Description
In this country guitar lesson, I’ll show you how to improvise using harmonized leads (included harmonized 6ths and 3rds). I’ll explain this from a theory perspective, and then give you a practical application by showing you how they relate to chord shapes that you already know. Several classic pedal steel licks are also included.
Part 1 - Free Guitar Lesson
Part 2 - For Premium Members
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Slow Walk-Through
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Video Tablature Breakdown
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barry says
Another Brilliant Piece of Creativity and Wonderful Playing Brian!But you keep repeating this week in week out:-)Amazing
Barry
jeff h says
Sounds great . I like style of string bending even though I use my b-bender once in a while . Thanks
Ray A says
What is the setting on the guitar and the setting on the amp to get that sound?
tpro47 says
Great lesson! Love this country twang stuff!
Maradonagol says
Well Brian, I always have to give you credit for the great lessons…..even though I’m not a much of a country guy….there’s a lot there to use elsewhere!! The hat…well, we already discussed that on FB..LOL!! Thank you!!
Roberto
Nick P says
That sounds terrific. I’ve spent all afternoon working on the Drop D tuning, EP085, from Throwback Thursday, and have just about got there with that … but this new one I’ve just found is dragging me away …. Great stuff Brian. Too much!!!
justin N says
So many great licks! I can’t wait to see how I can apply them to other styles as well. Thanks so much for another great lesson. Have a great weekend.
JohnStrat says
Herr raisin stuff Brian! Thanks for the great lesson. JohnStrat
Katherine D says
Wonderful as always, Brian! Love the “country” stuff! Would you mind sharing your tone settings on this? I don’t have a clue about how to go about getting this sound. Thanks!
Brian says
Hey Katherine, I’m using a delay pedal with a little slap back delay
Adrian Z says
Brian – just starting my pedal odyssey (heard it can be a slippery slope 🙂 but looking into delay pedals at the moment. And as with all effects there are SO many options. Wondering if you have any suggestions/recommendations for a newbie in this area
Cheers
Adrian
Brian says
I’m a big fan of TC Electronic Flashback delay pedal.
kenny says
Sorry Brian, bending strings with my pinky is way too difficult for me.
wrightclick says
Use 2nd and 3rd fingers , yes I found that strange using 3rd and 4th on them intro bends duo bends but I stuck with it to improve their strength and was amazed at the improvement in a couple of days.
Jon J says
Hi Brian, that’s a cool Hat you have on. The 52 Tele would have been perfect for this lesson. Thanks for another fantastic lesson
Ed H says
Perfect, I am working on songs for an up and coming summer 70th anniversary deal I am playing in , this fits in well. The lesson EP 173 Slow Country Lead is being polished up also for this deal.
Funny, Im paying for this but the first thing comes in my mind is Thanks Again Brian !
Michael J says
G/day Brian,
What Barry said up above. Brilliant work.
Regards, M.J.
drlknstein says
great lesson- it dovetails for me with the western swing . lesson .no ep 185. that .i ve been working on…and a lot of other lessons..I see the repetition of some important things in the lessons and I find it very helpful
keep hammering on that stuff- we ll get it….
I’m down with the “chords ” explanation of the lead and rhythm -” always use a chord to dance around”…makes sense ..
smilefred says
Hey Brian aside the fact you keep posting awesome lesson ..I start loving new kind of music..I never thought to love country. Music ..thank you so much
Ale
Jim M says
Brain….Awesome !!!
sunburst says
awesome lesson, too busy with ep001 last couple days.. I’m amazed at how much country guitar you know and teach so well..This should be a lot easier after completing ep001 which should be today.. So appreciative for the sound slice and latest features here Brian, you are amazing teacher and sure you must be quite a performer as well on stage! cheers!
Allan says
Hi Brian great lesson just bought a delay pedal so will give it a workout on this lesson cheers.
jimbostrat says
I do not pretend to be an expert on guitar or country music or steel guitar but I do have a pretty good ear/mind for what’s pertinent and what Brian has produced here is a HUGE step toward getting down this style of guitar playing. Brian’s pointing out that these licks are easily transferrable into any key plus purposely playing them as close to the 12th fret as possible to get the best pedal steel effect is key……….I’m still the biggest fan of blues/rock guitar but this fits into that style as well plus it’s an absolute blast to play and stand out as well!! So….bravo, Brian!! Jim C.
scott d says
Hello Brian, That’s a great one dude..I love that….
Robert J says
whoo ee. tough one this week. maybe I’m getting light weight. challenges are good.
