
Everyone knows the feeling of playing the same old blues licks time and time again. You don’t have to get stuck in this rut, and in fact there is an awesome way out of it.
Intermediate
Advanced
- Convert your simple pentatonic boxes into chromatic powerhouses.
- Learn how chromatic enclosures and passing tones can be used when playing the blues.
- Understand how to use diminished scales over dominant 7 chords.
The greatest modern blues players all have a fantastic understanding of how to inject “outside” notes into their phrases to create new and wild sounds. Those crazy-sounding notes are chromatic tones, but placing them in the right spot is what takes a phrase from dull to amazing. I’m going to show you how to take a boring blues scale and make it hip and exciting.
Chromatic Enclosures
If you’re used to playing pentatonic blues scales, then making a few small adjustments to how you visualize these scales will allow you to start adding chromatic notes to your phrases. Playing over a major blues, the commonly used notes would be the 1–2–3–4–5–6–b7. Ex. 1 introduces several chromatic notes using a technique called “enclosure.” This is when a target note is approached from above and below before being played. Chromatic enclosures are when you employ non-diatonic (chromatic) notes.
Ex. 1
The b5, b3, b6 and b9 are all used as a way of targeting the scale note nearest to them. Beginning on the b5 (Eb), the lick moves to the 5 as it climbs up the A major pentatonic scale (A–B–C#–E–F#). A chromatic enclosure is then used beginning on beat 3. The 4 (D) is played followed by the 2 (B) before the chromatic target note b3 (C). The exact same concept and fingering is used beginning on the “and” of beat 1 in measure three. The b6 (F) is targeted using enclosure in between the b7 (G) and 5 (E). As part of the final few notes, the root (A) is targeted using enclosure between the b9 (Bb) and b7 (G), which outlines a diminished 7 idea.
Passing Tones
One of the easiest ways to use chromatics in your playing is to simply connect scale tones using the notes in between them (i.e. passing tones). Ex. 2 utilizes this concept, which is often found in jazz playing. We can use the same blues scale from the last lick. However this time we are connecting scale tones rather than simply using chromatic enclosures. In measure one on beat 3, the B descends to the A using the Bb as a passing note. In measure two there is another three-note passage where the middle note is a passing tone, going from F# to E using the F in between. Later in that measure there is a four-note passing tone idea in which the D is connected to the B simply by descending chromatically across all four notes.
Ex. 2
Changing Directions
A great tool when using chromatics is changing the direction of the chromatic notes. This helps break up the repetitive feel of using passing tones. In Ex. 3 the beginning of this C7 lick starts with a chromatic slide into the root note and then descends from Eb to C before climbing back up to E on the 12th fret. However, instead of just climbing down and back up, using the b7 on the 2nd string creates an immediate direction change as the note drops down before the scale continues back upward. To help stop this from sounding simply like a descending and ascending scale, the changes in rhythm and direction occur simultaneously to create a more musical phrase. Just for fun, the last part of the lick uses a minor blues idea with a b5 passing tone.
Ex. 3
Start Using Grace Notes
Stevie Ray Vaughan fans may recognize a specific sound in this slow Bb7 blues lick. Ex. 4 starts with a standard blues bend opening, but just as SRV liked to do, the b9 is used as a grace note to and from the root. By slurring from the root note to the b9 and back you can create a grace note that sounds like a flurry when done quickly. In measure 2, the quick slide from the E to the Eb and then the quick hammer-on from the Db to D are great ways to use fast, slurred grace notes to hint at chromatic tones without
Ex. 4
Connecting The Blues Box
When playing in your standard minor blues box, it’s incredibly easy to use chromatics, because you have multiple passing notes right there under your fingers. In Ex. 5, the first measure of this E9 lick simply climbs up the minor box via a triplet lick that crosses the middle four strings. Then it jumps from the C# up to the G# on the 1st string and descends chromatically all the way to the root note on the 12th fret. This passing tone idea is then repeated by connecting the 15th fret on the 2nd string to the 12th fret. In the middle of measure three there is a common blues idea of playing the b3 into the 3 using a slide, but notice, this is also part of a chromatic enclosure. This is then repeated in measure four, but this time as a grace note hammer-on. The coolest part of the lick is the end where it slides from the C (b6) to the C# (6) and then plays two chromatic tritones back to back (C# to G and D to G#).
Ex. 5
Double-Stops
Double-stops are a great way to use chromatic ideas because they connect nearly identical shapes down the neck. In this country-sounding lick in B, this concept is laid out on the 3rd and 2nd strings descending down the scale. Ex. 6 has us starting on a B major double-stop moving down through the scale. If you mapped out the double-stops without all the passing tones they would outline these chords: B–A–G#m–F#m–E–D#m–C#m–B. However, because of the similarity in shape between these double-stops, it is very easy to simply play passing tones between them. Once again, the rhythmic variety helps to stop this from sounding like an exercise and makes it much more musical. The end of the lick uses single-note passing tones to finish up the phrase.
