Hi Paula, happy birthday and great question! Short answer is yes, you can mix them. Longer answer is that it all depends on what you're hoping to say with your solo. I recommend recording yourself using different approaches and listening back. Perhaps you'll like the "mixed" solos or you might prefer it when you keep to one scale. The risk of mixing things up is it can start to sound less focused and more messy, the benefit is it might sound more varied and unpredictable. Give it a go!

Hi Dan, I have a blues improvisation course which you could use to help writing blues solos or heads, but nothing else apart from that. Sorry!

Yes it can be confusing. I'm not scientifically minded myself either! I'm thinking of doing a YouTube video to explain this as it can be easier to understand with examples.

Hi cuxolalob, OK, so to answer this I'm going to copy and adapt some stuff I said in another thread with Paula. The terms I, IV, and V chord just tell you the starting point for building each chord. So the I, IV and V start on the first, fourth or fifth degree of the scale respectively. For example in the key of C, C is the I chord, F is the IV and G is the V (because if you count through the C scale - 1. C, 2. D, 3. E, 4. F, 5. G, 6. A, 7. B). All this tells you is the "root" - the note upon which the chord is built. But what about the actual type of chord itself? The C/F/G chord could be major, minor or any number of different types of chord depending on what other notes are used to fill it out. Blues uses a lot of dominant seventh chords - these are often just called "seventh chords" so the two terms are used interchangably in the context of blues music. To build a seventh chord, you combine the root (first note of the scale) with the third and fifth notes of the scale, and then you add a flattened version of the seventh note of the scale (take the seventh note and go down a halfstep). So a C seven chord (written C7) will contain C, E, G and Bb. This is a really "bluesy" chord because it creates tension between the major and minor. That top note (the "flat seventh") creates that tension. So: Dominant seventh chord - chord used in blues containing root, 3, 5, and flat 7. Seventh chord - shortened name commonly used for dominant seventh chord. Flat seven - the seventh degree of a scale flattened a halfstep. Used in a seventh chord to add tension which is great for blues. I hope that makes sense! You might also find the Music Theory course useful.

@Paula Braynion I'm pretty sure I just make it up, but I was listening to A LOT of the blues greats, so their phrasing was getting internalised in me. That's another massive thing to do - listen, listen, listen...

Great idea! Hopefully get a chance to teach this one day 😎

Glad you enjoy the lessons, Virginia! Thanks for the lesson request, I'll definitely check it out. I'm a fan of Graham Nash (and CSN), he's from the northwest of England like me!

Just to clarify: pentatonic scales have five notes (hence "penta-"). You'll often see six notes written because it's common to include the bottom note up an octave just to round things off.

@cuxolalob I think with a lot of the classic blues guys it was instinctive knowledge rather than conscious. But even the most theoretical players tend to be in a state of "flow" when soloing. The theoretical stuff is for the practice room, when playing/performing it's all just from instincts that have built up over the years.

OK, so firstly it's important to remember that there is no "right" and "wrong" in music because it's all about taste. The I, IV and V chords are closely enough related to each other that you can "get away" with playing the same notes (maj pent / min pent / blues scale) over the whole 12 bars but it's not going to sound amazing because it won't reflect the differences between the chords. The whole reason for practising the three different arpeggios is that you can build strong and suitable solos out of those sets of notes, playing a different set of notes for each chord. Hence the idea of learning them and then starting to mix up the orders of the notes... the beginnings of improvisation. Starting off simply by swapping one note here or there, or dropping or repeating a note, you can branch out to more variety and your solos will start sounding really cool. Remember that you're still picking from the I chord palette for the I chord (choosing from -2 -3 -4 -5...) and then still picking from the IV chord palette for the IV chord, and so on. So the chosen notes will be suitable. The flat seventh is indeed the seventh degree of the scale flattened by a semitone. Part 3 of the music theory course talks about blues including the I, IV and V chords, but the same information is dotted through the improv course too. Out of interest, how much of improv module 2 have you watched so far? The questions are not a problem, that's why I'm here! 😎

Yeah great to see you Paula, thanks for coming! The terms I, IV, and V chord just tell you that each chord is built from the first, fourth or fifth degree of the scale. For example in the key of C, C is the I chord, F is the IV and G is the V (because if you count through the C scale - 1. C, 2. D, 3. E, 4. F, 5. G etc). All this tells you is the "root" - the note upon which the chord is built. But what about the actual type of chord itself? The C/F/G chord could be major, minor or any number of different types of chord depending on what other notes are used to fill it out. Blues uses a lot of (dominant) seventh chords. This means that the chord is made up of a root, third, fifth, and flat seven. This is a really "bluesy" chord because it creates tension between the major and minor. That's why the major pentatonic and the minor pentatonic both work over it. Confusingly - within the world of the blues - a blues using seventh chords will sometimes be called a "major" blues to contrast it with minor blues (which uses minor chords) even though it's unlikely you would hear a major chord. I hope that makes sense! You might also find the Music Theory course useful. I'm not sure I understand your second question, can you rephrase it?

@cuxolalob Yes the blues improv course teaches you the arpeggios for (dominant) seventh chords, the most common chords used in the blues. So you're playing the root, 3rd, 5th and flat 7th degrees of the scale. I hope this makes sense!

OK, so firstly an arpeggio is a chord broken into a sequence of notes. So a C major arpeggio is just three notes (C, E, G) because a C major chord consists of the notes C, E, and G. The major scale has seven notes (C, D, E, F, G, A, B). I hope this makes sense?

Hi Norbert, It really depends what you'd like to achieve. If you're keen to be a full tongue blocker, then the sooner the better. The best time to start is 10 years ago, the second best time is today! If it's just something you want to add to your playing a little, then it's really just up to you. The Tongue Blocking Course is suitable for all levels so feel free to give it a go. If it's not right for you at the moment, it will still be there when you feel ready 😎

Hi Brett, It's a good question because learning licks can be a useful way in to putting together your own solos. It's also true that listening to the legends is a wonderful way to get inside their heads. If you don't feel ready for the classic song studies, perhaps the thing to do is take my lessons on solos that I've written specifically for beginners and intermediates (you'll find them in the Solos & Licks section of the Blues School) and try to chop them up into individual licks which you can then work on memorising. That would be a sort of halfway house between the two. I'd also recommend trying to the Blues Improvisation Course which will encourage you to start creating your own licks using the methods I've used myself (and taught privately) for many years. As an intermediate, the course will hopefully suit you well. I like the idea of a lick library. Food for thought! Cheers, Liam

Thanks Norbert, I had not hesard of that app. I use a computer programme called Transcribe - https://www.seventhstring.com/xscribe/overview.html

Here you go - glad you prompted me to finally get round to it! https://www.learntheharmonica.com/free-pop-rock-tabs/he-ain't-heavy%2C-he's-my-brother

Hi Roger, thanks for your message. Somehow I've managed to lose the tabs! I have a free lesson on YouTube but can't seem to find the tabs on my computer. I'll add it to my to-do list!

Thanks so much Norbert, you made my day! Really glad you enjoy my lessons, and I wish you the best of luck 😎

Hey Paula, yes the eternal quest for perfect bends is a great one! Try module 2 of the bending course, it's all about getting those draw bends in tune and sounding great. Best of luck!