Once you’ve got a pentatonic scale under your fingers and you’re starting to build phrases with it, the next step in your guitar solo lessons is adding color. Chromatic passing tones are notes that don’t technically belong to the scale but sound fantastic when you use them to connect the notes that do. This is the third lesson in the Improvising series — if you haven’t checked out Improvising the Scale and Improvising the Riffs, those lay the groundwork for what we’re doing here.

What Are Chromatic Passing Tones?

A chromatic passing tone is a note that sits between two scale notes — one fret apart from each. You play through it on your way from one scale tone to the next. It adds tension and release, a bit of blues grit, and the kind of character that makes a solo sound like it has personality instead of just running a pattern.

The important rule: you pass through these notes, you don’t end on them. They’re connectors, not destinations. End a phrase on a chromatic note and it’ll sound like a wrong note. Pass through it on your way somewhere, and it sounds intentional and slick. For a closer look at how this connects to the fretboard, see blues scale.

Three Chromatic Passing Tones in the B Minor Pentatonic

Working in the B minor pentatonic scale at the 7th fret, there are three chromatic passing tones that get the most mileage:

Here’s the B minor pentatonic scale for reference:

The three chromatic passing tones to add:

• Between the 4th and 5th — This is the classic blues note. Slide or hammer through it and you’ll recognize it instantly from hundreds of blues and rock solos.
• Between the flat 7th and root — Creates a smooth chromatic walk-up into the tonic. Very satisfying for resolving phrases.
• Between the minor 3rd and 4th — Another common passing tone that adds movement in the middle of the scale.

How to Work Them Into Your Playing

Start with one passing tone at a time. Take a riff you already know in the pentatonic scale and look for spots where two scale notes are two frets apart — that’s where a chromatic passing tone can fit. Slide through the note in between, or hammer on to it and pull off to the scale note.

The beauty of this approach is that you’re not learning a new scale. You’re adding three extra notes to a scale you already know, and you’re using them as spice rather than main ingredients. A little goes a long way.

Rhythm Matters More Than Note Choice

One thing Colin stresses is that rhythm matters more than note choice when using passing tones. A chromatic note played on a strong beat will sound like a wrong note. The same chromatic note played as a quick passing tone on an offbeat sounds intentional and musical. Think of these notes as connectors — they are the hallways between rooms, not the rooms themselves. Slide through them, hammer into them, use them to create momentum, but do not land on them. Once you internalize that rhythmic principle, adding chromatic color becomes second nature.

The Connection to Blues Scale

You don’t need to read music to work with chromatic passing tones. You just need to know your scale pattern, know where the passing notes sit relative to it, and start experimenting. Play them over a backing track, try different rhythms, and trust your ear. You’ll hear pretty quickly which combinations sound good and which ones you want to reach for again.

These three passing tones will show up in thousands of solos you’ve been listening to your whole life. Now you know what they are and where they live on the neck.