Double Stop Blues: A Cool Blues Riff Using Doublestops

Double stops are one of the easiest ways to make your blues soloing sound bigger without adding any complexity to your fretting hand. You’re just playing two strings at the same time instead of one — two notes ringing together as a harmony.

This particular double stop pattern lives on the second and third strings at the 5th fret position, right in the heart of the A minor pentatonic scale. It’s Chuck Berry territory, and if you’ve ever listened to his solos, you’ve heard this sound a hundred times.

Where the Double Stops Live

The A minor pentatonic scale at the 5th position gives you all the raw material you need. Here’s the full scale so you can see where the double stop notes fit in context:

The double stops come from playing the second and third strings together. At the 5th fret, you’ve got C on the third string and E on the second — both notes from your A minor pentatonic. Then you stretch up to the 7th fret on the third string for a D. That stretch between the 5th and 7th frets is the key move.

The Technique

Start with your first finger barred or placed across both the second and third strings at the 5th fret. Pick both strings together — that’s your first double stop. Now here’s where the Chuck Berry flavor comes in: keep your first finger at the 5th fret on the second string, and stretch your third finger up to the 7th fret on the third string. Pick both strings again.

That back-and-forth between these two positions is the riff. It’s simple, but the stretch between the 5th and 7th frets takes some getting used to. Your fingers need to be independent enough that one stays planted while the other reaches. Don’t rush it — let each double stop ring out clearly before moving to the next one.

Why This Works for Blues

Double stops give you a thicker sound than single notes without the fullness of a complete chord. They sit right in that sweet spot — harmonically rich enough to fill space, but lean enough to work as a lead technique. You can use them as punctuation between single-note runs, or string a whole series of them together for a rhythm-lead hybrid approach.

The beauty of this particular pattern is that it stays inside the pentatonic scale, so it works over any A blues progression without thinking too hard about chord changes. Plant yourself at the 5th fret and go.

Building On This

Once you’ve got the basic double stop comfortable, try adding some vibrato to the notes — a little shake on both strings at the same time. That’s where it really starts to sing. You can also slide into the double stop from a fret below for a smoother entrance.

If you want to hear how these double stops fit into a complete solo, check out how the pentatonic scale positions map out across the neck. And for a different approach to two-note harmonies, the minor triad arpeggio shapes take this same concept further up the fretboard.

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