Originally Posted by: SRVFan2000

My takeaway is that to my questions you are basically saying "YES- but it depends."[/quote][p]Right: it depends on the chords that are happening at the time that you are playing the scale lines.

Originally Posted by: SRVFan2000if it's a standard 12 bar (E) blues (index at 12 1st box penta) would I ever (would you ever) slide down 3 frets and play the same exact shape (1st penta) box shape starting at the 9th fret (C#/Db)?[/quote]

Yes, that's exactly what I mean in my earlier reply. You can play that & it works over the I chord because the scale contains some of the notes of the chord.

Alternately, it doesn't sound as integrated when you go to the IV chord because certain notes clash in a way that doesn't sound bluesy.

A7 (IV): a-c#-e-g

E major pentatonic: e-f#-g#-b-c#

The notes "e" and "c#" sound okay but that "g" from the A7 & the "g#" from the scale clash in a way that doesn't sound bluesy. And there is no "a" note.

But you can play it & emphasize the chord tones that are present. Or just add them.

And if you switch the the E minor pentatonic scale it matches more closely to get a bluesy sound.

A7 (IV): a-c#-e-g

play E minor pentatonic notes emphasizing chord tones: e-g-a-b-d

See how many notes are similar? The "c#" and "d" can clash a bit that's why you add the "c#" and emphasize the chord tones.

[quote=SRVFan2000]Since I know all 5 shapes well, I can play up and down the neck fwd and backwards. I can link them and also skip around.

That's great! Now you need to start thinking about targeting chord tones & playing melodic phrases.

[quote=SRVFan2000]The notes are not all the same when going from fret 12 E "MINOR" penta, then sliding down to C#. Different notes.

Right, but that also works sometimes because playing minor scale notes over major chords is a charactertistic sound of the blues.

Make sense?