Your first solo (12-bar blues template)

You have got power chords (lesson 4), open chords (7), strumming (8), pentatonic shape 1 (10), bending (11), vibrato (12). Time to combine.

The backing

A 12-bar blues in A. Three chords: A7, D7, E7. The pattern (each row = 1 bar):

A7 | A7 | A7 | A7
D7 | D7 | A7 | A7
E7 | D7 | A7 | E7

Loop forever. Use the backing track below, search "12 bar blues in A backing track 80 bpm", or play any backing-track YouTube channel.

What you will solo over

A minor pentatonic, shape 1, at the 5th fret. (You learned this in lesson 10.)

All your notes should come from this shape, for now.

The phrase template

A great blues solo phrase has 3 parts:

1. Start: pluck a note in the scale.
2. Move: play 2 or 3 more notes from the scale, going up or down.
3. End: land on a long note and add vibrato (lesson 12), maybe bend it up first (lesson 11).

That is it. Repeat for 12 bars. Vary the start note. Try to land your "end" on the 1st beat of each new chord change.

Try it

20 minutes. Backing track looping. Do not think about "right notes." Every note in shape 1 sounds fine. Focus on phrasing: when you start, when you land. Listen to your own playing.

Most students need a week of doing this before it clicks. After it clicks, you will be soloing forever.

Next: putting it all together and what comes next.