The Major Pentatonic Scale in Blues Improvising
In Blues progressions, the major pentatonic scale can also be used for improvising (e.g., use pattern one at the 2nd fret for a Blues in A). Try playing over the Blues progressions at the beginning of Appendix 6 using the major pentatonic scale.
It is also possible to use the Blues and major pentatonic scales for improvising within the same progression. In this situation you can change back and forth from one scale to the other. Many of the great Blues and Rock players (e.g., B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan) create melodies from a combination of these scales. This concept is taken even further in Jazz, where many different scales may be combined when improvising, even over one chord. Combining scales can be confusing at first, so make sure you have control of the notes of each scale individually before attempting to combine them. In the following example, both the major pentatonic and Blues scales are used to create a Chuck Berry style lead.
The Vibrato
One of the most difficult techniques used by lead guitarists is the vibrato. This involves pushing the strings up and down (like a rapid series of short bends) which adds slight pitch variations to the basic note
The vibrato is used to make a note sound more interesting and sustain that note. You should practice the vibrato with each of the four left hand fingers. The vibrato is indicated by a wavy line as such:
The Vibrato/Bend Combination
The vibrato can be applied to a note which has been bent to its new pitch, e.g.:
Here is a lead guitar solo which makes use of vibrato and vibrato combined with bending. It uses pattern one and pattern one extension in the key of A minor and incorporates all of the techniques you have learned.
