Blues jam tracks
Jam tracks created in the blues genre.
Suggested scales to play over the blues jam tracks are in general Pentatonic Blues, Minor Pentatonic and Major Pentatonic (see suggested scales with fingerboard diagrams a click away). It is possible to combine these as well.
Jam Track in A
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: A Blues (the pictured diagram shows a modified scale plan)
Instruments: Bass, organ, drums and rhythm guitar
Tempo: 65 BPM
Tips: Include F# and exclude G over the D7 chord; include G# plus B and exclude G plus A over the E7 chord
Chords included in the jam track: A7 - D7 - E7
Progression: A7 (4x bars) - D7 (2x) - A7 (2x) - E7 (1x) - D7 (1x) - A7 (1x) - E7 (turnaround) [4 times]
Jam Track in G Major
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: G Blues, G Pentatonic Major and Blues hybrid scale (the pictured diagram shows an F chord formation scale pattern)
Instruments: Bass, piano, drums and rhythm guitar
Tempo: 170 BPM
Chords included in the jam track: G - C - D
Progression: G (4x bars ) - C (2x) - G (2x) - D (2x) - G (x2) [10 times]
Jam Track in A Major
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: A Blues, A Pentatonic Major and Blues hybrid scale
Instruments: Bass, piano, drums and rhythm guitar
Tempo: 170 BPM
Chords included in the jam track: A - D - E
Progression: A (4x bars) - D (2x) - A (2x) - E (2x) - A (x2) [10 times]
Jam Track in A minor
Normal tempo (120 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: A Blues, Am Pentatonic, A Minor
Instruments: Bass, drums and rhythm guitar
Chords included in the jam track: Am, Dm, E7
Jam Track in F# minor
Normal tempo (120 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: F# Minor, F#m Pentatonic
Instruments: Bass, drums and rhythm guitar
Chords included in the jam track: F#m, Bm, C#7, D7, F#7
Jam Track in C# minor
Normal tempo (120 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: C# Blues, C#m Pentatonic, C# Minor
Instruments: Bass, drums and rhythm guitar
Chords included in the jam track: C#m, F#m, G#7, A7
Jam Track in C Major
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: C Blues (the pictured diagram shows an expanded scale pattern)
Instruments: Bass, piano, drums and rhythm guitar
Tempo: 90 BPM
Tips: Listen to the chord changes and use target notes such as A over F7 and B over G7
Chords included in the jam track: C7 - F7 - G7
Jam Track in A minor
Normal tempo (100 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: A minor, Am Pentatonic
Instruments: Bass, drums and rhythm guitar
Chords included in the jam track: Am - Dm - F - E
Jam Track in D major
Normal tempo (120 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: D Pentatonic (pictured diagram below in 9th position), Dm Pentatonic
Instruments: Bass, piano, drums and rhythm guitar
Chords included in the jam track: D - A - G - G7 - D7 - Bm
Jam Track in C Major
Normal tempo (60 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: C Blues
Instruments: Bass, piano, drums and rhythm guitar
Chords included in the jam track: C, F, G.
Jam Track in E Major
Normal tempo (90 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: E Blues
Instruments: Bass, piano, drums and rhythm guitar
Chords included in the jam track: E7 - A7 - B7 - F#m11 - B11 - F#m7 - B7sus4
Jam Track in E Minor
Normal tempo (120 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: E Minor, E Blues
Instruments: Bass, drums and rhythm guitar
Chords included in the jam track: Em - Am - B7 - C7 - E7
Jam Track in A
Normal tempo (120 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: A Blues (pictured diagram below shows two octaves)
Instruments: Bass, drums, organ and rhythm guitar
Chords included in the jam track: A - D - E
Jam Track in G
Normal tempo (130 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: G Pentatonic Major, G Dorian
Instruments: Bass, horns, drums and rhythm guitar
Chords included in the jam track: G7, C7, D7
Jam Track in A
Normal tempo (100 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: A Blues
Instruments: Bass and drums
Tips: Since there's no rhythm guitar in the track, chords and double stops could be integrated in the solo playing
Chords included in the jam track: N/A
Jam Track in C Minor
Normal tempo (120 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: C Blues, C Dorian
Instruments: Bass, harmonica, drums and rhythm guitar
Chords included in the jam track: Cm - Fm - Ab - G
Jam Track in D
Normal tempo (117 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: D Blues, D Dorian
Instruments: Bass, sax, drums and rhythm guitar
Chords included in the jam track: D - G - A - C - Dm7 - C#dim - E - Am7
Jam Track in A
Normal tempo (120 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: A Blues, A Pentatonic
Instruments: Bass, drums, organ, tambourine and rhythm guitar
Chords included in the jam track: A - E - D
Jam Track in G Major
Normal tempo (120 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: G Blues
Instruments: Bass and drums
