Description
In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn a slow and (easy to play) soulful lead that incorporates blues and country licks over a fun jam track.
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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Michael Allen says
Nice, slow, easy and beautiful. Thanks Brian
satellite says
473…note that number. Another AM classic. Excellent lesson Brian, many thanks again.
Jim M says
Sweet emotional licks Brian.
Garry says
I agree with Satellite Brian, this will be another must learn classic! 🥸🎸🥸
Martin P says
Love it l ❤️
Mark N says
I love those little double stops and hammer ons. Reminds me slightly of stuff that John Mayer does regularly and it works really well. Less about scales and more about the chord tones and shapes on the higher strings.
Barry S says
excellent
Mitchell G says
My favorite lesson to date!Keep them coming Brian!
San Luis Rey says
I don’t remember a 1-5-6 1-5-4 progression in any past lessons but it sounds awesome! I don’t remember the green strat either but the memory ain’t what it used to be. The tone must be from a secret Kemper setting which is equally awesome. Many thanks Brian!
Ronald M says
More of this!
AndersDejenfelt says
I love this song! I mean the melody and the vibe. This is a favorite also because you show how it’s all done!
PJR says
Excellent. Thanks again Brian.
Derek W says
Hi Brian. I’m on holiday and wasn’t able to learn last weeks lesson. However, got up early this morning and had a look at this weeks lesson, for me it’s the best so far because ( after building on previous lessons) I’m beginning to understand the structure of the chords/voiceings. Can’t wait to get gone on Monday and try this one out. As ever great lessons, cheers Derek
brian-belsey says
A very attractive composition, melodically beautiful.
The Danocaster sounds and looks great. It would be very interesting if you would comment sometime, Brian, on how you see the differences in sound and feel between this and your 65 and Custom Shop Strats.
Robert M says
I thought this one was the Jeff Beck Strat?
brian-belsey says
Brian donated a guitar in a prize draw some while back and I think this was a Jeff Beck Strat, won by a site member.
Andre H says
Yes! I have the Jeff Beck strat guys!!
brian-belsey says
I was very envious, Andre! It’s sounding really good in your hands.
Ben says
Hi Brian, yeah, I’d also really appreciate having some tech tips. Could you add some info to your lessons as to which amp or which plugin in your software you used when you recorded the lesson?
And YES, your melodies are what sets you apart. Great little licks.
Dennis O says
Beautiful melody. I really like the ability to slow down the tempo and repeat the phrase. It has helped me significantly. Your built a great program!
Jeff H says
Another Great Lesson and Composition, has a Great Feel to it. Thanks Brian
charjo says
Oh my goodness! Minor pedal steel licks? How do you continue to show me new things after 6 years?
John
Malcolm D says
Big thank you for a excellent lesson yet again Brain.
Malcolm..
Dale G says
Thanks for another great lesson.! Love the chord progression as well as lead part with steel parts mixed in. Very awesome as well as timing that’s not crazy fast to keep up with. Very relaxing to learn and play. Definitely goes to the favorites queue! Still amazed how you can keep cranking these lessons out!
Joe N says
HI Brian
Excellent composition and lesson. Well done.
KIRK E says
Really like this one. I like em all, but this is one of my favorites. Thanks
Raymond P says
Great lesson Bian. I enjoyed the pedal steel licks too.
Thanks
Ray
Alan K says
Fantastic lesson and tune with so reinforcements and take aways. Another great guitar. How do you choose which to play.
David D says
Just beautiful. Easy is relative. Getting clean pitch on those double bends is challenging for me, but oh man when I get it, it’s going to add a lot to my playing. You see Brian is tricky.
Daniel H says
Great lesson. The note bending and pedal steel licks are a technique I have been striving to learn. I like how you break them into manageable bites to teach them.
I have been listening recently to Tab Benoit (a Bayou blues player) and he uses this technique a lot… and it sounds so cool in the blues.
Many thanks Brian!
FergalT says
Love this.
Am I crazy or do I hear a Ry Cooder vibe here?
David S says
Brian, Not getting sound slice for some reason. Thanks Dave
Brian says
hmmm – maybe try it again? could be that the soundslice server was down temporarily – if it still isn’t working, you might try clearing browser cache
David S says
Thanks Brian, OK now
Eric K says
Fantastic! It has a country-ish Mark Knopfler feel to it. I love how you keep things fresh with different styles form week to week.
John Tillis Jr. says
dont you meen the 1 and the 5? E and B and the B using the [A] shape.??
Andre H says
Excellent lesson. Learning it now. Love the minor pedal steel licks. New for me. Brian as a side lesson: maybe do some videos how you record the backing tracks? I am interested to learn more about this.
Shelton C says
Note choices and tone are very Mark Knopfler-y!
Brian F says
Cheers Brian great stuff playing every day now thanks from Ireland 🇮🇪!!! Brian
Will G says
My goodness. A beautifully crafted composition and all with your amazing touch. Great lesson.
Ken S says
Really nice sound Brian. Any chance that you might let us know what amp settings you use on your electric lessons?
Cheers from Australia
dodgeuniversity says
Sweet, Brian!
