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Easy way to harmonize a blues lead. Learn to harmonize when improvising – EP423

Description

In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to use basic chord shapes (that you already know) to create harmonized 3rds that you can use when you improvise blues lead or rhythm.

Part 1 - Free Guitar Lesson

Part 2 - For Premium Members

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Slow Walkthrough

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Video Tablature Breakdown

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Comments

  1. JohnStrat says

    July 23, 2021 at 7:10 pm

    Brian ,

    Your cookin with this one love it.

    JohnStrat

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    • jimbostrat says

      July 23, 2021 at 9:52 pm

      Hey, JohnStrat!! How’s jolly old England been treating you!!?? Hopefully things are gradually reopening again over there!! Jim C.

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      • Tim P says

        October 11, 2021 at 1:47 pm

        Got ya head right mate?

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  2. richard t says

    July 23, 2021 at 7:11 pm

    I needed a little help with this. Thank you.

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  3. JohnStrat says

    July 23, 2021 at 7:20 pm

    Looks to be a Gibson 175 that I don’t think we’ve seen before and a very nice one too, it sounds great. What vintage is she?

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    • Brian says

      July 23, 2021 at 8:26 pm

      1962

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      • MICHAEL C says

        July 24, 2021 at 3:05 pm

        Same vintage as me .. lol.. Looks and sounds great.

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  4. Gerald M says

    July 23, 2021 at 8:03 pm

    Brian, playing two notes is that called double stop?

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    • Brian says

      July 23, 2021 at 8:27 pm

      Yep!

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  5. Michael Allen says

    July 23, 2021 at 8:36 pm

    Sounds like fun! Thanks Brian

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  6. Drew D says

    July 23, 2021 at 8:58 pm

    Once again, Brian , you’ve outdone yourself. Simply excellent lesson.

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  7. Robert M says

    July 23, 2021 at 9:01 pm

    Wow I’m the first? Great lesson, I love it. I love that old blues vibe……with a dash of Chuck Berry!

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  8. parsonblue says

    July 23, 2021 at 9:07 pm

    I’m always on the hunt for great little riffs…and just the first bar of this tune is a winner! Thanks.

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  9. BRENDAN G says

    July 23, 2021 at 10:52 pm

    Love the lesson, can you teach that rhythm.

    Brendan

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    • Anthony L says

      July 24, 2021 at 12:34 am

      always the the tricky part!

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    • Phil G says

      July 24, 2021 at 2:29 pm

      Ditto Brian! Your teaching of the notes, double stops, 6th, 3rd, and chord pieces, and where everything comes from is excellent! I’m actually starting to “see” things. BUT, I always have serious problems with your timing. Things I would put on a beat, your putting off beat. Things would put on a 1 beat, you might put on a 4 or 4& of a previous measure, or 1&. Sometimes your 2, 4 beat notes I want to put on the 1 or 3 beat. I don’t know if you can teach timing? But it would sure be nice.

      phil

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  10. San Luis Rey says

    July 23, 2021 at 10:55 pm

    Love It Brian! Good to see the 175 again.

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  11. drutgat says

    July 24, 2021 at 3:01 am

    I loved this lesson, Brian.

    Extremely useful stuff, very well explained.

    Many thanks.

    One of those descending riffs is almost identical to the one John used for ‘Yer Blues’ – a chestnut.

    Thanks again.

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  12. Barry Marsden says

    July 24, 2021 at 4:55 am

    Brian, is it possible in the video tablature to turn of the lead track and just have the rythum track playing but see the lead tablature moving with the rythum?

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  13. Glenn W says

    July 24, 2021 at 6:11 am

    This is such a good lesson. Two years ago I wouldn’t have been able to follow the theory explanations but now I can and it really helps to be able to. But (and it’s a big but) I don’t practice enough to get my theory knowledge to become “instinctive” and I think this lesson will help me do that. I will be playing this one again and again. You really are one on the best tutors on the Internet by quite a margin and getting your lessons every Saturday morning (UK time) is always a good start to my day especially when it’s a good one like this.

