Description
In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn a 7 step system that will allow you to create your own standalone guitar compositions. It’s easier than you think!
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Slow Walkthrough
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Outstanding!
Perfect lesson.. I am working on this month’s challenge using the C shape and all that is in that drawer to come up with my own composition. A few things come up like how to remember what I have played on each chord so l can play it again. Also I am starting to remember different scales and arpeggios to use on certain chords but one thing you never talk about is how to choose the duration of notes to play or the phrasing is a better way of explaining it. There are so many rhythmic possibilities for each note how to decide? I am trying to use words with the phrasing which is helping some what but it comes so slow and needing so much effort just to find something that sounds good and that I can remember. Is there any kind of a lesson that can help with this. Maybe this one touches on that I will go through it now, I have been thinking about this for a long time now and the title of this lesson inspired me to ask. I look forward to your lessons every Friday for years now and you are helping me to polish off many years of playing guitar and taking me to the next level. I hope to be writing an albums worth of material by the end of summer. Top of the evening to you Sir Brian!
Your comment does suggest an interesting question about memorisation. People who take on expert level memory challenges often swear by the ‘narrative’ based approach – coming up with weird stories to recall the number of pi to the millionth level – which is why, perhaps, writing lyrics can help a lot – the more meaningful they are to you, I suspect the more likely you will be able to recall them and the melodies that go with them.
I’d be interested to know how much Brian recalls of his compositions – given his production rate of one per week. How to get something into the long term memory? Repetition obviously, but also meaning – it has to resonate somehow, I think.
I think I am more of a word person than a music person which is why, even if I learn one of Brian’s instrumentals really well – in a week or two I’ll struggle to recall it without resorting back to the tab.
As for which of the infinite possibilities to choose for your compositions…that’s the mystery of creativity, I guess. The two most important aspects of creativity are 1. Getting started and 2. Keeping going until you think it’s good…
Robert–I’m with you on this. We are probably at similar stages on the guitar (I feel like I’ve been on this plateau for awhile)…. This lesson has been a mini-breakthrough for me, but as I stumble into something I like, I seem to immediately forget it! I guess recording myself would help…but I am curious about “words” and phrases to remember what I did…I also think this might aid my musicality and telling a story with my improvisation. Brian’s improv always seems to have a nice begining, middle, and end like a story while mine seem like random notes–that might be in key—but have no meaning…
By the way Brian–if I’m not too lost on this, the emphasis on hitting the 3 blind mice notes are target chord tones. I like the way you got us to this versus the other way around—“just make sure you hit one of these chord tones when you go to the new chord”. This way of explaining is is part of my mini-breakthrough…nice.
nice..back to the basic builders….
Is that a D-18?
D-28
Who knew three blind mice could sound so good! 🙂
I believe you’ve done a few lessons before on something like this, at least a ‘how to create lesson’ but honestly I think they were over my head. Thinking in terms of a cord progression then a simple melody and add in all the things you taught today I might actually be able to make something up! Love it!
Thanks as always Brian
Dry timely and helpful lesson. Thanks
Very was autocorrected to dry 🙁
Wow! Thanks for the great lesson.
I really like how you broke this down. It helps me a lot to think in simpler terms. I will be trying to move this around also. Thanks
Nice simple little thoughts.
Brian – good stuff as always! Question regarding the composition.. Why in measure 5 are you playing an E on the 1? Thought we were going for the C to complete the 3 blind mice outline. Curious if I’m missing something.. Thanks!
yeah, i noticed that after the fact… the timing shifted slightly on that measure when i started composing. no reason other than it just worked out better time wise
Got it and really appreciate you letting me know.
Wow! What an interesting but obvious manner of teaching improvisation,! Thanks Brian. I’ll likewise flag that on Utube
PS. Tablature length and size are this time just right for use on a landscape view iPad screen. Also, ‘simple’ and easy to follow and improvise on. A suggestion is to maybe to keep your tablature sheet size to that length and complexity?
it is in line with KISS principle. Playing the same pattern across the entire fretboard is a challenge.
