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Using Minor and Major Pentatonic Scales in the Blues – Blues Guitar Lesson EP368

pentatonic scales in blues guitar

In this week's guitar lesson, I'll explain how to easily find the minor and major pentatonic scales, and how to connect those scales to basic chord shapes. You'll then learn a stand-alone blues composition that uses both of these scales so you can understand how they relate to the blues. … [Read more...]

Solo over the chord changes by yourself and incorporate diminished scales – Guitar Lesson EP358

play the chord changes on guitar

In this week's guitar lesson, you'll learn how to incorporate 3 different diminished scales when playing lead over chord changes. There is no jam track needed for this, you'll be able to play lead by yourself and target chord tones, giving you a lead that works on it's own. … [Read more...]

Connecting Chord Shapes to the Pentatonic Scales – Useful when playing the changes – Guitar Lesson EP344

how to play chord changes guitar

In this week's guitar lesson, you'll learn how to visualize the chord changes when playing lead, by connecting pentatonic patterns to chord shapes. This uses the same jam track from last week (EP343) … [Read more...]

Slow, Rock Blues Guitar Lead That You Can Play By Yourself – Blues Guitar Lesson – EP334

rock blues guitar lesson

In this week's guitar lesson, you'll learn how to play a slow blues rhythm and lead that alternates between a major chord, and it's relative minor (E and C#m). You can use the same pentatonic scale to play over both of these chords, making it fun and relatively easy to improvise in this style. … [Read more...]

Blues Phrasing Mini-Series (3 of 3) Playing The Chord Changes – EP313

how to play chord changes on guitar

This is Part 3 (of 3) of a blues phrasing mini-series for guitar. If you've ever struggled with not knowing what to do with all of the scales and information that you've learned for guitar, this mini-series will be perfect for you. It's designed to give you some essential tools to get you improvising right away. This lesson builds on the information that you've learned in the first 2 parts of this mini-series (EP311 and EP312) by adding "playing the chord changes", which is when you change … [Read more...]

Blues Phrasing Mini-Series (2 of 3) Mixing the Major and Minor Pentatonic Scales – EP312

Mixing Major and minor pentatonic scale on guitar

This is Part 2 (of 3) of a blues phrasing mini-series for guitar. If you've ever struggled with not knowing what to do with all of the scales and information that you've learned for guitar, this mini-series will be perfect for you. It's designed to give you some essential tools to get you improvising right away. This lesson focuses on combining the major and minor pentatonic scales so that they can be played in the same area, as opposed to 2 separate areas on the neck like we learned in the … [Read more...]

Just 2 Chords – Play The Chord Changes Using Just 2 Chords (Rhythm and Lead) – EP309

Play the chord changes guitar lesson

In this week's guitar lesson, you'll learn how to play the chord changes using just 2 chords. This is a great technique to use when improvising because it creates a much more melodic sounding lead. This lesson includes the rhythm breakdown as an added bonus. … [Read more...]

Jazzy Blues Lead Guitar Lesson in a Minor Key – EP308

jazzy blues guitar lesson

In this week's guitar lesson, you'll learn how to play (and improvise) a blues lead (with a little jazz flavor) over a minor key jam track. You'll be playing the chord changes over the verse, alternating between a minor and a major chord. … [Read more...]

Learn how to play the chord changes over a blues composition – No accompaniment required – EP298

how to play chord changes on guitar

In this week's guitar lesson, you'll learn how to play a blues lead that doesn't require any rhythm or accompaniment because you'll be "playing the chord changes". This is a technique in which you outline the notes in the chords with your lead, resulting in a more sophisticated sounding solo. This is perfect for those of you that feel stuck in the pentatonic scales. … [Read more...]

Funky Minor Key Blues Guitar Lesson – Ideas for Playing “Outside The Box” – EP294

play outside the box on guitar

In this week's guitar lesson, you'll learn how to spice up your rhythm and lead in a funky, minor key blues composition by learning to play "outside the box" (which means including something unexpected). This is much more common in jazz, but sounds just as good in the blues. … [Read more...]

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Recent Lessons

Easily remember and use minor licks by connecting them to basic chord shapes – Guitar Lesson – EP632

Blues lead played across the fretboard using shapes from the C.A.G.E.D. System Guitar Lesson – EP631

Country style lead pattern – Easy way to visualize the Major Pentatonic scale – Guitar Lesson EP630

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