Active Melody

Learn to play blues guitar.

Solo using just 1 string! A great way to HEAR the intervals – Guitar Lesson EP579

Description

In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to hear the intervals of scales by using just 1 string for your entire lead. I’ll walk you through how to play Pentatonic and Dorian scales and basically find ANY scale using your ear.

Part 1 - Free Guitar Lesson

Part 2 - For Premium Members

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Slow Walkthrough - Rhythm

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Slow Walkthrough - Lead

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Video Tablature Breakdown

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Comments

  5. Mike R says

    Like the one string scale idea, which can be used on other strings also. The rhythmic chords are something that I can just sit around and play with too. I learn something every week from you and what seems simple at first has a way of actually sounding more and more sophisticated as I get better with it. Thanks

  7. Aj M says

    As a beginner (and feeling like drinking from a fire hose sometimes), in E Dorian (or any minor progression), do we still use the 1-4-5 structure? I ask because it seems like the chord progression (in the lesson) is not a 1-4-5. I assume (my thinking) in E Dorian the E minor is the 1, the A major (or A 7th) is the 4 and that the 5th s/b a “B”. You use the “D” in the lesson. Is that because the D is the 4th of A?

    And, I have yet to try it, but if I wanted a different minor sound, say E Aeolian, the 1 would be the E minor, the 4 would be the A minor, – then would the 5 be a D major? (thinking the 4th of the 4th again)?

    Apologies if I am completely lost – any help would be appreciated

    BTW – been a premium member for a few months now, and your site has paid for itself many times over already

    Thank you

    • Brian says

      Dorian is a minor sound (one of the minor modes)… don’t focus on the chords (or even the word Dorian) for this one, just try to hear the sound that is being made by those 7 notes. I figured out it was Dorian after the fact. I started improving with that sound first then thought about what was being played.

  8. Jeff H says

    This is really a “Two In One” lesson, because the Rhythm track is so good. Very interesting concept lesson, amazing that we can do all this on only one string, and sound so good. Thanks Brian for keeping us Inspired each week.

  13. Derek W says

    Looking forward to this lesson Brian. I’m stuck on a spanish style run on a song called Mexican girl by British band called Smokie., so I’m thinking it might be easier to do on one string, As always Brian you keep coming up with these great ideas for lesson and for a 75 year old it keeps the grey matter alive and kicking. Cheers

  14. Laurel C says

    Will never look at this string the same again. This is brilliant. Who would have thought these ideas and concepts would include Minor, Minor Pentatonic and Dorian mode scales, hammer on pull off slide technique for linear type work, Call & Response, BB King, triplets and swagger and swing just by taking the other 5 strings out of the equation to use just one string. It sounds so sophisticated and such a creative lesson objective. The rhythm also reminds me of Ep283, I think this percussive style is called Slap, Frail, Thump. Another bonus added to this lesson.

  17. Susan D says

    inspiring lesson, i am comfortable with the single string scale, makes more sense to me because i can make a tune up and that is a confidence boost. Making the rhythm track separately is also a big plus, this is a brilliant lesson for those who have been stuck at the beginner stage and still cant play anything. I really like this lesson, always good to get back to basics, i am going to try double stops to a rhythm track with the top 2 strings next and then triads with the top 3 strings. Hopefully oneday my muscle memory will kick in 🙂 Thank you Brian

  18. Wade O says

    Good day all!
    Brian, if I were you, I would refine Part 2 and post that to the masses. You will attract a completely new audience.
    I would also suggest a Mini Series “Improvisational Rythm” where right hand techniques were taught more (like the web nemesis, Neon) and then “ James Taylor” style left hand chording embellishments were explored.

    The brilliance of this Part 2 Lesson is not to be too precise. This pushes us, as students, to add, fill and hear other notes we want to use, etc as well as exploring other right hand techniques , slaps, pulls, arpeggiating chords etc. Note for note is great for why the chosen notes work but can also be restrictive as the student tends to rely on the tab and not the ear.

    In all your lessons, I have tried to learn by listening to what you play, then duplicating what I have heard. What you play gives the foundation then what I try to duplicate gives me the freedom to explore, by ear. Then I work on the note for note for the theory.

