Just Practice Blues Like This Every Day

If you struggle to be creative when you solo over the blues, today's lesson is for you. Or if you just wish you could stop guessing every time it's your turn to take a solo, this is for you.

My name is Alec Lehrman. I've played on Grammy-nominated recordings and I've taught thousands of students this exact practice routine. Hint: it's not about playing the scale all the way up and all the way down. A lot of folks are practicing the wrong way, and it's holding them back from becoming the guitar player they always wanted to be.

We're in the key of G.

The Core Move: Up Major, Down Minor, Land on the Chord

Most people practice scales by playing the whole scale, top to bottom, both directions. Throw that out the window.

What you're actually going to do is start with a chord, then play the scale halfway up, halfway down:

1. Find a G chord shape on the neck.
2. Go up the G major pentatonic — just one octave, not the whole scale.
3. Come down the G minor pentatonic.
4. Land on the G major chord.

That's the entire exercise. And it's going to break you out of your rut because so many times you'll go to take a solo, you'll say "Okay, what key is this in?", you'll find your root on the low E string, and you'll noodle and hope for the best. That is no way to solo.

This exercise replaces noodling with intention. You always know where you are and you always know where you're going — back to the chord.

Do It in All Three G Chord Shapes

You need to do this exercise in every position of G on the neck:

• The open G area
• The C-shape G
• The G bar chord

Each shape gives you a different physical setup for the up-major/down-minor/land move. After a few days of working through all three, your fingers will start knowing the move automatically, no matter where you are on the neck.

Then Apply It to All Three Chords in the Blues

A G blues has three chords: G, C, and D. Once you can do the move for G in all three positions, do the same thing for C in all three positions, and again for D in all three positions.

That's the practice routine. It's small. It's repeatable. And it's the move that the greats use to follow the changes.

Why It Works

Blues lives in the gray zone between major and minor. Most intermediate players are stuck because they were taught to commit to one bucket — "It's a minor blues, so play minor pentatonic" — and they never learned how the pros blend the two flavors as the chords move underneath them.

This exercise drills that blend directly into your hands. After a couple weeks, when a chord change comes, your fingers know what to do because you've practiced exactly that move dozens of times.

Putting It Together at Speed

Once the shapes feel comfortable in isolation, string them together over a 12-bar G blues:

• Over the G: up major, down minor, land on G
• Over the C: up major, down minor, land on C
• Over the D: up major, down minor, land on D

Play it nice and slow first. Then up to speed. You're not trying to fit a million notes in — you're trying to outline the changes with the major/minor blend.

This is the move. Do it every day for two weeks and your solos will be unrecognizable.

Watch the original video: Just Practice Blues Like THIS Every Day

Want to go deeper?

Grab the free Blues Bootcamp. It walks through these concepts with tabs, downloadable PDFs, backing tracks, and a jam-with-me section so you can actually put this into your hands.

And if you're ready to become the blues guitarist you hear in your head, check out the Blues Guitar System — my full course. Use this link for $50 off.