Active Melody

Learn to play blues guitar.

How To Create a Solo Using Only 3 Notes – Using Both Major and Minor Pentatonic Scales – LEG023

Description

This lesson is really just a continuation of the overview of the major and minor pentatonic scales which I did previously. I intentionally don’t point out any specific note for note solos in this lesson because I’m trying to keep the focus on dynamics, in fact I’ve stripped the solos down to only three notes in both the major and minor pentatonic scales to show that you can have a decent sounding guitar solo without going nuts, by simply playing notes that sound good. That involves adding the right sounding vibrato, bending the strings, letting them ring out, etc. It’s the simple dynamics like these that often times are overlooked.

Guitar Solo With 3 Notes - Lesson

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Comments

  3. Guitarplayer15 says

    hey i just started playing guitar a couple months ago like 5 or 6 and I just was wondering if you new a good stable place for me to start… i already know some major chord and minor chords and like 3 dominant chords also have a fair amount of speed and dexterity but im tired of learning things just piece by piece i want to have good start but i don’t where to start…a lot of people say speed and finger excercises but i am not sure

  5. brandonian says

    @Guitarplayer15 An awesome website for beginners is “www.ultimate-guitar.com”. I used that when I was starting off six years ago. As far as educational content goes activemelody.com has higher quality stuff, but I think it caters more towards an intermediate level crowd. Ultimate-guitar.com has a huge tablature and chord library which is better for begginers, IMO.

  7. 1976lespaul says

    Another great lesson,Less is more and u really have to work at the 3 notes at first,then the tones come naturally,I just need to relax and try not to hurry it… Thanks again Brian

  9. 1976lespaul says

    Hey Brian ordered Lefty MIM Strat #2 online today, should be here on Friday.want a back up and i may replace the stock pick ups if i can find the right ones….want a bit more tone and drive,EMG’s, or Lace sensor…who knows…any suggestions??? I value your opinion, or no pick ups and a blues driver pedal?  Thanks Brian.  G

  12. langtoft says

    I have been trying to play the guitar (badly) for years. I joined Activemelody just a few days ago. Already I have doubled my knowledge and am able to play simple but effective blues solos. Thanks Brian. This site is awesome.

  13. Midknight says

    Again…sweet and simple. There’s to many guys out there playng faster than good!
    How sweet it is when a player like Peter Green,BB King or Bernie Marsden( yes!,he ia a great blues man,check out his blues side if U haven’t done so already),nails that one single tone.
    That’s what we should aime for. Not barfing crap at super sonic speed.

  14. mfcm says

    Brian, I believe you are the best teacher out there. I now use your lessons exlusively becaues they are easy to follow due to your teaching style. Great job. Thanks a million.

  15. geri86 says

    Brian: Your beginer guitar lessons are realy useful even for advanced guitarists. I play guitar for a long time and i’m still surprised what i can see in the begginer courses. The less is sometimes more. I like your lessons. 3 notes solos rulez

  16. bluespete55 says

    Brian - just joined your followers. I am impressed with how well you articulate and teach guitar in a clear and meaningful manner. As aspiring lead and rhythm guitarists, all 5 pentatonic and blues positions must be memorized to really benefit from your teaching - in order to extrapolate licks and change keys. Brian, are you going to offer DVDs? Others worthy of attention are Justin Sandercoe, Andrew Wasson and Keith Wyatt - for those wishing to supplement and compliment your instruction. Looking forward to more from you. Thanks, BluesPete55.

  17. 1976lespaul says

    next to the Albert King lesson this one is my favorite…..good instruction…makes for good times!!! Thanks again Brian!!  Gary, san diego

  18. rubydooby says

    Very impressed with your lessons they are definitely the best I have come across. so clear and easy to understand for beginners. Please keep it up

  19. karelh says

    Brian,

    You answered a lot of questions, not just with this lesson. Like me, I think a lot of players struggle with the scales. Now I understand that Minor and Major may be used in the same solo or even in a riff, it all makes sense. Some of the solo’s I used to play from a tabsheet without understanding them, suddenly make sense. Thanks very much.

    regards Karel, the Netherlands

  23. Albertadude says

    The lesson’s on this page is just what i was looking for, and I think my teacher is in for a wee bit of a surprise…nicely done.  One question I do have, on this lesson what gear are you using?

    Thanks and keep up the great work

  24. Wheeless says

    I love your lessons! I have been playing for three years, and this helped me make up my own solos. But the only thing that confuses me is that i could play a song in the key of E with the E, A, B7 chords, and then some one plays it over an E, A, and D and says its in the say key. It just confuses me. Could you do something to help explain?

  26. birdie says

    Hi Brian
    Your comments near the end of this video really make sense. You also give hope to the plucker struggling away at home. The 2 and 3 note solos give positive examples of making music without notes fired off like machine guns. Thanks for all this work, it is very accessible and motivating.
    Nick.
    Perth Western Australia.

  29. Martin13 says

    Just found your site . . . really good!
    Many thanks for the time and effort you’ve put in.
    I’m just starting out on the guitar at 58 years old . . . your lessons inspire me.

  30. Big Dog Blues says

    Thanks for the lesson and the reminder to play solos with an economy of notes.  I always end up trying to fit everything I can in to a solo and usually end up regretting it as a result.  Like BB says, “Play notes like their expensive.”

  35. russm says

    Hey, Brian.  I really enjoy your lessons.  I’ve been playing guitar for years but never learned how to jam.  I can learn songs and then play what I’ve learned, but getting together with other musicians and just being able to play along is my goal.  Your lessons are as good as the best lessons I’ve seen before, and far better than most.  You have a great teaching style.  I’m starting to get it.  I have a question on the 3 Note Guitar Solo lesson.  It’s in the key of E, but your jam track’s progression is E-D-A, which is not the I-IV-V progression I’m used to.  In E, I’d be playing E-A-B7 usually.  I’m a little confused.  Can you explain this?  Thanks.

