Active Melody

Learn to play blues guitar.

MicroLesson: ML122 – Using Triads and Harmonies to spice up your Blues! Guitar Lesson – ML122

Description

In this MicroLesson (ML122), you’ll learn how to play a Blues lead by using chords (Triads) and harmonies and will be doing it all over a stand-alone composition (no jam track needed). Transpose these and play them in any key.

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Slow Walkthrough

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Comments

    • William G says

      I am forever having problems reading your tab. You cannot put it on a music stand and see it clearly. The full screen video tab viewer is the only thing I can use, but that requires me to be in front of my computer. Surely you can find something better for a music stand. Others must have the same problem, especially those with aging eyes.

        • Michael D says

          Another suggestion would be to page down to the Video Tablature breakdown section lower in the page. There is a menu item within the dark stripe at the bottom of the music that looks like a bunch of sliders. Within the information provided there is an option that allows you print that version of the tablature which has bolder numbers than the text in the downloadable tablature file that Brian provides.

          Alternatively, if you want to print from Brian’s Tab file directly, when your print options page opens you can elect to print the tabs at a larger percentage. You can, using this method, make the numbers larger and more visible to aging eyes (which I, also, have). Play around with this (due to differences between printer setups) and you can increase the size of the tab numbers. Good luck.

  15. michael f says

    Its the little things you take time to point out: drone the open D string to make it sound fuller or play the open E string. Your instruction is reflected in the moving tab score. Watching your fingers move with upstrokes and downstrokes really helps lock in the timing. Short lesson but plenty more to go back to. Lesson 588 for example is in an odd time signature. I’ll go back and practice all your lessons in 6/8 time.

  23. Reuben B says

    Definitely one of the best and most useful lessons, especially in the explanation for connecting all those classic blues sounds with those basic CAGED chord shapes. Tons of useful material jam packed in this 20 minutes micro lessons.

  24. Michael H says

    I love it when previous lessons click. The D shape walk to the E shape with the two minor between can also be looked at as D6 which is the gospel move you have taught us. Somehow you’ve got through this thick skull Thanks

  27. Janelle R says

    You always seem to present just the right lesson for me. I’ve been learning triads with a friend and now ready to take it up a notch.. this is just the most perfect timing and such a great lesson. I can’t wait to try it out. Thanks for sharing your amazing talent.

  31. Mitchell N says

    This feels like the first half of a lesson rather than the full lesson to me. What if you provided the second half of this lesson next week? I know that’s what I always used to love — the 24 bars — and we don’t get much of that anymore. I do understand that it’s a helluva lot of work for you to put those out so might you consider simply breaking the lessons into two week chunks? I think that would allow you to maintain a reasonable workload but still provide Active Melody subscribers with the content we love. I guess you spoiled us over the past 15 years so consider me spoiled! But I really do miss those older lessons and am wondering if there’s a way for you to still provide them without driving yourself nuts in the process.

  32. Brian says

    Mitchell, this is a MicroLesson – Starting in January of this year I alternate a MicroLesson with a full lesson every other week. I just don’t have the stamina to deliver a full 24 bars every single week (although I did for a decade). I do every other though and always try to provide as much material as possible. I’m kind of surprised that you didn’t feel this was enough content? It seemed like a lot to me for a MicroLesson. Also there are over 600 full lessons and over 120 of these MicroLessons + Courses that you have access to.

    • Mitchell N says

      Hi Brian, I understand all that and I know you put a ton of work into these and I really appreciate it. All I’m saying is that perhaps, every once in a while, make these MicroLessons sort of “to be continued,” where you pick up on it during a later lesson. Doesn’t have to be the next week. Maybe the next MicroLesson two weeks later. Or even later than that. Whatever might work for you. I’m certainly not asking that you do what you did for over a decade (I couldn’t figure out how you had the stamina for that).

      Regardless, I love Active Melody and am here for the duration. There’s not another site out there that does what you do and I sing your praises to all of my guitar-playing friends. I hope I’ve encouraged some to subscribe because every cent of a subscription is more than worth it.

  33. Leonard C says

    Nice one, Brian !! Does work well with Blues Shuffles. I had my G&L Comanche run thru an old Danelectro Tremolo, Chorus,, Flashback X4, to a Nocturne Mystery Brain, to Fender Amp. Been too long since I visited Active Melody …

  35. Mike H says

    Great lesson. My main takeaway is that the song (and others) is/are not written in stone and are subject to variations based on “mistakes” made in the moment of performance. My question is… should we practice as if it were written in stone or should we plow through, ignoring the “mistakes”, concentrating on the all important rhythm instead? Or… should we, actively, practice ignoring the “mistakes”?

    • Brian says

      i guess just remember mistakes are going to happen – some are happy mistakes that work out, some aren’t. when you make a happy mistake, analyze it 🙂 think of it as a new lick 🙂

  37. Keith P says

    The measure 5 walks down from the I chord (A) to the IV chord (D) is interesting. Even though this lesson is in the key of A, the walkdown uses the key of D (A – G – F#m – Em – D). In other words, the walkdown is in A mixolydian.

  40. Steve K says

    Thanks for another great lesson, Brian. I keep trying different methods of learning your material. This time I found it helpful to verbalize the many things going on from bar to bar, and sometimes within a bar. Here’s what I came up with. It’s by no means the only way to do this, but maybe it’ll be useful for somebody else.

    E 1 Strummed low E7

    A 1 E-form A triplets at 5th fret
    A2 Low A shuffle
    A3 Jump to D-shaped high A triplets at 9th fret. Last one begins walk-down to D
    A4 Continue walk-down to D

    D1 Low D shuffle. Last beat is a triplet walk-up to:
    D2 High E-form D at 10th Fret. Then walk-down to:

    A1 E-form A at 5th fret, open E-string. Walk-up to 10th fret, then down to:
    A2 Low A shuffle. Last beat E7 triplet

    E7 E7 triplet, then through G-string 1st fret hammer-on leading to basic E chord

    D7 3-1-2-string triplets walking up to:

    A A chord noodling around 12th fret (I ran out of words or got lazy at this point)

    E7 Turnaround E7 near 12th fret

  41. Michael D says

    You’ve been on a roll lately with a lot of blues in A, that doesn’t require a jam track and I’m having so much fun using the ideas in each lesson and essentially a combining licks and ideas. Is been sooo helpful…

  45. Brian B says

    This was another fabulous lesson Brian.
    You have a great ability to show us how to tear the Gift wrapping off the Musical boxes we are trying to learn and understand!
    Less than 1 year with you and I have learned so much, for which I am truly appreciative.
    Thank you! 😃👍

  47. Jean-hugues A says

    Hello Brian,
    Je suis français et j’habite à Paris. Je suis abonné à votre tutoriel. J’apprends par cœur certains de vos blues à la guitare acoustique. Vous expliquez merveilleusement l’analyse et la structure. Vous êtes un merveilleux pédagogue ainsi qu’un très talentueux compositeur et instrumentiste.
    Je vous remercie de m’aider à progresser.
    Jean-Hugues Anglade

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