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    • Daniel H says

      July 25, 2021 at 7:01 am

      What you said Glenn! .. Got the theory but practice needed to polish the recall and execution!

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  14. patmac says

    July 24, 2021 at 7:16 am

    Added this to my favorites within 5 seconds.

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  15. Malcolm M says

    July 24, 2021 at 8:03 am

    Great lesson Brian so many takeaways

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    • david h says

      February 3, 2022 at 2:27 pm

      Great lesson and very helpful. learning how to best use the video to my advantage with space repetition.

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  16. Dale C says

    July 24, 2021 at 8:07 am

    Thanks to lessons like this I’m Slowly getting it. Awesome lesson.

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  17. Darren F says

    July 24, 2021 at 8:54 am

    Just signed up and I really should have done this years ago. I totally agree with you on learning the mechanics (set pieces) I don’t believe you can teach how to improvise because good improvisation is about reacting to the moment, to the atmosphere the musicians (you are playing with) and the audience is creating and these pieces fly out then in a less calculated but spontaneous fashion. That’s what makes it exciting. Sometimes we impress ourselves and sometimes things can go wrong! When they do it’s good to have some anchor points to steady the ship and slip back into the main stream. I think you teach great Brian, you have a really friendly open approach and also make great sounds with great feeling. It’s a joy to learn from you. Many thanks. Darren

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  18. Jim M says

    July 24, 2021 at 9:00 am

    Always into expanding my journey into Triads (The sweet notes within the chord ). Thanks Brian.

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  19. KEVIN F says

    July 24, 2021 at 9:50 am

    Good lesson Brian. A good practical application of stuff that is the basic building blocks of The blues. Tying licks to chord shapes was one of my biggest quantum leap forward in playing guitar.

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  20. Raymond P says

    July 24, 2021 at 10:48 am

    Great lesson Brian I really appreciate the way you explain how you get your leads out of the cord shapes. It make everything so much easier to understand.

    Thanks
    Ray P

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  21. Steve M says

    July 24, 2021 at 11:32 am

    Very fun and useful lesson Brian!

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  22. Phil G says

    July 24, 2021 at 2:35 pm

    Really like this lesson!! Learning how, when, where, to use double stops is the thing I really want to work on. This lesson will definitely help me with that!

    phil

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  23. flamejob says

    July 24, 2021 at 6:52 pm

    This one is a winner, so many lovely little phrases to learn, thanks Brian.

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  24. Robert K says

    July 24, 2021 at 10:06 pm

    When you think of Howlin Wolf & guitar, you’re actually thinking of the great Hubert Sumlin.

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  25. Daniel H says

    July 25, 2021 at 5:46 am

    Please keep the lessons like this one coming! Awesome…Thank you for your teaching Brian!

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  26. Rafa says

    July 25, 2021 at 7:22 am

    Learning music theory without knowing the many ways to apply it and make real soulful music is not useful. And you always bring us so many awesome ways to apply theory and make real music.

    Always awesome to hear and watch your compositions and performance!

    Best wishes Brian!

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  27. RYAN S says

    July 25, 2021 at 9:52 am

    Great lesson! I’ve spent the last few weeks working on a few of your other e blues lessons. It really helps to see the same techniques used in a slightly different setting.

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  28. drlknstein says

    July 25, 2021 at 1:31 pm

    I know we not suppose to focus on the guitar… but that looks like the one you bought that was for slow hand…

    .and this is why you should keep repeating these concepts…, I just got the relative minor/6 chord thing..I’ve seen you teach it before but i finally got it..i carry a relative minor chart in my jam book..gonna add this note to it and try to remember to use it at the next jam..

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  29. brian-belsey says

    July 25, 2021 at 3:11 pm

    Another very interesting and useful lesson!

    The ES175 sounds and looks really good, but I hope you also still have the older one with the single P90, Brian!