BRENDAN G says
Great one Brian, is there any trick in getting your tone. I have a Tele but just don’t sound as good as that. Keek up the great lessons.
Brendan
Ken H says
Thanks, Brian. Lots of take aways. Appreciate you going into different styles of music. It rounds out my guitar playing.
William F says
Brian….Great lesson, as usual. You’ve brought fun back to my guitar playing. I have to ask, what gauge strings are you using on the Tele?
Brian says
10 gauge
San Luis Rey says
This style is so cool and I never imagined playing it but always appreciated listening to the great guitar licks in country. Even though I have been playing every day the bending involved in this lesson is giving my left hand a workout. Using the ring and middle finger makes some of those bends easier for me. Thanks for expanding my musical outlook!
Mike
Hyland says
You’re killing me. Every week is a keeper. I just get into one lesson and I’m keen to go on to the next before I master one. But at least I get several ” takeaways” every week. Kudos…
Andrew G says
Coincidentally, I have been obsessed this past week in learning the 3rd and 6th intervals throughout the fretboard, and how they relate to each other. I noticed you can stack 3rds and 6ths and play together using hybrid picking; not sure if that is useful yet. Love country, anxious to learn these bends. Thanks for another great lesson.
Aaron R says
Oh my god. This is the best lesson ever!!! Love it. Thanks Brian!!!
Art M says
SIMPLY OUTSTANDING BRIAN AS ALWAYS.
Jess I says
I just love the sound of that kind of picking….Blues and Country blended…more!
Kirk M says
Thank you Brian. You do a really nice job and this is a particularly interesting lesson for me.
I have an American Standard Tele that I feed into a 65 Princeton reissue amp. Love to know how to get this classic country sound.
Saw the reference earlier to the TC Electronics delay pedal with slapback. I don’t have any pedals so I guess I am going to have to start collecting. : )
Would you mind sharing a few more details? Specific settings on the pedal. Looks like you are using the bridge pickup on your Tele. Tone setting on the guitar? What amp are you using and what are the settings on the amp.
Many thanks.
Brian says
Kirk, i’m using slap back delay which you can achieve from any delay pedal – you just have 1 repeat and then change the timing so that the delay echo happens almost immediately after playing the string… it sounds like a quick echo (as if you’re in a small room) – you can use any amp just use clean channel and a little reverb.
blake d says
yay! I finally “got it” – instead of bouncing around I did the basics then focused on the new lessons each week. this was the first one that sounded close to right and i got all the way through. big help was printing out and doing a couple of run throughs of the tabs. also getting the amp to sound something like what we are learning.
I am really excited because this is the first time I’ve been able to play licks like I’ve wanted to play -that sounds incomprehensible but hopefully you understand what I mean.
can’t wait for the next lesson – I guess this was a breakthrough
Brian says
Congrats on the breakthrough Blake! That’s a fantastic feeling of accomplishment.
wrightclick says
Brian on part two video at the begining the chord run through after the E turnaround you play a chord which i think is an Augmemted something chord , it would be great to learn about that and where and how to use it .I have seen the Beatles use this chord . Thanks for a great tune astounding .
Milan S says
Thank You Brian, a great lesson
sunburst says
So I finally decided to start this country solo lesson tonight!, any pedal steel bending is great exercise strengthening fingers..can tell this practice is going to be fun once up to speed! I can tell first hour trying,this isn’t easy controlling them bends but i like this a lot and find it challenging! really cool lesson!
Michael W says
Thank you Brian, another amazing lesson.
Russel S says
Hey Brian, that has really unlocked a lot of things finally after many years ! Cheers Rusty
Steve G says
Just started recently with active melody. Love how you teach and love this lesson in particular. Spent 40 years just strumming, now you are really helping me unlock this instrument. Thank you!!!
Christopher says
Brian, this is an awesome lesson….man did this open doors.. Thank You so much. The most amazing feeling when you hear yourself playing something you never thought you were capable of..
All thanks to you Brian.
I owe you big time!
Christopher
Robert D says
Why can’t I play the second video?
Brian says
It’s always a browser issue when this happens – Try closing your tabs and restarting your browser – or even clearing your cache.
Mark Z says
All the lessons are really good, but this one seems to be extra well articulated for me. Thanks for the great instruction and demos!
wrightclick says
After the last lesson EP242 I did a search for Harmonized and this number was one of the gems that came up . Man we love country , fantastic yet really simple when you consider the scale its fits into or relation to the chord and the Harmonized 6ths .