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Learn to play blues guitar.

Old School, Instrumental Ballad – 7 ideas you can use when you improvise – Guitar Lesson – EP585

Description

In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play the lead over an old school, instrumental ballad. There are 7 ideas that I’ll call out during this lesson that you can use when you improvise.

Part 1 - Free Guitar Lesson

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Slow Walkthrough

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Comments

  3. Eric W says

    Agreed. Can’t wait to get started on this one. I’m going to push myself on this one to learn a backing rhythm and record it on my new ditto box. Then play Brian’s thing over the top. It will be pushing my abilities, but I know Brian can help me to get it down. You’ve changed everything about my playing since I became a member a couple of years ago. Thanks, Brian.

  4. Mike R says

    You have not done a real beautiful piece like this one in a while. Glad you did. I really like how you see only a couple notes out of a chord and use them in the melody. These older progressions drum up old memories. Music is fantastic for that feeling. Thanks for taking me back to the past. Nice gospel feel as well.

  8. Jeff H says

    As soon as I read the title for this week’s lesson, I knew I would like it. I was born at the right time, in 1955, so I experienced the great Instrumentals, Sleepwalk, Pipeline, Apache, Walk Don’t Run etc. , and I often listen to that music. The only Instrumentals that I can think of in later days, Brian are the Santana Instrumentals, although not the same style of course, but still great. It would be great if you could do an “In the style of the Shadows lesson” some time. Thanks Brian.

    • Steve G says

      Good list Jeff to which I’d like to add ‘Albatross’ by early Fleetwood Mac – not typical of their style but a great example of Peter Green virtuoso bluesy/soullful guitar. Thanks for bringing this stuff to us Brian

  12. Rick C says

    I LOVE melodies on the guitar… I’ve figured out a few… Crazy (Patsy Cline)… Wonderful World (Sam Cooke)… Moon River (Mancini)… Beatles.
    Lots of tunes! I can’t even remember them all at the moment. Hopefully this lesson will help me to add embellishments to them.

    This is a wild chord progression… I wonder how you come up with the complexity… ?!?!
    Learning what works over what is always a lesson. !!!
    (you gave us a great 1-4-5 CAGED Major workout in EP582… Is there a minor in the works? I bet there is :D).

    As always, THANKS Brian.

  14. Paul B says

    Great ballad. Your work and dedication to creating interesting, informative and original lessons is awesome and much appreciated.

    Speaking of ballads, I agree, nice to hear instrumentals from time to time. Can’t think of anything recent, but Ry Cooder always had few on his albums that were always so cool to listen to as a young adult. His Jazz album and Bop Till You Drop albums are my favorites and I loved hearing his instrumentals and its been cool to share them with my daughter (16) – timeless. Thanks again, Brian.

  19. William B says

    I’m interested in the construction of a ballad. The A part seems to follow the 1 chord. Does the B part usually start with the 4 chord and work its way back to the A part? Or can the B part start anywhere but the 1 chord? Great lesson!

  24. Steve says

    Thanks perfect song example, although fairly simple to play, it really illustrates how the 1,4,5 can be extended into more interesting places and is great caged triad practice.

    Another interesting idea to explore might be augmented chords, like V# to I as an alternative to dominant 7ths. Like many Beatles songs and Chuck Berry

    I’ve been getting a lot of inspiration from fellow YouTube music theory channel ‘David Bennett Piano’, (not specific to Piano).

  25. John C. says

    I love this. The Gospel Change at the end of the first part is so cool that I’ve built in into a whole bunch of improv jams against my library of blues backing tracks! Thanks Brian. I love the whole thing but I think it’s great how you often include little gems of riffs and sequences that can then be transferred to almost anything and included in other improvisations.

  26. James B says

    There was a band that came out of Athens, GA in the 1980s called Love Tractor. Check them out. Beautiful, all-instrumental music. They didn’t add any singing until later into their career, so if you look at their earlier music on-line, you will find lots of nice guitar melodies. They were peers of the band R.E.M., and though Love Tractor never became big like R.E.M., the bands toured together.

