This Dumb Trick Will 10x Your Blues Solos

If you wish your blues solos sounded more creative and more confident, today's lesson is for you.

My name is Alec Lehrman. I've played on Grammy-nominated recordings and I've taught thousands of students this exact mindset shift. It's going to change the way you see the fretboard, immediately.

Most folks look down at the fretboard and they see pentatonic shapes. Hint: we're not going to do that.

We're going to look down and see chords.

See Chords, Not Boxes

Chords are the key to unlocking the fretboard. And here's the part you've probably never been taught: inside each chord shape, both the major and minor pentatonic live.

That's why blues works the way it works. Blues is both major and minor at the same time — and the easiest way to see that is to stop thinking in pentatonic boxes and start thinking in chord shapes.

We're in the key of C, so we have three C chord shapes:

1. The open C cowboy chord
2. The C in the A-shape (C power-chord style)
3. The C bar chord

Each of these is a launching pad. Inside each one, you can play both major and minor pentatonic ideas.

The Core Move

Up the C major pentatonic → down the C minor pentatonic → land on the C chord.

Slow it down. Speed it up. The shape and direction are what matter. You're outlining the chord from both flavors of third.

Then you do the same thing for F (the four chord) and G (the five chord). One little move, three chords, the entire 1-4-5 covered.

Move That One Lick Up and Down the Neck

Take the up-major / down-minor / land lick in the first C shape (open position area). Play it over C. Then move the same move to the F-shape position for F. Then move it again for G. Land on C.

You're not learning three licks. You're learning one move and moving it around. That's the whole point.

Then do the same thing in the second C shape (the A-shape power chord position). Then in the third C shape (the C bar chord). After a couple days of this, you'll know the move in every position of every chord in a C blues.

Combine Shapes for Real Soloing

Once each shape is comfortable individually, start jumping between them. Play the move in C shape #1, then jump to shape #2 for F, then to shape #3 for G. Now you're traversing the neck and following the changes in the same move.

This is how Robin Ford plays. This is how Josh Smith plays. They're not running scales — they're outlining chords with the major/minor blend, and they're free to jump anywhere on the neck because they see the chords, not the pentatonic boxes.

Why the Pentatonic Box Holds You Back

The minor pentatonic box has made a lot of people a lot of money. It's not wrong. It's just incomplete. If you're playing dominant blues — Sweet Home Chicago, that vibe — staying in pure minor pentatonic will always sound slightly off because the chords underneath you are major.

When you start seeing chords instead of boxes, you naturally land on the right notes for the chord you're on, in real time. Your solos stop sounding like they're "in A minor pentatonic" and start sounding like they're following the changes.

(One caveat: minor blues — like BB King's "The Thrill Is Gone" — is a different animal. Stay in minor pentatonic for those. The major/minor blend is specifically for dominant blues.)

The Mindset Shift in One Sentence

Look down. See chords. See that inside every chord, the major and minor pentatonic both live. Go up major, down minor, land on the chord. Move it around the neck.

That's it. That's the trick.

Watch the original video: This Dumb Trick Will 10x Your 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 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.