  36. majkel says

    Hello,
    can you please help me?I dont know how to play a part from 4:33,its too fast,I tried play like I feel but I want to know how its “correct”.I like it so much and I play only week,so now I´m not able to improvize and need help,or tablature for last 20second or something,which help me.
    thank you

  37. Brian says

    If you’ve only been playing for a week - hats off to you for tackling this.  Unfortunately I don’t have tab for this lesson because I was just making it up.  The best I can tell you is to just keep watching the video over and over again so that your ear can hear it - if you’ve got a good enough ear you should be able to pick it out.  That’s ultimately what you’ll want to do anyway so that listen to other artists and learn there licks.

  38. Fozzy1 says

    Listening and playing by ear. Thats what its about………. Amazing how easy I’ve picked riffs from artists in just a month and practiced and played what I’ve heard. (Especially Hendrix riffs)……. Your a legend Brian.

    Fozzy.

  42. Mike 145 says

    Hey Thanks Brian,  I really appreciate this lesson.  I have been learning all my scales for years but when I try to solo,  everything I play sounds like Japanese Kyoto music to me.  My favorite guitarists are Eric Clapton & Peter Green, so I’m I’m not really into Vai, Satriani or Malmstein.  The solo that sets the hair up on the back of my neck is “The Supernatural” by Peter Green on the Bluesbreakers album A Hard Road.  Peter Green proves that less is more on that track…that long sustained note kills me every time I hear it.

  44. Mike 145 says

    Hi Mitchlong.  Another member discovered the same problem yesterday & found that he had to download to his laptop & transfer the files to his iPad using iTunes.  Hope this helps.
    Cheers

  46. Myck says

    Hi Brian,

    Awesome stuff you’r doing here with the 3 notes and the video with only 2 notes. Amazing really.
    Although, i still have one tiny request if i may 🙂

    I would love for you to give us some tips on using our right hand correctly, how do you decide about the rythm your playing, when to slowdown, when to accelerate.. because this looks random when listening to you but your random is SO much better than mine haha. So..  i figured you had some kind of pattern of something for your right hand. I believe it’s as much important as the bending and vibrato 🙂

    Thanks again for these lessons mate !

    M.

  47. Brian says

    Hey Myck - good question and one I can’t say that I’ve been asked before nor have I given much though to.  As for the rhythm that’s being played, I guess it’s just really a series of licks that I’ve learned from other artists.  BB King, Clapton, etc. and over time they just become part of your vernacular.  An analogy would be someone that is learning how to speak English coming up to you and asking how you time your words when you speak.  In other words, there is a cadence to the syllables and phrases that you form when you speak.  And the fact that you called me “mate” makes me assume that you’re probably Australian (possibly from the UK), so your accent and phrasing would be very different than mine and would have a totally different rhythm. 

    So I guess what I’m REALLY trying to say is that you’ll need to listen to Albert King, BB, etc.  and understand their phrasing and their timing and try and mimmic it and through time, you’ll develop a better sounding “randomness”.  Hopefully that makes sense.

  48. Myck says

    Hi Brian !

    Thanks a lot for this answer. A part of me already thought you were going to say this but i still hoped you had a miraculous tip. Maybe this is because i’m not from the UK (i’m french actually), but just lived there for some years haha. Things are not always as they seem 🙂

    Anyway, i’ll keep listening to these legends of blues and all, working my bends and vibrato and, of course, looking at your videos for great tips for my left hand 😀

    Again, thanks for you answer, and your videos !

  49. Soninho says

    If brian gives private lessons I die of envy of their students best lesson I’ve ever heard in a simple and easy to understand congratulations is undoubtedly an excellent teacher and an excellent guitarist.Tanks

  50. GemZombie says

    I love what you say at the end of this.  I’ve always had a theory that if you want to learn how to play a particular style of music, you need to understand the roots of that music… what makes the style that you want to play is the history and development behind it.  Anyone who doesn’t learn the roots will never really *get* it, at least in my experience.  Glad to hear you saying something that is compatible with my theory :)  I love Stevie Ray Vaughan, so now I’m getting into the 3 Kings (specifically Albert King)… and I can hear Albert King in SRV now (and not just in The Sky is Crying…). Anyway, thanks again for these… great lessons.

  53. darrennie says

    Brian, thanks for the great content your site has, best $5 I ever spent.
    Now in Eddie’s defence, as he is to some extent my “Albert King”, one must remember not only is he a great lead guitarist but also in my eyes an exceptional rhythm guitarist as well.
    Thanks for helping me learn a new language.

  55. ZagerGuitarFan says

    Started working on scales just in the last few weeks. I decided to go back to the “roots” of this site and I found this little gem. I found scales all over the fretboard that work wonderfully with the backing track; I was able to make several different positions of the E Major and the pentatonic major and minor sound as if they “belong”. It is finally starting to make sense, Brian. Thank you so much!

  57. Ho Yat W says

    Just wanna say a big thank you to you, Brian.

    I’ve been learning the guitar intermittently since 14 (now I’m 37) and I find your lesson really useful and inspiring!

    Your clear and to-the-point instruction has really taught me a lot.

    Thank you!

  59. Janice R says

    Hi Brian,
    I started watching your later lessons and it was way too fast for me.
    So, I decided to just go back to the beginning and this is exactly what I needed. I am mostly an acoustic player with desires to learn blues on my electric. Love your teaching style and glad I realized I was trying to do something way above my level. Plus you like all the guitar players I love!
    Thanks for great videos.
    Jan

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