  28. Scott M says

    Brian! Another great lesson that I love. My playing is mostly by ear and I can quickly follow melodies by ear and play along with the lead/melody. Where I struggle is with chord progressions. I realized after this lesson and #582 that I spend more time trying to learn the chord progressions. In lesson #582, you displayed the progression shapes at beginning of video over the song, which helped me learn this quickly. I spend more time trying to find the section where you show the chord progressions in the video and have to re-queue. Would it be possible to display the chord progression similar to #582 at the start, or add the intended chord shapes to the tab pages at the bottom? You share the chord name, but not the shape or where you’re playing it in what position. I’m sure there are others like me that will appreciate this. Obviously, just a suggestion, but I love your videos so much and this would really help. Thanks again for the amazing lessons! I am such a better player thanks to you.

  29. MARTIN C says

    Mathematically, if you want to play an X6 triad, play an (X-1.5)m triad, which in turn happens to be an (X+1)9 triad, is that right?

    Examples:
    G6 = (G-1.5)m = Em = (G+1)9 = A9
    C6 = (C-1.5)m = Am = (C+1)9 = D9
    A6 = (A-1.5)m = F#m = (A+1)9 = B9

  31. Barry H says

    Very nice indeed. Brings to mind my all-time favourite instrumental ballad – Maria Elena, by Los Indios Tabajaras. It has some chordal similarities, and is a marvellous object lesson in phrasing and timing, as well as being simply gorgeous.

  37. augustbank says

    This reminds me of a song and tune I love called the Tennessee Waltz my mother used to hum way back when,
    I am English and in my very early days the radio was our main source of music. Patsy Cline etc.

  39. Bstrings says

    There was a beautiful instrumental I think it came out of the 1960’s by Chris Barber on Clarinet with a small guitar part.Its like a slow gypsy jazz.I forgot to mention the name (sorry) Petite Fleur

  40. Sanford E says

    Really great songs mentioned above so I’ll add my 2 cents- Statue Of A Fool by Ricky Van Shelton. I once heard a memorizing instrumental of this song featuring a steel guitar melody. Have searched and searched but can’t find the link. The guitars who backed up Ricky’s singing (especially the bridge) came to my mind first when you asked if anyone remembers a slow ballad like the one you wrote for EP585.

  41. Vegimite says

    Hi Brian,
    you were asking about instrumentals to play….how about Bill Doggets “Honky Tonk” I love that song.
    BTW I have learn’t so much from your lessons….keep up the great work. Paul …AUSTRALIA.

  47. David E says

    This is just great Brian. I don’t know how you do it ( well yes I do because you show us! One day I hope you can show us how you create the wonderful backing tracks that come with each lesson. What instruments you choose to use and why. I suppose I mean I want to understand your approach and thinking behind everything. You make it so interesting. Every lesson is a real joy. Thank you so much for your generosity. David E. from the UK.

  49. Dick S says

    Hey Brian,
    Absolutely great lesson, wish you would do more like it. I was fortunate to grow up in the 50’s and 60’s when the electric guitar was coming into its own and replacing the saxophone as a lead instrument. Duane Eddy, The Shadows, and all the great surf guitar music. Of course the downside of that is that now I’m old…haha.

  51. Timothy M says

    I really learned a lot from this lesson!

    The format, subdividing the lesson into key points, was very helpful.

    I haven’t tried the search bar yet, but do you have any lessons on 6’s and 9’s?

    Thanks!

  54. Leeor F says

    Loved this lesson Brian! I think lessons like this where you introduce a variety of ideas, licks in context, chordal movements/interplay, as opposed to just stating how a certain scale or arpeggio is played is most useful. Cheers!

  56. Jeff W says

    Love this stuff! Hank Marvin and “The Shadows” are a great source for more of this type of music! Check out, “The Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt”, a super fun tune to play! Great lesson Brian!

  60. David B says

    I figured I would be a blues guy until I’m done here on earth. but it looks like instrumental ballads might be coming for the tops spot. Brian it would be awesome if you had the time to do a follow up to EP105 and hit us with some more David Gilmore style. Thanks for doing what you do!

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