The secret to mixing major and minor scales

Here's the key to mixing major and minor pentatonic!

In a 12 bar blues;

• play major pentatonic on the 1 chord
• play minor pentatonic on the 4 and 5 chord
• better still - do the above but play notes from the dominant 7 arpeggio of the 5 chord over the 5 chord!

The key is knowing whether the major 3rd or the minor 3rd works in any given musical situation or chord progression. This can be done through knowledge of arpeggios and eliminating any semitone clashes (aka bum notes) or having a good instinct for this through ear training and interval knowledge.

Here are three tips for those of you that still struggle with this concept

1. If you’re ever on a note that sounds wrong - just bend it a fret! This will ALWAYS turn a wrong note into a right note
2. A great trick is to side from minor 3rd to man 3rd e.g. Hound Dog 1st solo
3. Other great examples include solos from Highway to Hell, Sunshine Of Your Love and Rockin' All Over The World