Play a Minor Blues
The minor blues is just like the 12-bar blues, except both the I chord and the IV chord appear as minor chords.
This has the effect of giving the whole tune a less cheerful sound. It also calls for a somewhat different approach when playing scales.
The Chord Progression
Materials to Use
- Beginners: Use the C minor pentatonic
- Intermediate: Use the C blues scale (minor pentatonic with ♭5 added); you can also use C natural minor.
The Chords
You can find chords to use by following the links below:
Basic Scales
C Minor Pentatonic
C Blues Scale
More Scales
C Minor
C Harmonic Minor
Backing Track
When you’ve learned all of the chords and scales, play them along with the track. Improvise your own solo using the scales.
Exercises
- Play the chords C-9, F-9, and G7♯9 along with the track.
- If you know any other versions of these chords, try those instead.
- Play the C blues scale along with the track, in time.
- Play the C pentatonic minor scale along with the track, in time.
- Advanced players: try playing the full minor scale, and switching to the harmonic minor over the G7 chord.
- Develop 2-3 short melodies using the scales. Each melody should consist of 5-10 notes. Play the melodies with the track.
As the creator of Hub Guitar, Grey has compiled hundreds of guitar lessons, written several books, and filmed hundreds of video lessons. He teaches private lessons in his Boston studio, as well as via video chat through TakeLessons.