Ex. 6
Diminished Sounds Are Awesome
Fusion players love the use of chromatics. The reason for this is that introducing the b9 to a dominant 7 chord creates a diminished 7 chord. Ex. 7 showcases this diminished sound over a D7#9 chord. The lick starts with a diminished arpeggio sweep on the three high strings near the D blues box at the 10th fret. The next four notes outline the half-whole diminished scale (3–#9–b9–1). There are also a series of half-step bends that hint at these diminished notes, helping to create a variety of articulations instead of simply plucking everything. To further create a diminished sound, the use of a tritone is found in the middle of the last measure when the C to F# is played.
Ex. 7
7 to 5 Always Works
By now you probably have a decent understanding of how to include chromatic notes in your playing. However, one common rule will pretty much always work when playing over a dominant 7 chord. Ex. 8 showcases the rule of descending from the b7 to the 5 of any dominant chord. This passing tone idea is a great way to create a subtle yet sophisticated phrase. This E7#9 lick plays through this 7 to 5 concept twice, but the rhythm is what makes it sound different each time. Notice how each time the 7 to 5 concept is used it is merely on the way to a separate target note. This is key to the phrasing. Instead of making any of the chromatic notes or the 7 or 5 the target of the phrase, this idea simply is used to introduce a new note, which is the accented target note. The first time it is used at the beginning of measure one, the target note is E. Then later in measure four the target note is G.
Ex. 8
Mix and match these cool ideas and you’ll definitely add some spice to a recipe that can occasionally get a little stale for us all. Have at it!
- Chromatic CAGED - Premier Guitar ›
- Beyond Blues: John Scofield - Premier Guitar ›
- Beyond Blues: Chromatic Colors - How to Add Outside Notes to ... ›
- Chromatic CAGED - Premier Guitar ›
- Chromatic CAGED - Premier Guitar ›
PG contributor Tom Butwin profiles three versatile - and affordable - acoustic guitars from Cort, Epiphone, and Gold Tone. These classic designs and appointments offer pro-level sound for an accessible price.
Cort Essence Series ES-GA4 Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic Electric Guitar, Natural Semi Gloss (GA4NSG)
Epiphone Slash J-45 Acoustic Guitar - November Burst
The classic J-45 has been the choice of legendary musicians ever since it was first introduced in 1942. Known as The Workhorse, it is Gibson's most famous and most popular acoustic guitar model. Now Epiphone has released a new Inspired by Gibson"' J-45"' with all of the features players want, including all solid wood construction, a comfortable rounded C neck profile, 20 medium jumbo frets, the 60s style Kalamazoo headstock shape and a gorgeous Aged Vintage Sunburst finish. The Fishman® Sonicore under-saddle pickup and Sonitone preamp make this Workhorse stage-ready too. Optional hardshell or Epilite"' case available separately. A battery is not included. To power your pickup, you will need a 9-volt battery.
Gold Tone The Bell Acoustic-electric Guitar - Natural
Gold Tone’s Festival Series: The Bell stands out by blending classic craftsmanship with stage-ready versatility. Its all-solid wood construction—featuring a Sitka spruce top and mahogany back and sides—produces a rich, balanced tone that shines in any setting. The slope-shoulder design offers both comfort and clarity, perfect for fingerstyle or strumming. With a slim "D" neck, Fishman electronics, Grover tuners, and D’Addario strings, The Bell is crafted for players who demand tone, playability, and reliable performance—on stage or in the studio.
A beautifully realized mashup of two iconic guitars.
Reader: Ward Powell
Hometown: Ontario, Canada
Guitar: ES-339 Junior
I’ve always liked unusual guitars. I think it started when I got my first guitar way back in 1976. I bought a '73 Telecaster Deluxe for $200 with money I saved from delivering newspapers.
I really got serious about playing in 1978, the same year the first Van Halen album was released. Eddie Van Halen was a huge influence on me, including how he built and modded guitars. Inspired by Eddie, I basically butchered that Tele. But keep in mind, there was once a time when every vintage guitar was just a used guitar—I still have that Tele, by the way.
I never lost that spirit of wanting guitars that were unique, and have built and modded a few dozen guitars since. When I started G.A.S.-ing simultaneously for a Les Paul Junior and a Casino, I came up with this concept. I found an Epiphone ES-339 locally at a great price. It already had upgraded CTS pots, Kluson tuners, and the frets had been PLEK’d. It even came with a hardshell case. It was cheap because it was a right-handed guitar that had been converted to left handed and all the controls had been moved to the opposite side, so it had five additional holes in the top.
Fortunately, I found a Duesenberg wraparound bridge that used the same post spacing as a Tune-o-matic. I used plug cutters to cut plugs out of baltic birch plywood to fill the 12 holes in the laminated top. I also reshaped the old-style Epiphone headstock. Then, I sanded off the original finish, taped the fretboard, and sprayed the finish using cans of nitro lacquer from Oxford Guitar Supply. Lots of wet sanding and buffing later, the finish was done.
I installed threaded insert bushings for the bridge, so it will never pull out. The pickup is a Mojotone Quiet Coil P-90 and I fabricated a shim from a DIY mold and tinted epoxy to raise the P-90 up closer to the strings. The shim also covers the original humbucker opening. I cut a pickguard out of a blank and heated it slightly to bend it to follow the curvature of the top.
