Description
In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn a repeatable method: strum through 1-2-3-4, stop, then play your lick. Reuse that same pattern throughout the song and you’ve got a solo guitar composition.
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great chord progression looks like some quick fun
This should be a good piece to noodle around with and come up with variations. Thanks Brian
I love this lesson. I have wondered how to do this. Thanks for the easy formula Brian.
Great Lesson Brian
I didn’t think this lesson was going to be one I connected with when I first heard it. I listen to each lesson all the way through every week even if it doesn’t always connect with me. I started noodling around with the concepts you taught in this lesson and before I knew it, I was happily down a rabbit hole experimenting. I had many light bulb moments as I played this out of several different caged areas. I changed the timing a little and at the Gdim7 used a diagonal diminished arpeggio going from B flat starting on the 5th string 1st fret and concluding on the first string 9th fret then back to Bm7. I also would occasionally play an F# dom 7 instead of the Gdim7. When I was finished putting my take on it, it had a Gypsy Jazz vibe to it. I was able to do all of this because of all the fine lessons you have taught over the years. – Thank You!
Thankyou for continuing to come up with these fun snippets for us Brian, even in these summer months – do you ever get a holiday?? Continuing heatwave conditions here in France mean spending afternoons indoors with shutters and windows closed – so what better use of time than playing guitar!!? So these lessons are much appreciated. I find these micro lessons are manageable to get under my fingers in a shorter time so also have time to aim to perfect my technique and return to previous lessons as well. We all keep asking you for more of this and more of that and you continue to come up with more of everything, but at the same time linking lessons with some repetition of ideas which is so effective and helpful with memory. More of the same is very much appreciated, thankyou
Salut Lesley.
Pour moi c’est le contraire ; d’habitude je fais de la guitare le soir après la journée, mais en ce moment avec la chaleur extrême je sors chercher un peu de fraicheur dehors, et je pratique moins.
J’ai hâte qu’on revienne à des conditions météo plus acceptables pour retrouver ma routine.
D’autant que, comme tu le soulignes, les leçons de Brian continuent d’être toujours plus intéressantes les unes que les autres et je manque de temps pour les travailler.
Bonne fin d’été, et bonne pratique.
Salut Jérôme – chez nous il fait plus frais à l’intérieur pendant les après midi, mais le matin on sort chercher la fraîcheur, c’est vrai. Et jouer la guitare avec les mains qui transpirent n’est pas facile!! Tu habites où dans la France?
Comme Jérôme je suis également abonné depuis plus de 10 ans Activ’mélody et suis domicilié à Montpellier !
Moi je suis à Pamiers, près de Foix. Abonnée depuis 2 ans. Alors beaucoup de leçons d’avant à retrouver !
Salut Lesley.
Je suis dans la Creuse. Le Limousin est très touché par la sécheresse. Toute la campagne en souffre.
J’ai des animaux (pour mon plaisir, je ne suis pas agriculteur), des volailles, un âne et des chevaux pour qui je cherche des solutions pour acheter du foin puisque rien n’a poussé cette année.
Je n’aurai pas beaucoup de vacances cet été (juste cette semaine).
Comme toi je vais tenter de profiter au mieux de mes après-midi pour la guitare.
Mais le temps me manque ;
et Brian propose tellement de choses intéressantes, on voudrait pouvoir toutes les essayer, mais je n’ai pas le niveau pour tout!!!
Il y a quelques rares morceaux que j’ai réussi à faire en entier, mais en général ça prends des mois.
Le reste je n’en retiens que quelques petits trucs (tous très utiles).
Ah si seulement on était pas obligé de travailler!!!
Et si on pouvait apprendre aussi vite à 45 ans qu’à 8 ans!!!!!
Bonne continuation dans ton apprentissage.
Bonjour Lesley,
Certes beaucoup de leçons à retrouver, mais il me semble que Brian prend en compte les “nouveaux arrivants” et adapte son enseignement en revenant toujours sur les fondamentaux et c’est très réconfortant.
Bonne continuation !
Bonjour Jérôme,
Je m’associe complètement à ton point de vue et suis ravi de constater la présence d’abonnés franciliens !
Bonne continuation !
Merci Fabrice.
Alors pour être exact je ne suis pas “francilien” (qui signifie d’Ile de France), je suis un provincial de la campagne creusoise.
Je ne communique pas beaucoup en général sur le site (je veux dire via le forum par exemple auquel je ne participe pas faute de temps).
Mais je crois que nous sommes sans doute plus nombreux que tu l’imagines.
En fait j’ai bien l’impression que Brian a des abonnés dans le monde entier ; vu le niveau et la qualité d’enseignement, ainsi que le nombre d’années depuis lequel il fait ça, c’est pas surprenant.
Bonne continuation à toi aussi.
Yes….there is a lot that is not good about the internet, but teachers like Brian use it to the best! We are so very fortunate to have his ideas and expertise at our fingertips and can take as much or as little from it as we want.
I am a ‘busy’ retiree, moved to France with my husband in 2010 and we are very much part of the rural community here. We have also met French musician friends with whom we play from time to time. My husband sings! Brian’s lessons allow me to learn on my own – and have fun doing so. I picked up a guitar 10 years ago, and yes, youngsters learn much more quickly!! Jerome – I too struggle to master Brian’s pieces, but feel I am making progress and being able to slow them down to practise is such a good tool.
This is probably not the place for chat between ‘ pupils’ like this, but it is good to hear from you both, and hope it is interesting for you Brian, to sometimes learn something about your abonnées…..maybe with some help from google translate??
Bonne continuation……
Merci Jérôme,
Je ne communique pas davantage, mais au plaisir d’échanger à nouveau !