Chords included in the jam track: N/A
Jam Track in C Major
Normal tempo (100 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: C Major Pentatonic
Instruments: Bass, piano, drums and rhythm guitar
Chords included in the jam track: C, F, G, Am
Jam Track in Eb Major
Normal tempo (65 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: Eb Pentatonic
Instruments: Bass, organ, drums and rhythm guitar
Chords included in the jam track: Eb, Bb, Ab, Adim, C, F, Fm, Cm, Gm, B
Jam Track in C Major
Normal tempo (75 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: C Pentatonic, C Blues
Instruments: Bass, piano, drums and rhythm guitar
Chords included in the jam track: C7 - F7 - G7 - E7 - Am - Dm
Jam Track in A Major
Normal tempo (140 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: A Blues
Instruments: Bass, drums and rhythm guitar
Chords included in the jam track: A - D - B5 - E
Jam Track in E Major
Normal tempo (60 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: Em Pentatonic, E Blues
Instruments: Bass, drums and rhythm guitar
Chords included in the jam track: E - A - B
Jam Track in F Major
Normal tempo (120 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: F Blues
Instruments: Bass, drums and rhythm guitar
Chords included in the jam track: F - Bb - G - C
Jam Track in F Major
Normal tempo (120 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: F Blues
Instruments: Bass, drums and rhythm guitar
Chords included in the jam track: F - C - Am - G - Bb - Dm
Jam Track in A
Normal tempo (165 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: A Pentatonic, A Blues
Instruments: Bass, drums and rhythm guitar
Chords included in the jam track: F#m - Bm - C# - A - D - E
Jam Track in A
Normal tempo (120 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: A Pentatonic, A Blues
Instruments: Bass, drums, organ, harmonica and rhythm guitar
Chords included in the jam track: A - D - E
Jam Track in E
Normal tempo (85 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: E Blues, E Dorian
Instruments: Bass, drums, and rhythm guitar
Chords included in the jam track: E7, A7, B7
Jam Track in C#m
Normal tempo (120 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: C#m Pentatonic, C# Blues
Instruments: Bass, drums, rhythm guitar and harmonica
Chords included in the jam track: C#m - F#m - G#7 - A7 - C#7
Jam Track in A
Normal tempo (90 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: A Blues
Instruments: Bass, drums, rhythm guitar and sax
Chords included in the jam track: A7- D7 - D#dim - E7 - F#m - D - Bm - E
Jam Track in G Minor
Normal tempo (65 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: Gm Pentatonic, G Minor, G Dorian
Instruments: Bass, drums, harmonica and rhythm guitar
Chords included in the jam track: Gm, Cm, Eb7, D7
Jam Track in A Major
Normal tempo (100 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: A Blues
Instruments: Bass, drums
Chords included in the jam track: A7 - D7 - E7
Normal tempo (130 BPM):
Suggested scales to play over the jam track: C Blues
Instruments: Drums
Chords included in the jam track: N/A
About using jam tracks
Backing tracks, or jam tracks, and lead guitar blues is a fantastic combination. This is one easy and very satisfying method to play blues without tons of experience. The jam tracks are music arrangements with various instruments but without a soloist guitar. You can be the soloist guitar by using the suggested scales. You must not limit yourself to the suggested scales, but if you don't know how to take upon the solos and lead playing, the scale can help you out. The approach is to use one of several scales and simply play along with the jam track. The rest is about creativity and the ability to create melodies and rhythm. These abilities will improve as you continue to play scales together with backing tracks. Don't focus all that much on fingerings, the risk is that you play scale patterns instead of "real" music. Try to play in the direction the tones lead you.
The suggested scales are considered the main alternative, but there are more choices that you can use to develop the richness of your playing. You can, for example, play certain scales over certain chords, which will give you more possibilities. One alternative scale for blues is the Mixolydian mode. The Mixolydian mode is not idealism for using over the whole track, but for over a specific chord. And here is one important area in lead playing: you are rewarded if you learn to hear the chord changes, which is necessary for shifting among scales during a jam track. It is absolutely normal, if you can't hear the chord changes. This is an area that takes time to develop. Try to listen carefully to the track while you playing and not only play random notes from the scale. In the end, you will start to hear when the chords are changing and in the next phase also which chords.
See also jam tracks with chord changes displayed in real-time:
12 bar blues in A (using extended scale)
12 bar blues in F (using Pentatonic minor and major together)