All in all, I'm pretty happy how it turned out! It plays great and sounds even better. And I have something that is unique: an ES-339 Junior.
The Gibson EH-185, introduced in 1939, was one of the company’s first electric guitars.
Before the Les Pauls and SGs, this aluminum-reinforced instrument was one of the famous brand’s first electric guitars.
It’s hard to overstate the importance of electric guitar in shaping American popular music over the last half-century. Its introduction was a revolution, changing the course of modern musical styles. Today, when we think of the guitars that started the revolution, we think of the Stratocaster and the Les Paul, guitars held against the body and fretted with the fingertips. But the real spark of this musical mutiny was the lap-steel guitar.
In the early 20th century, guitar music was moving out of the parlors of homes and into public spaces where folks could gather together and dance. Guitarists needed to project their sound far beyond where their wimpy little acoustic instruments could reach. Instrument manufacturers began experimenting with larger body sizes, metal construction, and resonators to increase volume.
Around this time, George Beauchamp began experimenting with electric guitar amplification. He settled on a design using two U-shaped magnets and a single coil of wire. Beauchamp was in business with Adolph Rickenbacker, and they decided to stick this new invention into a lap steel.
If we put on our 1930s glasses, this decision makes perfect sense. The most popular music at the time was a blend of Hawaiian and jazz styles made famous by virtuosos like Solomon “Sol” Hoʻopiʻi. Photos of Hoʻopiʻi with a metal-body resonator abound—one can imagine his relief at being handed an instrument that projected sound toward the audience via an amplifier, rather than back at his own head via resonator cones. Beauchamp and Rickenbacker were simply following the market.
As it turned out, the popularity of Hawaiian music gave way to swing, and electric lap steels didn’t exactly take the world by storm. But Beauchamp and Rickenbacker had proven the viability of this new technology, and other manufacturers followed suit. In 1937, Gibson created a pickup with magnets under the strings, rather than above like Beauchamp’s.
“When I plugged in the EH-185 I expected to hear something reminiscent of Charlie Christian’s smooth, clean tone. But what I got was meatier—closer to what I associate with P-90s: warm and midrange-y.”
The first page of Gibson’s “Electrical Instruments” section in the 1939 catalog features a glowing, full-page write-up of their top-of-the-line lap steel: the EH-185. “Everything about this new electric Hawaiian Guitar smacks of good showmanship,” effuses the copy. “It has smoothness, great sustaining power, and an easy flow of tone that builds up strongly and does not die out.”
Picking up the 1940 EH-185 at Fanny’s House of Music is about as close as one can get to traveling back in time to try a new one. It is just so clean, with barely any dings or even finish checking. Overall, this is a 9/10 piece, and it’s a joy to behold. Speaking of picking it up, the first thing you notice when you lift the EH-185 out of the case is its weight. This is a much heavier instrument than other similar-sized lap steels, owing to a length of thick metal between the body and the fretboard. The catalog calls it “Hyblum metal,” which may be a flowery trade name for an early aluminum alloy.
This 1940 EH-185 is heavier than other lap steels in its class, thanks to a length of metal between its fretboard and body.
Photo by Madison Thorn
There are numerous other fancy appointments on the EH-185 that Gibson didn’t offer on their lesser models. It’s made of highly figured maple, with diamond-shaped decorations on the back of the body and neck. The double binding is nearly a centimeter thick and gives the instrument a luxurious, expensive look.
Behind all these high-end attributes is a great-sounding guitar, thanks to that old pickup. It’s got three blades protruding through the bobbin for the unwound strings and one longer blade for the wound strings. When I plugged in the EH-185 I expected to hear something reminiscent of Charlie Christian’s smooth, clean tone. But what I got was meatier—closer to what I associate with P-90s: warm and midrange-y. It was just crying out for a little crunch and a bluesy touch. It’s kind of cool how such a pristine, high-end vintage instrument can be so well-suited for a sound that’s rough around the edges.
As far as electric guitars go, it doesn’t get much more vintage than this 1940 Gibson EH-185 Lap Steel. It reminds us of where the story of the electric guitar truly began. This EH-185 isn’t just a relic—it’s a testament to when the future of music was unfolding in real time. Plug it in, and you become part of the revolution.
Sources: Smithsonian, Vintage Guitar, Mozart Project, Gibson Pre-War, WIRED, Steel Guitar Forum, Vintaxe
J Mascis is well known for his legendary feats of volume.
J Mascis is well known for his legendary feats of volume. Just check out a photo of his rig to see an intimidating wall of amps pointed directly at the Dinosaur Jr. leader’s head. And though his loudness permeates all that he does and has helped cement his reputation, there’s a lot more to his playing.
On this episode of 100 Guitarists, we’re looking at each phase of the trio’s long career. How many pedals does J use to get his sound? What’s his best documented use of a flanger? How does his version of “Maggot Brain” (recorded with bassist Mike Watt) compare to Eddie Hazel’s? And were you as surprised as we were when Fender released a J Mascis signature Tele?