Active Melody

Learn to play blues guitar.

1 Note changes everything! The Major Pentatonic scale + 1 note sounds amazing! Guitar Lesson – EP614

Description

In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn a bluesy lead that is based on the major and minor pentatonic scales for the key of the song (A), however, by adding 1 note to the Pentatonic, you’ll give it a more sophisticated sound.

Part 1 - Free Guitar Lesson

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Slow Walkthrough

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Comments

    • Peter M says

      I love this lesson. Thanks Brian. I just turned 77 and months ago had spine surgery followed by 6 consecutive heart attacks and heart surgery (4 stents). I’m retired now (UCLA) and your music has kept me going. I was born completely deaf in my right ear and now have hearing loss in my left ear due to Meneire’s syndrome. Yet I still find time to follow your lessons. When I can’t play, I listen. I’m writing articles for LAProgressive https://www.laprogressive.com/author/peter-mclaren
      I always look forward to Fridays to see what gems you have in store for us. They are a reprieve from a world on fire. Peter McLaren

  4. San Luis Rey says

    Wow! This is a 4th of July Blast! One of the best you’ve written Brian. Just starting this one and can’t get through it all because it just wants to take me all over the board improvising and enjoying the sound of an extra note.

  5. Ralph P. says

    Very classy jazzy and bluesy composition. Love those extra color notes that you added. Really dresses up the Maj. Pent. Scale and keeps things from sounding cliche. Perfect Humbucker tone too.

  8. Mike R says

    Another great sounding lesson that will be a lot of fun to play. Lots of good licks to steal and it’s hard to beat that maj 7 sound, especially when mixed with other colorful sounds like the diminished 7th and the secondary dominates. Reminds me of some of your older jazz blues tunes. I like where your ear takes you and hope that I can pick up on some of this myself. I always appreciate these types of beautiful progressions and solo’s. Lot’s to learn here.

  10. Helen Lazaridou says

    My dearest teacher ❤️ 💖 Please don’t do this to me!!!Now that I’ve decided to focus on the acoustic ,you go and create absolutely loveable melodies on the electric 🤩🤩What should I do??😍😍

  12. Jeffrey S says

    I was feeling like this is bit too much until you talked about taking one little part of it and working that. I. know you talk about that frequently but something about the way you communicated this time got through to me. Please keep going Brian we need you.

  14. Rick B says

    Brian – I wanna say this is your best solo so far. Like someone else said….it sounds sophisticated and difficult, but with you explaining…it all makes sense and falls into place. Thank you for this Independence Day gift!

  16. Torquil O says

    Thanks Brian. At about 17:30 you continue to discuss playing a pattern over a chord shape. I help (and confuse:) myself with this major pattern mnemonic; GEDCA (high school diploma in California.) G shape is major pentatonic pattern 1 E is pattern 2 etc. Minor is one pattern lower(G is minor pattern 5 etc) I’m sure you could explain it better. Thanks for all your wonderful melodic lessons!

  21. Raymond P says

    Another great and unique lesson. I have to say, you are truly gifted with the ability to take a basic chord shape, a Pentatonic scale or a part of the CAGED system and break them down into digestible pieces so we can view them from a different perspective and better understand them and how we can use them in a creative way. I can’t thank you enough Brian.

  23. Bruce G says

    another great lesson— have been working more on my “ear” over the lessons in the past few months. Your emphasis on hearing where you want to go next and compelled me to do so, and I find myself listening to music to identify the intervals…I now hear all of those SUS chords, etc. Lots more to do!

    By the way, the tab printout show the F#Dim7 as F Dim7—at least that’s how it printed out on the pdf…

    Thanks Brian!

  24. Jerry P says

    While I was listening to you play this, my wife said what is that, it’s beautiful. Said it sounded like something out of the 40s or 50s. I agree . Prettiest song you have written. Thanks.

  27. Jeff T says

    I haven’t left the music room in weeks! I love the chord progression in this and of course the 1 mote! But I’m also trying to keep up with the Ragtime chords and licks, and before that, also the Funky Dorian chords and licks, and my goodness… I’ve GOT BLISTERS ON MY FINGERS… I must do better… i must …..

    But seriously Brian, I love your method of teaching. I’ve learned a lot in the year I’ve been subscribing. I wish I’d found you 50 years ago 🙂 What a great journey music is! Thanks so much !

  29. Klaus G says

    At the first hearing of this lesson I thought: ui thats too difficult and too fast for me. I will skip this.
    But then I realised that playing slowly I can manage.
    It sounds great even without jam track.
    And I can at last find my way into improvising after 60 Years of most classic playing.
    I am in dept to you Brian
    Perhaps you can also give a similiar lesson of my favorite ML100 and explain where the notes and chordes come from.
    Greetings Klaus

  30. Mark O says

    Brian does an excellent job of explaining musical concepts and ideas, and is helping me to understand how to put my knowledge of musical theory into practice. You are not simply learning a song. Each of his lessons contain several helpful tips and ideas that you can pick up if you listen carefully to what Brian is saying. For example, there are no hard and fast rules where it comes to playing scales. You can add elements/other notes to a scale you may be using to give it added flavor. You can switch to another scale for a bar, use part of that scale, then return to your main scale (Ex: From jazz to blues and back to jazz). Use chromatics, arpeggios and octaves to make your solo sound more interesting. Take a breath using pauses to create space. Notice Brian’s use of slides, bends, vibrato, hammer ons and pull offs. All of these techniques can take a bunch of notes and transform the equivalent of plain white bread into focaccia or a diablo pizza. Or something like that. So, don’t look at each lesson like just, “Here’s another song to learn.” The licks are a bonus to cop and use forever. But pay close attention to the mini-lessons within the lesson and Brian will have you making music of your own using his ideas! Thanks, Brian!

  31. peter v says

    great Brian! I like it,and Itried to use the major7 cord in piece 004/005 .In bar 2 it .fits perfekt.In part 2 you uses it anyhow .
    by the way:can you do more songs like 004/005. But do whatever you want, its always helpfull.You taught me a lot.Thanks!!!!
    Have a good time

    peter

  36. Jay F says

    Awesome lesson Brian!……..I especially appreciate the sequence going from the 5th of the chord you are going to as a transition to that chord…..and the use of the harmonized 6ths….
    Thanks!

  39. Steve says

    Sounds very sophisticated but stays straightforward all the way through, very good explanation. I like the variation in sound between the sweet major and the minor pentatonic and relative minor, a lot of experience in here to learn from.

  44. Daniel M says

    Thanks so much for this lesson, Brian. It was great learning how to effectively use the Maj 7th note. I have built your amazing 5 part caged system lessons (which created a major shift in my playing) into my practice routine, which uses the Major 7 chords, so it was great see that come alive in this lesson. Use of the Maj 7th note in this particular lesson was definitely an ‘aha’ moment for me.

  47. hankunck@gmail.com says

    Very nice relaxing composition, Brian. It sounds more complicated to play than it is, because there are nuances that you imparted, even subconsciously I’m sure, that makes it uniquely yours. By using the excellent music pdf and instruction that you provide, it’s possible to learn to play a reasonable copy of it, but neither sheet music, nor tab, show the nuances that the person playin imparts, and what makes it flow with feeling.

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