One of the best ways to make a descending scale run sound musical instead of just like an exercise is to double back as you go down. Instead of running straight down the E blues scale, you drop a note or two and then bounce back up to a note above before continuing down. That little backtracking motion is what gives the phrase that flowing, unpredictable quality.
You can organize it as triplets, groups of four, groups of six, or just do it by feel and let your ear guide where you double back to. There's no one right pattern, and that's kind of the point. The same scale starts sounding completely different depending on how you sequence the notes.
It's one of those exercises that doubles as a real musical idea the moment you take it into a jam. Try it out.
? Join my Marty Music Community & surround yourself with other like-minded guitar players! Monthly membership includes livestreams with me & tons of premium content — you can even start for FREE! → https://www.martymusic.com/memberships
More Guitar Resources:
? Get my FREE Guitar Guide PDF—packed with chords, scales, triads, arpeggios, and more: https://www.martymusic.com/the-ultimate-guitar-guide-ebook
? More Guitar Lessons & FREE Courses: https://www.martymusic.com/free-courses
Follow me everywhere: https://linktr.ee/martyschwartz
?️ Come see me LIVE at one of my upcoming events: https://www.bandsintown.com/a/1364263-marty-schwartz
Check out the Epiphone Marty Schwartz ES-335 Guitar - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/xkQ6Zy
Free Boss Katana Patches - https://bosstoneexchange.com/creator/125b3da8-184c-48b5-83d8-cbcbe9a15807/?utm_source=share
My Favorite Guitar + Filming Gear at Sweetwater https://imp.i114863.net/e4A326
My Favorite Guitar + Filming Gear at Amazon https://www.amazon.com/shop/martymusic
Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. The link above is an affiliate link, that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission on.