Description
For this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to use intervals and the 5 major scale positions to be able to improvise in any key – using this composition as a basic guide.
Part 1 - Free Guitar Lesson
Part 2 (Theory) - For Premium Members
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Slow Walkthrough
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Video Tablature Breakdown
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This is so cool Brian! I have noodled around with Spanish guitar since i first started at 10 years old. It just always sounded great to me. Thanks for this!
Mike
This is great ,love the explanations keep it going
Brian, I love the sound of Spanish guitar, but don’t know if any guitarists that specialize in that style. Who do you recommend?
Here’s three for the price of one. Paco De Lucia, Al Di Meola and John McLaughlin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjpwtLdy8lw
This is awesome. I’ve been waiting for you to do some Spanish style guitar for ages. More please
Nice one Brian. Will sound nice on a nylon string guitar as well.
Very cool: Spanish classical blues fusion with hints of Flamenco scales.
Yeah that
Wonderful! Thank you
I’m excited to learn an Easy Spanish Composition! Thanks Brian
Am I missing in the explanations how this is Spanish guitar? I mean, I hear it, but I don’t know what gives it that sound. Is it the chord progression? The mode?
That A7 chord that doesn’t belong in the key of F gives it the Spanish sound. It belongs to the D harmonic minor / A Phyrgian dominant key. I’ve been trying to figure it out for months (years?) and don’t want to give you bad information by misstating how these work. You are better off googling it and trying to make sense of it. The harmonic minor scale always seems to produce that Spanish sound.
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction! Brian – great work as always!
I think is D minor like sultans of swing !
Muchas Gracias Brian……
Brian,
I like this format. Thanks for tying everything together and reinforcing it. Can never get too much of this.
Best,
deece
what?? no castanets?? lol
gorgeous thank you xxx
Brian, Great lesson.Good for a change. Keep up the good work. Your the best teacher I know of. Dave
Nice lesson. I do like the theory you add to your lessons. I will admit that providing the theory in a separate video
has its advantage. It does not break up the continuity of the song. Sometime I do get a brain overload when too
much is add all at once. To be clear, I have been with you for many years because you do explain the theory with your lessons.
It would be nice to hear from other members.
AGREE!
Whoa! I agree! this is a great twist to the “normal” format! I’m still absorbing it all and playing with it, but I love this approach!
Fun lesson!
Thanks Brian
Agree, like this structure and especially how you are able to simplify the complexities of modes.
Nice lesson as usual Brian.
On the theory side I would see this more simply as being in D Minor, that is Aeolian mode of B flat. All the chords are still legit ( diatonic) and it is common for the V chord to be made a dominant 7 th. ie A7.
The Aeolian mode (natural minor mode) of Bb is G minor.
The A chord would be diminished.
The relative minor sacle of the key of F major is D minor which is why everything sounds so sweet.( Same notes, chords)
I would certainly agree the tonal center is definitely D minor though.
Thanks Jason. You are totally correct. My error.
Lovely Spanish style Brian, may I ask why the key of F and not Dminor
Lovely piece of music and great explanation of the theory behind it – thank you. Also not a bad idea to keep theory in the second half for those who want to follow the logic of the sounds in bit more depth. And of course if got me out looking at Cornell Dupree vids so that’s a bonus. 🙂
Absolutely Fantastic! What a Great song, and Informative lesson. Thanks Brian.
Excellent lesson.
Providing the theory in a separate video has much more advantage great format.
Thank you Brain. 🙂
Wow! Great lesson, love this style! I’ve really enjoyed a few of your other lessons that I would consider latin-flavored (EP205 and EP444) – this Spanish lesson is a nice addition to those!
Brian – would be excellent to see more like this! Perhaps an acoustic lesson for Afro-Cuban (Afro-Cuban All Stars, Compay Segundo, Pio Leiva, etc.) or Mexican (Lila Downs, Lhasa De Sela…)?
Good marketing move Brian. The gold you offer us is explaining the theory of how/why the song works. That skill is what sets you apart from everyone else. People should pay for it. The downside of this change is that very same skill is an amazing “hook” for new students. It certainly got me hooked on AM and I promptly subscribed… for three years now. On a separate note, I love the Spanish sound.
Another tour de force Brian. I would though be interested to hear why you didn’t choose to play it finger style on a nylon strung Spanish guitar? Surely this would be more in keeping with the feel and style of the piece?
Having the lesson split like this is so much better, it gets my vote. Nice one Brian.
I like this format a lot. Having the theory on a separate lesson like you did for this one was great. I hope to see this lesson format more in the future.
Thanks Brian
Ray P
Love it! I got a bit confused when G Dorian was mentioned but the Dorian note E was never played in that run. So really it was only G minor & G harmonic minor that were actually played. I know technically F major is G Dorian but if the sharp 6 is never played are you playing Dorian really? I guess if you don’t play E or Eb you’re playing both.