Barry H says
Neat Brian LOVE IT. I’m to be able to loop the tabviewer!!!!!!!!!!
Enjoying the English sunshine
Dan S says
ANY Chance we could get a backup audio using just one chord, like you did in the 471 lesson ? It would be a good way of learning the different sounds and patterns within just one chord.
I suppose there’s such a thing out there on the internet somewhere and I admit I’m a little slow to catch on. These would be great great to have. Maybe do a bunch of them.
Dan
Adam W says
The backing track reminds me of Beast of Burden
Ron L says
Really enjoying this melodic lesson. It sounds great and is fun to learn. Thanks.
Michael R says
Errh. Danocaster guitars closed down this week.
William H says
I think Danocaster had 4 guitars for sale today 8/6/22. You can sign up for their emails and they’ll let you know when some come available. $3500/ea regardless of what type of guitar. FYI
dbaldassini@att.net says
Brian, what gage strings are you using? I typically use 10″s. Bending up a full step on those double stops can be tough.
Brian says
pretty much always 10 gauge on electric. you can do it!
Mike H says
Hi Brian, (and the Bald Assassin)
I was a 10er too until I watched Rick Beato and Rhett Shull do a comparison between all the gauges. Counter-intuitively it turns out that 8s and 9s sound just as good as the heavier gauges for the most part… A light went on, or to use your much loved oxymoron, Brian, “a light bulb went off” :-). So I put on a set of 9s…OMG as the young folks say, I won’t be going back any time soon. Everything is easier and I need all the help I can get. My advice to anyone struggling with those bends is just go to lighter strings. Unless you play for a living and have developed the required muscle strength, bends can be hard on your hands and rob you of the pleasure of a well executed pedal steel lick :-). I really enjoyed this lesson and got a couple of super useful tips, thanks.
PS. Now Brian, about this “light bulbs going off” thing of yours :-). My English teacher would have frowned at me and said, “Michael, you are mixing your metaphors! (apparently this is heinous crime to English teachers) A light bulb goes on to illuminate a situation, thus giving clarity of vision. A light bulb going off leaves nothing but darkness.” I suspect you are mixing the “light bulb”, metaphor with the “bomb going off”, metaphor. When a bomb goes off it reorganizes reality. When we use the metaphor” A bomb went off” we mean that everything about our understanding of a situation has now been re-ordered, usually in a good way. Thus, I suspect you have mixed the two metaphors, taking the first part of one and adding the second part of the other. But if you think about it – What you are saying is not what you mean. So, from now on you can say, ” a light bulb moment, or ” a light bulb went on”, but never say a light bulb went off (Unless of course, that’s what you mean 🙂 )
Sorry, I just had to get that off my chest. I can probably stop the counseling now – whew, back to playing guitar at last.
PPS. Did you buy a new house? The new layout looks great and I’m loving the stack of vinyl.
Mike
dbaldassini@att.net says
Thanks Mike for the input. I’m going to try some 9’s on my Strat. I like the feel of Ten’s, but pending to get that pedal steel sound is difficult for me. I’d admire Brian for being to pull that off. It’s not easy to do
Jonathan Amos says
Have you checked the action on your guitar? Mine was too high which made bending notes hard. It was much easier with the right action.
alfred c says
So much to work with in this lesson. I might not agree that it’s simple, but I agree with the other comments on how good this lesson is. Tried rockin’ it with a Strat and it plays fantastic that way too.
Brian Canadian in the UK says
Another brilliant lesson I hear a bit of Dire Straits , I was watching Documentary on the Stones here in the UK , part of it was Keith Richards, man is great writer, player , I seen the Stones live a few times, he is one of my guitar idols, straight up no bs player, what I learned started playing the guitar Brian you don;t need to be complicated when playing to sound good , but you must have the feeling for the song,the vibe, its not a easy lesson there is certain techniques, , that we will carry with us, when we we do improvise and that’s pretty much the ethos of Active Melody, to create , to improvise , learning someone else songs is great its fun but creating your own is even better Thank you Brian for the lesson !
Peter H says
Great lesson and beautiful guitar, Brian. These types of lessons are why I keep coming back. Have made huge leaps in my playing since I’ve been a part of activemelody.com and I am greatly appreciative. Keep up the great work.
Dr Douglas S says
outstanding composition and instruction
Jeff ("Jeffro ") J says
This particular lesson stands out! Really awesome!
But I think that every week it seems.
I only wish I could see this thin, light-colored font better. Wish you’d change it to something easier to read. I know it wouldn’t be that hard.
Aaron P. says
Love the Jam Track on this one Brian!
jim b says
wow this is one of the beautiful arrangements ive heard thank you. If you wanted to expand it I would love to hear even more. Thanks!
Barry H says
Hi Brian,
I know this has been around a little while. I have to say I have loved trying to improve my technique on this, the melody is great ( what else would we expect ) I found the bending and timing quite a challenge, however it is starting to come together. I had my first Jam last week after ******* years and it was great. Thanks again as it must be very difficult to come up with something each week.
Hermanoperreza says
Great uplifting stuff, it makes everybody happy – sounds really nice at any speed. Very well build. Keep doing the great work.