Very interesting and helpful, much appreciated yet again 🙂 Thanks Brian…
Thanks Brian,
This helps me to understand the song writing process better. It will take lots of practice to incorporate it.
After years of lessons with Brian and a life time of dabbling in poetry I have started to get serious about writing music. This lesson could not have come at a better time! “When the student is ready, the teacher appears.” Thank you Brian.
This is exactly the kind of tutorial I wanted.
Good day all! Mark Knopfler told a story of how Chet Atkins played rhythm for years to develop his style. Basically Mark said Chet started with the basic chords and then “filled the space” between the changes. You know where you have to be on the 1 and you have 2,3,4 before you have to be back on the 1. So, what are you going to do with 2,3 and 4? There is a lot of space there for creativity!
Also Chromatic scales give us the freedom to use every note but don’t dwell on the wrong note and try to make it right. The wrong note is a note you can use on your way to the right note. And this is demonstrated in this lesson.
Enjoy the music!
Thx Wade
Always Interesting Brian. Thanks!
This was a great lesson. I think using the 3 blind mice example was a perfect way to explain how to understand how one creates compositions. Perfect.
Thanks Brian.
Hi Brian
Very helful. Well explained. Connects very well to your CAGED series.
Thank You.
Thank you, Brian!
Within your lessons, but also across your lessons, everything interlocks like the small wheels of a clock. I’ve been a regular participant for a year now and I’m delighted that the mosaic pieces of your music are now really coming together for me in an understandable way and that slowly, slowly, on good days, even my fingers are also doing what I want them to do.
Georg alias blind mouse 🙂
After reading all the comments, I am so thankful for this lesson as it is exactly what I have been trying to learn for the last year. I know it is a culmination of many things like cage system, pentatonic scales in different boxes but you really hit it on the mark with this one. Love the D28. What year? I’ve got a 1950 and looks much like it with a little more wear and tear but have had it for 55 years.
It’s a 1958
Another great lesson lots of info need more of these
Great lesson, I’m learning so much. Thank you.
A focus on timing and resolving to a specific note between chord changes took on a deeper meaning. This could be a fine wine lesson for me – the more I try to use the 7 steps in my own compositions, the better they will become.
Learning your compositions will also take on a new step – identify the specific notes you’re trying to resolve to between chord changes. I often ask myself how do you know all these notes you are playing will sound good once you get the timing down. I learn your songs in nuggets but it takes time to stitch it together and sound good. The lightbulb in this lesson was that as long as you resolve on a specified note during the first beat between chord changes, you can really be creative between those notes. Thus, you have a sense of direction that is developed in Step 2 – identifying the note to land on in the first beat.
This one is a rare example of a really great lesson on how to build a chord melody with a built-in penta structure for runs and licks. I’ve never seen this broken down in a manner that is so easy to understand and begin using immediately! I play songs for hospice patients and their families. Very often an instrumental of and old hymn is much more appropriate than doing vocals accompanied by guitar. I’ve been able to make a couple simple arrangements for Amazing Grace, etc. with the 7 steps already this morning Brian. Thank You! I love it. Perfect lesson….
Very Practical Approach to Improvisation.
A simple, even easy pathway to composition. So why haven’t I thought of this particular method in lo these many years? Thanks.
Brian, Fantastic lesson,has so many nuggets tying previous lessons with this one.Keep up the good works.Thanks as always.
Thanks Brian very good lesson
Awesome lesson.
Ive written several chord based songs.
Now I can start to add to them. Absolute GOLD!
Brian,
As always I can follow the lesson, learn to play it but never able to create anything on my own after the lesson.