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    • Brian says

      July 25, 2021 at 5:15 pm

      I do! You might be the only person that remembers that one 🙂

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      • JohnStrat says

        July 25, 2021 at 7:19 pm

        308, had that 125 jazz… was that is first appearance?
        Brian how does it compare to have the 125d does it obsolete the single pickup?

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  30. tonylolli says

    July 28, 2021 at 7:53 am

    A bit of reflection: When I first decided to take lessons, years ago, in 2009, I was lucky to find Dave Keller (davekeller.com), an award winning soul and blues musician. First meeting, he asked what I wanted to learn. I recall telling him I wanted to learn the same way the old blues men learned. I didn’t want to play Twinkle Twinkle and I didn’t want to learn to read music (I didn’t know about guitar TAB at that point). I studied with Dave for 5 years until I moved away. Shortly after that I found your website and was struck by your teaching style being so similar to Dave’s. It works for me and I appreciate your method.

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  31. Drannen L says

    July 28, 2021 at 7:08 pm

    love the video, do you have a lesson on playing over chords as expressed half way through part 2 lesson?

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  32. Paul S says

    July 29, 2021 at 5:54 am

    Love this lesson! I notice the Little Walter amp in the back. Do you ever use it and how do you like it? Paul S.

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  33. Greg H says

    July 29, 2021 at 12:17 pm

    It’s been a long wait for me but this lesson I can spend some time with. Not sure what my problem has been but haven’t been into the last dozen or so lessons. Glad to pick up my guitar again.

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  34. Tom D says

    July 30, 2021 at 1:40 am

    Hi Brian,

    It took me a while to get it all together, but I find that I am enjoying this style of playing a bit more than using single notes. This lesson and EP421 I nave enjoyed playing very much.

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  35. madams says

    July 30, 2021 at 8:51 pm

    Yay! An extra lesson for Premium Members! I feel special again 🙂

    Michael

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  36. TONY S says

    July 31, 2021 at 7:11 am

    Great lesson Brian.Picking up little gems (Light Bulb Moments).I dont sound like you but I can use all the different ideas during playing other things.Great lesson every week not had chance yet to investigate all your back catalogue its work in progress.

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  37. Joel F says

    August 2, 2021 at 12:34 pm

    Brian, I may eventually forget the sliding blues lick you showed us but I’ll for sure remember that Buddy Guy comment! Great lesson.

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  38. Bill B says

    August 13, 2021 at 8:35 pm

    Fantastic lesson here, Brian!

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  39. Roger C says

    August 23, 2021 at 9:03 am

    Great lesson. I particularly like the way you tie your ideas to the scale boxes and chord shapes. It definitely helps me take these licks with me and apply them in different keys. I would ignore the criticism, there is no better teacher in this style on line. Thanks again. Roger C

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  40. Gale Y says

    August 24, 2021 at 2:59 pm

    Thanks so much for this great lesson! I am working on applying these tricks and tips to E Blues everywhere I can.
    Would love to have the option of controlling the tempo of the practice track minus the guitar. The ‘up to speed’ minus guitar track is a little too fast and the slow version is a little too slow!
    Thanks again for all your great work and explanations 🙂

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    • Brian says

      August 24, 2021 at 4:12 pm

      you can always download the MP3 file and then play it in VLC Player (free app / software) it allow you to slowdown playback

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      • Gale Y says

        August 27, 2021 at 10:50 am

        Thanks again! downloaded VLC for Mac-That works

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  41. Lynne R says

    February 9, 2022 at 10:01 am

    Your comment at the end of part 2 about taking the E A E sequence and just playing variations against the backing track was very helpful. .
    I also found combining lessons 362 and 363 over the G backing track was an excellent way to inter weave these licks.
    I am focusing in depth on lessons like these instead of just bouncing around from one new thing to another and just skimming the surface . What seemed difficult in the past is now easier. Thank you for constantly repeating teaching points in your lessons ….this re-enforcement of ideas is very helpful. I am finally able to see the fretboard the way you do based around Caged chord shapes and then tiding these into pentatonic and scale shapes . You are a born teacher !

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