Now that you know the five CAGED major pentatonic shapes, let’s try using them in a standard 12-bar blues.

All solos use the same chord progression:
A | A | A | A |
D | D | A | A |
E | D | A | E ||

Solo 1 Transcription

Solo 1

A | A | A | A |
D | D | A | A |
E | D | A | E ||
  1. Watch the video
  2. Play along with the video
  3. Play along with the backing track, which plays many times
    1. Play the solo as written
    2. Embellish the written solo using major pentatonics and arpeggios
    3. Improvise your own ideas

Pattern 1

Solo 2 Transcription

Solo 2

A | A | A | A |
D | D | A | A |
E | D | A | E ||
  1. Watch the video
  2. Play along with the video
  3. Play along with the backing track, which plays many times
    1. Play the solo as written
    2. Embellish the written solo using major pentatonics and arpeggios
    3. Improvise your own ideas

Pattern 2

Solo 3 Transcription

Solo 3

A | A | A | A |
D | D | A | A |
E | D | A | E ||
  1. Watch the video
  2. Play along with the video
  3. Play along with the backing track, which plays many times
    1. Play the solo as written
    2. Embellish the written solo using major pentatonics and arpeggios
    3. Improvise your own ideas

Pattern 3

Solo 4 Transcription

Solo 4

A | A | A | A |
D | D | A | A |
E | D | A | E ||
  1. Watch the video
  2. Play along with the video
  3. Play along with the backing track, which plays many times
    1. Play the solo as written
    2. Embellish the written solo using major pentatonics and arpeggios
    3. Improvise your own ideas

Pattern 4

Solo 5 Transcription

Solo 5

A | A | A | A |
D | D | A | A |
E | D | A | E ||
  1. Watch the video
  2. Play along with the video
  3. Play along with the backing track, which plays many times
    1. Play the solo as written
    2. Embellish the written solo using major pentatonics and arpeggios
    3. Improvise your own ideas

Pattern 5

Solo 6 Transcription

Wrap Up

This final solo shows what you can do by combining pentatonic patterns across the neck. This doesn’t restrict you to just one position.

A | A | A | A |
D | D | A | A |
E | D | A | E ||
  1. Watch the video
  2. Play along with the video
  3. Play along with the backing track, which plays many times
    1. Play the solo as written
    2. Embellish the written solo using major pentatonics and arpeggios
    3. Improvise your own ideas

Pattern 5