, minor tonalities, and chromatic passing tones. And you’ll finally be able to make sense of all those blues solos and rock riffs you have learned that appear to be all over the place.

This four-step lesson is simple, to the point, and something you can easily finish in one practice session–yet it will radically change the way you hear music and view the fretboard. Best of all, you can add incredible variety and versatility to your playing by completing this mini-course for a fraction of the cost of a private lesson.

Soloing with Mixed Blues Scales includes:

  • 33 minutes of online video instruction
  • Neck diagrams
  • Tablature
  • Backing track
  • Guitar Pro files

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Your Instructor


Desi Serna
Desi Serna

Hailed as a “music-theory expert” by Rolling Stone magazine, Desi Serna is the author of several instructional guitar books and video courses. He hosts one of the most popular guitar podcasts on the Internet and has millions of views on YouTube. Desi is known for his practical, hands-on approach to music teaching, with a focus on the guitar fretboard and emphasis on popular songs. He honed his craft through decades of teaching, performing, and publishing. He lives in the Nashville, Tennessee area, and works full-time managing his GuitarMusicTheory.com website and related content.


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