The Four Step Blues Method in G

If you feel stuck trying to play blues solos, and you can't get them to sound like your favorite blues guitarists sound, it's not your fault. Chances are nobody ever showed you this simple four step method.

If you've already read the system in E, this is your next assignment: the same method, moved to G. Running it in a second key is exactly how it stops being a lesson and starts being yours.

Step one: three chords, three shapes

A G blues is three chords: G, C, and D.

For each chord you need three shapes: the two bar chord shapes you probably know, and the C shape in the middle, the one that trips everybody up, with your pinky on the root at the tenth fret. Learn all three for G, then for C, then for D.

Why start here instead of the pentatonic? Because the pentatonic has gaps, and those gaps are exactly where the lost, unconfident feeling comes from. The chords close the gaps.

Step two: flirt with the third

On the bar chord, your middle finger is on the third. Get cute with it: approach it from below, approach it from above, land on it.

Then move the idea across all three shapes. For the C shape, slide into the ninth fret. For the A shape rooted at the tenth fret, slide from the B string into the twelfth. When you move these ideas in parallel with the chords, it's kind of crazy how good it sounds. It sounds exactly like you know what you're doing, rather than pentatonic noodling.

Step three: the BB box

Find it by putting your first finger on the root on the B string, the G note. Then it's eight to ten on that string, walk it back down, and nine to seven on the G string. Add simple slides and bends and a little flirt with the third.

The BB box forces you to play less. People think they need more scales, more information. What most players actually don't know is what to do with space. Play simple ideas with space between them, exactly like the space between sentences when I talk, and you'll make whoever is listening lean forward and stop in their tracks.

Step four: up major, down minor, land major

It's a mouthful, but it's the heart of the blues sound. Go up the G major pentatonic, come down the G minor pentatonic, and land on the major chord with a flirt with the third.

This cuts to the core issue: your solos probably don't sound right because you're stuck in minor pentatonic, while most shuffle blues, the Sweet Home Chicago vibe, lives in the dominant zone. It's not just major, it's not just minor, it's both. Play both, and you're tipping your hat to everyone listening: I know what I'm doing. Then move the idea across G, C, and D.

That's the four step method I wish I had 20 years ago. For the deep dive on the last step, read how to actually mix major and minor pentatonics.

Watch the original video: The EXACT System To Fix Your Bad Blues Solos

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.

And if you want the version that tells you exactly how to practice each step so it gets into your playing fast, check out The Blues Guitar System, my full course.