Been an AM Premium member for 2 years. REALLY like the separate lesson format. Doing the playing with the theory does get a little confusing and too much information for me at one time. Very much like the theory part of a lesson, as I use it other places. Having the separate theory lesson apart from the playing allows me to focus on one thing at a time. And I can have a cup of coffee rather than my guitar and focus only on the theory. Thanks, Brian!
This lesson’s theory part tied so many things together mentally for me that really opened the fret board up. I don’t if it was new format, or everything just clicked but thanks.
I adore this. It takes me to a Spanish courtyard eating tapas in the sun. More of the Spanish vibe please. Great lesson as always ✌🏻
Great lesson Brian as always. I was wondering if it would be possible to show chord diagrams with the tab? I sometimes think that if I just played through the chords alone first, the rest would fall into place a bit quicker. Anyone else have any thoughts and this?
did you watch the part 2 video? i put chord diagrams for each chord
Yes, I found that very useful, and it is the reason I made the comment. If it is possible I think that it would be helpful in future lessons if it was included within the tab. I realise the software may not lend its self to do it, but I thought I would ask the question.
A nice change of flavour Brian. Very refreshing.
It seems to me like it’s written in D Natural Minor with the A7 chord being coverd by the D Harmonic Minor scale to accommodate the C# (major 7th tone). A very common sound in Spanish music.
All the other chords are straight out of the D Aeolian chord family (same chords formed from the F major scale). The factt that the piece starts and finishes on the Dm chord tends the cement Dm as the tonal centre.
Hi Brian, thank you for the new course, l appreciate a lot.
I approve of the novelty of the format because, as said above, mixing practice and theory in the same video brings confusion and slows down the perception and understanding of the theme.
Thanks again.
Sorry, not my taste in music, and I love all varieties of music tool.
Anybody else notice that the chord structure is reminiscent of Hotel California?
Hi Brian,
I like this format a lot. Having the theory in one video without too much walkthrough is a lot more interesting for me. I don’t know if that plays as well for your subscription model but does work very well for subscribers. You can always go back to the walkthough video if there is a tricky part in the tab or maybe a fingering or picking tip, etc.
Just tagging along with some of the comments above….it helps me to learn the composition first then go through the theory. I retain more of the theory that way. Thanks again !
Dan
This is a bold idea for a lesson, and I really like it. Thanks…!
Thank you for laying the chords out in the second video.
Brian – Really like EP479, and ALL your lessons lately. Question — More a music question than a guitar question: Can you pinpoint what makes a Spanish melody so recognizedly Spanish? Asking more about the melody than the rhythm. Brian Burke
Love it. When I saw ” Spanish” I was expecting something Flamenco sounding (Which I love too). This reminds me more of a Spanish-y sounding classical guitar that a 70’s classic Rock group might have done.
Very good
Contacts or Lasik?
Not sure about this, or indeed several recent lessons, they seem to be drifting in no particular direction. and to be frank sound somewhat ordinary.
Would it be possible to get back on track with some jazz based chord structures with the huge variety of startling sounds to be derived from the type of chords used in jazz music
Hey Robin, I can see that you’ve been a site member since 2016 (thank you !) – but just thinking about the amount of lessons I’ve created in that time – I do one a week, so 52 a year x 6 = 312 full lessons (approximately). There is bound to be several in that many that you don’t like. I can’t bat 100 for every single person and do the best that I can with them each week. Maybe, the reason these last few seem “ordinary”, is because you’ve gotten better.
Now, if lots of people were complaining about the format, I would have to change direction, but can’t change everything that is working so well for one. Hope you understand.
Thanks Brian, maybe it’s just my current mood and I’ve certainly learn’t a lot since I joined and would never dream of leaving. Could be that I’ve been a bit seduced by the number of sites chucking out jazz chotds recently which seem to be a big and incomprehensible change from what I’ve been immersing myself in. Your productivity and teaching is amazing and I woulfd love to see it applied to this new (to me) mystical world of jazz chords. No offence meant by my comments, I think your site is amazing value, long may you continue !
Hi Brian , it sourds like Sultans of. Swing ! Isn’ t it ?
Thanks Brian to délivre this Nice song
I always wanted to learn how to play a Spanish-style arrangement. This is perfect! I still don’t know how you come up with these awesome compositions week after week! Your style of teaching is top-notch. Keep it up Brian!
Just back from holidaying and saw this: I think this format is great.
I really like having the more theoretic stuff kept more separate. I think it helps consolidate my understanding much more.
I don’t usually comment on lessons but be assured you’re doing a great job (if you didn’t know already!).
I like how you put the Theory lesson in the 2nd video this time. Another light bulb went off after you explained what goes through your head when creating these lessons. Love your teaching style!
Great lesson. Love the format.
Really enjoyed this, well maybe not REALLY enjoyed it. For me there was nothing simple about it – it was quite challenging, a little frustrating, and quite humbling. But I have learned a lot.
A great lesson and a beautiful piece of music. I have no idea how you manage to produce so many solo compositions week after week. But I’m glad you do. Thanks. Paul
It looks like Sultan of. Swing ?