First, we will compare the most common scales played over an Am chord: We’ll start in A, which is probably where most guitarists learned their first scale. BB King would use this scale a lot over a minor blues, and that one note is very important in establishing tension and resolution so common in the blues. This gives this scale an exotic sound which we hear all the time in neo-classical metal, but it is at home in the blues too. The harmonic minor scale is a regular ol’ natural minor scale with one exception: the 7 th note is sharped. And you won’t have to turn your spiked strap in for a fedora and bowling shirt either. Adding the harmonic minor scale to these phrases will add some sophistication to our blues playing, and when we understand when it’s appropriate to use it, it can really turn some heads at the gig. We know that blues phrases are some of the earliest soloing patterns we learn on guitar, and with good reason: they sound good, people tell us we sound good playing them, and that makes us feel great.
Now the harmonic minor scale has been associated with guitarists like Ritchie Blackmore and Yngwie Malmsteen, who no doubt possess some great bluesy phrasing, but are pretty different from the blues guitarists that influenced them.
This doesn’t mean we can’t learn from ‘old guys’ and the simplicity of playing fewer notes with feeling and the right tone. The blues has been slowly disappearing as an element of modern rock and metal for over two decades.
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