    Once again, Brilliant Lesson! Hope you will consider “Improvisation Rhythm” !
    Enjoy the Music! Wade

  20. David S says

    Just what I need Brian. I keep thinking lessons can’t get any better but they keep getting better each lesson.thanks to you and AM. Learning under your teaching is so much better. Thanks for all you do.Keep up the good work. Dave

  24. Paul N says

    Really good Brian. I found the Part 2 Lesson very interesting. “Improvisational Rythm” as Wade O described it, is a prefect description of what you seem to be doing. There is so much I feel I can do with that lesson. Also, that slap technique – where you can’t remember where you heard it before. Every technique, riff, etc. was played by someone the first time. Maybe this is your contribution! How cool would that be? Also that split screen on the Part 2 video is very helpful. Thanks!

  25. Patrick J. G says

    I agree with everybody Brian. This is a really good lesson , both parts. Pays to be a premium member. Love the slap, gotta have that ! Being able to play “ok” , I’m learning to play my feelings with my fingers. Not just going through the motions.

  26. Edmund S says

    Brian,
    You never cease to amaze me. Just as I begin to suffer burn out on a week;y lesson you come up with something that catches my ear presenting yet another trail to pursue. Since signing on with your lessons I have been playing with renewed vigor…..and I started playing guitar in 1955!! My mother insisted we pursue classical instruments. My youngest brother started on Violin, middle brother on Piano while I begged for Guitar. She did not let me pursue guitar until I brought home recordings of Andre Segovia and then reluctantly allowed me to pursue Classical Guitar…which led to folk…blues…Jazz. I was the only one of the 3 brothers who pursued an instrument for my lifetime. Never as a professional and with some breaks as a result of my chosen profession (electrical engineer).

    My body is beginning to fail me with neuro/muscular problems but staying active playing certainly helps me. Keep up your good work!

  28. Mark L says

    YES! This is a great and eye opening lesson.

    The one string approach really does help draw melody from both the pentatonic & dorian scales (although now and then I find myself giving into temptation and sneaking in the occasional double-stop).

    Do you by any chance have a lesson, or mini-lesson that focuses on your right-hand slap technique? After years of thrashing around with a flat-pick, I’ve become increasingly drawn to finger style playing. String percussion is going to be a great addition to my somewhat limited bag of tricks.

    Thanks again!

  29. Steve says

    Wonderful, two lessons in one. Can you do a lesson around Travis picking and similar to this video with different caged positions and maybe how to break out into fills or runs. Perhaps focusing on a specific pattern like that first allows one to improvise more later, like you did in this video.

  31. Steven C says

    Hi Brian,
    I just joined Active Melody and this lesson is a perfect example why.
    It’s straight forward in its presentation but really teaches some great improvisation concepts. When I’m finished I’ve learned concepts and patterns plus I have a new song that sounds great and I understand how to expand it.
    Glad I joined and look forward to learning a lot from you.
    Thanks,
    Steve

  33. michael f says

    10:37 “we are playing in E dorian mode”

    Really? Not to get in the weeds but aren’t we playing in A Dorian mode, the second mode of G major. The sixth mode of G major is E Aeolian, the E minor scale. the focus of this lesson.

  34. michael f says

    Steve P says “D major scale, same as E Dorian” . That would make Brian’s comment “we are playing in E dorian mode” true. based on the D major scale. That puts my previous comment to rest. We are also playing in the sixth mode of D major, B Aolian (minor): all same notes

  37. michael f says

    Can someone explain to me in part 2 why the Am7, B7, and F#7 work over E Dorian scale. I still hear the tonal center as E dorian but those three chords should all be opposite in terms of major or minor. Are they borrowed chords that still work over the E dorian scale?

  38. Stephen G says

    LOVE this lesson Brian. Improvising has been very difficult for me. I can never sting anything together that sounds natural. I always seem to just play the scale. This helps a lot. A thought for a future lessons would be to add the B string (improvising on two strings). And then sometime after that, add the G string (improvising on three strings) and so on. I feel that this lesson has given me a foundation that I can build on. Thank you!

  40. Pierre B says

    Hi Brian,

    Great two-part lesson. The percussive rhythm in Part 2 also works well as a looper lesson. Without the percussive part, my two-chord progressions in the looper pedal were lifeless. My Boss RC-1 looper pedal is back on my pedalboard!

    Pierre

  41. John R says

    I agree with all the comments praising this great lesson. Also appreciated the rhythm break out. For more practice on my minor scales, I used this backing track to review the material on lesson EP542, “How to Hear and Use the Minor Scales on Guitar.” In addition to being good fun, it was also interesting to see what worked (and what didn’t) on the four modes provided in that lesson. Thanks for all the great content, Brian!