Hi Brian, and every one.
Last week it seemed to me that we were laying the groundwork for a kind of ‘call and response’;
today it’s a good continuation of that (even if it’s not exactly call and response);
in any case, it prepares you to jam alone with yourself, which is extremely useful and really nice.
Brian, thank you very very much for your work.
Have a good week.
Great lesson again. This is what we need, just you and the guitar. No backing tracks. This is a real creativity platform. Thank you
Due to time constraints I was happy to see this week is an ML again and decided to tune in right away. And before I knew it, I was jamming with myself for I don’t know how long. Miraculously, there were no time constraints anymore 😀 My take aways: this can be a very good way of dealing with surprise “play something”. I also like how you showed how to get to the V#dim7 (one fret higher than the V).
Brian, This was a good reinforcing lesson. I really appreciate the reminder of using a diminished 7 as the V and further using that shape to move me into a new neighborhood. I have learned so much from you over the years! I am glad to see these ML’s reminding me of great ideas that have slipped away from my vocabulary.
These lesson formats are great for those whose learning time is stretched thin.
I am a grateful Student!
Hi Brian,
I am absolutely enjoying this lesson! It honestly feels tailor-made for me—I almost want to believe you created it based on my post from last week. I’m sure others have encouraged you to keep going in this direction, too. Plus, it’s the perfect follow-up to last week’s lesson.
Yes, there are those players who are in the “Chet Atkins league.” That stuff is mind-blowing, but completely out of my reach. But there’s just something so wonderful about playing a chord, linking it to a nice lick, moving to the next chord, tossing in another lick, and so on. I’m sure I’m not the only one who finds that completely captivating. You’re not just playing lead, and you’re not just stuck on rhythm—it’s everything rolled into one. You can sit down and play by yourself, and it sounds like a complete, standalone piece. It’s just fantastic.
The way you break everything down couldn’t be better. Thanks a lot.
Best wishes,
Georg
Awesome lesson!greetings from Austria!
Love the ML lessons. Always good. I find that I want to syncopate the rhythm and pattern. The Bm7 and Em7 reminds me a tad of ‘spooky’
Also find myself wanting to finish the last Bm7 chords with a d flat – guess that makes it a Bm7 +9
I like this! But I have a question. Are the 2 dim and the flat 5dim the same in a minor progression?
1-2-3-4-Stop. Wonderful concept Brian.
I found myself dropping into triads,
– strum the triad on its own,
– noodle, then
– move on to the 4th,
– then the 5th.
The triad lessons really made a difference, they are so useful everywhere.
Great lesson. I can actually improvise from this lesson. That’s a big first for me. Many thanks, Brian.
A very great lesson, so inspiring.
I really appreciate this kind of concept. Many thanks Brian.
Brian-
Because of these types of Micro Lessons I am developing a better understanding/ability to create these on my own. Whether I am playing acoustic (mostly) or electric I am getting it. Thank you!!
Coffee with Brian – he plays while I watch.
There’s a stickiness to the rhythm/fill of the bottom-top wait from last week and the 1,2,3,4 stop from this week that should last all my guitar playing days. Concepts that inspire creativity like this make practicing so much fun!
I’ve heard guys doing this at jams and always wondered what they were doing….now I know!
Very inspiring lesson indeed. Just wondering, using the caged system if you put your pinky one fret higher on the 5th of the e string ,would the result be the same?
Wow, this was a major light bulb lesson for me. Over the years I have learned so much from all your lessons but always wondered how to put it all together like you show us how to in this lesson. This 1, 2, 3, 4 – formula with the Pentatonic scales is such an excellent lesson that just lit up so many a-ha moments for me. I can’ thank you enough. Please give us more lessons like this if you can. Thanks Bian.
J’ai bien compris vos explications mais je n’arrive pas encore à avoir les 4 temps de chaque mesure en-tête et de savoir compter les temps quand je fais un chorus donc tout tombe à plat. Si je veux être carré il faut que j’écrive chaque chorus que je crée et ensuite je les joue à la guitare sinon sans les écrire je suis perdu.
Wow, I’ve been playing for a long time now and I’d never heard about the # diminished 5th being a moveable chord.
I love these quick and simple lessons that allow someone to make music quickly and easily. One of the obstacles to playing with other people always seems to be that if you get three or four people together it’s really hard finding something to play that everyone knows. But using an approach like this I can see jam sessions being way more fun and way more creative.
Great lesson.
Thanks Brian. Another excellent lesson! At my stage of learning, it really is easier to have a format or a structure to center the learning around – just as you say! Thanks again, Tim
Je commence à mettre en application depuis ce soir votre formule 1,2,3,4,STOP
Great fun lesson. Some more examples of this technique with additional licks would be great
You can make up gazillion of your own licks in those areas. you’ll have Lots of fun doing it!
I love these styles of lessons. Great for playing by yourself & excellent way to reinforce tying licks to chord shapes. Thanks Brian.
I have a problem with that one chord. I tried 99,000 ways to position my index finger to press down 5 strings on the 7th fret. I am not a beginner. my fingers just suck lol
oh by the way. I love this lesson….really groovy!
Really enjoyed this one, had a light bulb moment for sure. It’s almost like a am slowly getting better.
Brian,
Thanks for removing most of the mystery in my playing. I’m always torn between the feel (tempo), the emotion (major, minor etc.) but then I get caught up in the numbers (7th’s, 9th’s etc.) Your method of teaching helps the light bulbs to happen. Playing just soothes my soul.
That was a great lesson Brian, something a bit different and some new chords. At first I thought it would be too difficult for me but got reasonably close after some practice. Thanks as always from North Wales England.