Yes, this is fantastic! Instead of breaking a composition apart it makes it easier to follow to build it from simple to more complex. cuz you can stop along the way and digest for a while and get comfortable and then add to it. Great concept of teaching. Thanks Brian
Thanks as always….great and so easy to follow and understand. It really removes a lot of mystery about how to put music together with your words
Man, this is a great lesson. It’s great how you mix it up with some lessons being more in depth about the melodic workings of things. This was remarkably insightful. It would be my vote that you do more stuff like this from time to time. Really helpful.
Thanks Brian
Brian I enjoyed this lesson , very helpful for me . Thanks
Does this resonate with me? You bet … you always get the juices flowing, Brian.
Loved this. Very clear and helpful. Thanks
I think this lesson is great. You are tying together many of the components of previous lessons. An excellent lesson – thank you Brian!
Hi Brian. This lesson starts to fill a huge void (how to write a song). Can’t wait to try it out. I have to tell you though. You talk about lightbulb momentsd: numerous. Also important are payoff moments when all the work we put into learning – pays off. I’ve taken a song by Buddy Mondlock, Comin Down In The Rain, (made big buy Nanci Griffeth ) and added my own touches which include playing positions all over the neck, numerous decending harmonies, a little solo section, pentatonic fills, mixolydian fills, slides and I think more. I’m really thrilled and feel such gratitude for what you bring to us. I tell my friends I’m getting a Harvard music education for $80 something a year. Thanks so much.
Absolutely brilliant lesson! Thank you Brian!
Thanks for the great lesson Brian!
Oh my goodness! The lesson I have always looked for….Thanks Brian. The simple building of a song was so helpful in understanding the interaction of scales and chords and shapes. I will write these steps down and post them where I can see them everyday. I don’t know how you put together such great lessons every week!? Please keep them coming. Thanks, have a great day!
Nice lesson!
Great!
Thanks Brian
Really outstanding lesson that compliments the recent CAGED series perfectly, reinforcing many salient points in my mind. Thank you so much.
Another light just went on… Chromatic but land on a chord note! Thx Brian!
Very good, Brian, as usual. But I’m still going back to EP551 and EP553. I didn’t leave a comment there because they are getting kind of old and I did not know if you would see it. But I gotta say that 551 and 553 were not only cool sounding but REALLY helpful to me. I consider myself a mid-intermediate player and those two courses moved the insight needle. BHB
Love this lesson Brian. I have always struggled to create my own compositions. This really helps!
Great lesson Brian on how to build a composition. It also confirmed for me what I have been trying to do when improvising. It seems to be all about hitting chord tones and changing keys as the chords go by, even though it may only be a few notes before the next chord comes along. Where I seem to struggle during a jam situation is counting to 4 and quickly memorizing the chord structure of a song and how many measures of each chord before it changes. For example two measure of G, two measures of C, one of G, one of D and back to G for one measure. I’ve been working on the major and minor scales positions, the CAGED system, triads and arpeggios for a long time. It’s all starting to come together up and down the fret board. Thanks for all of the great lessons.
This is a fantastic lesson, that has a bit of everything, Chords to triads, melody notes, timing, 7th notes , chromatic notes. Shows a clear path to building a solo into your chosen Chord progression. Now to build my own. Super Fun. Thanks Brian
You are one of the best online lessons out there. I’ve been playing 25+ years and had about 20 “ah hah” moments in just a couple weeks of going thru ur courses/videos. Love how you describe everything ur doing and keep relating everything back to caged shapes. Wish I could go back about 2 decades and see these videos…
Hello Brian. I love the way you explain theory! It would be interesting if you did a video explaining the composition of a complete song.
I have tons of ideas: licks, chords, melodies, etc. that I recorded on my cell phone but I have problem developping those things into a song. How to structure it, connect it, build a bridge and chorus, etc.
I am more of a rock player but I’m sure you could help and I must not be the only one with this problem!
Thanks from Quebec, Canada.
Patrick
I am so interested in improvising. So this lesson will be among my favourites faster that you can say “thanks” .