  43. Mike H says

    I could play that all day long, with a friend and I have. Never thought of throwing the D chord in there though. I always thought of it as just a single note or Em7 maybe. [insert lightbulb]

  44. Bob C says

    Brian, This is a great lesson. Funny, when I first started watching, I had thought, “Well, OK”.. but as I watched, and messed with it, it struck me what a valuable thing having these intervals down on one string actually is.. because those interval distances will ALWAYS be those interval distances.. and that concept kind of gets lost in the block scale pattern matrix memorization. I hope I’m expressing this correctly..
    anyway
    Thanks
    Super great lesson

  46. Tom B says

    Hi Brian,
    I really like this lesson. It really helps how you give us the in between insights and ideas that add to our guitar acumen. It is very cool to learn these techniques. I am learning more about playing guitar than I have learned in years. Keep up the great work!

  47. Chuck W says

    I have searched the web for courses on Fingerstyle guitar lessons. By far this is the best I have found. I would like to see more Clapton unplugged songs on this site. I understand that you are trying to get us to think thru the music instead of just remembering tabs.

    Which I really appreciate!

  49. Peter R says

    I took my one string guitar out of the closet for this one. Very useful ear practice. One of those things I did not realise I needed untill you created it. I also liked the improvised finger style percussion. Can you do a future lesson on that? I love the sound of the bass, rhythm combined with the melody and embellishments. It is one of the most magical things you can do with a guitar I think, mimic an entire band.

  50. Mark L says

    Brian,
    This is a great concept. Thank you. I am new to the guitar. Recently, I have turned my focus to trying to play more laterally, and on fewer strings, so this is right on time for me. Your particular arrangement seems to have a Carlos Santana vibe to it.

  51. Lawrence B says

    Great lesson… to my ear.. the “inconsistencies” of the picking on the rhythm track is really the beauty of the thing. To me they sound quite intentional progression… it’s what holds this listners interest!

    I’ve tried my hand at many picking styles but i always come back to my own style which is groove based ordered randomnes.
    I use a lot of thumb slap with alternating index & middle finger pull offs to add melody…
    I probably picked it up listining to so many bass players when i was a frelance sound guy back in my youth!
    I now play with a bass player all the time but I’m still wanting that boom-chick-a-boom sound of trap or percussion kit.

  52. George H says

    Need more lessons like this, no need to be so slick all the time, just put it together, I learned more here on this lesson on so short of time, to me I look at it as learning horizontally and I can apply it vertically, a good lesson, got a mode down, a scale down ‘pat’
    Thanks Brian

  55. Bruce G says

    Love this lesson. In fact, I kind of wish the pentatonic scale had been first introduced to me THIS way rather than just “pattern 1″…. I feel like this is a musical introduction to the pentatonic scale—rather than just the mechanics.

    Love the rhythm portion too. The fact that it isn’t “perfect” is a great example of just making music.

    Thanks Brian!

  56. CHRISTOPHER G says

    Thanks so much Brian.
    I do think that you could definitely develop the part 2 video on rhythm into a full lesson – so much in there. I struggle with the rhythm and slap and would definitely benefit from some help in that area.

  58. Pierre L says

    Even if it’s not what your site is about, I’d love to see more Rhythm lessons like this one. It could be in the ‘For Premium Members’ part as it is here. I haven’t practiced rhythm in a long time and it’s a blast. I’m struggling with it but it sounds great even with mistakes.

  59. Tim Moran says

    This is great, and I assume you can do this on any one of the strings…although I guess it wouldn’t work as well on the bass strings. it does help to understand the intervals, which I really need. I just acquired a resonator, and I tuned it to open G, and this gives me something to play with when I get tired of figuring out how to play slide….

  61. Bob B says

    This is a fascinating lessson – I can’t believe your output Brian, it’s awesome how you come up with something different each week. I’ve been, as a lot of us do,
    I guess, wandering from pattern to pattern to scale and fretboard position etc and still not quite getting a grip on easily moving from one to another. I’m amazed at what can be done with just one string.

  62. kenneth h says

    Love this lesson Brian! – I’ve been a “beginner” for years and often feel stuck in a rut , never making progress.

    Guess I’m too often “drinking from the fire hose” as you say, but this has really motivated me, as it’s really easy to master and so satisfying!

    Thanks for the inspiration!

  67. JoLa says

    Haha, I had a good laugh watching Part 2 where you tried to explain the percussive rhythm! 🤣😂🤣😂

    I guess you did something right because I learned that percussive style playing from you years ago (EP187) and it just became automatic ever since. I agree, it is harder to explain it note for note than it really is to play, haha! 😉

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