Description
In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to improvise chords and fill licks around a recognizable melody by playing the song “When The Saints Go Marching In”. This is also a standalone composition (no jam track needed) – and works on acoustic or electric guitar.
Part 1 - Free Guitar Lesson
Part 2 - For Premium Members
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Slow Walkthrough
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Video Tablature Breakdown
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This sounds great. Thanks Brian.
How do I stay logged in, for days?
click and drag the lock in the address bar to your desk top that’s what I did
Since I was born and raised in New Orleans, I really appreciate this tune. Thanks Brian
Got information on the guitar the skeleton is using?? looks killer……Nice lesson once again
Looks new maybe its Justin stock …………
Yes. Good eye
got some screamin pick ups and bone nut n bridge
Bit of a Bo Diddly job!
I’m decent with pentatonic scale, but flying pretty blind with the major scale. Should I be learning that it in order to understand why the individual notes work in piece like this? Or should I just stick with the chord shapes and pentatonics, and just accept that some of the notes don’t fit, and memorize them and move on?
Love the song. Really upbeat arrangement Brian.
This is exactly what I have been working on. This tune and Wade In The Water. Been trying to improvise around both tunes using the Cage System. Thanks Brian. Care to do Wade In The Water?
Namaste. Great lesson. Though I don”t want to direct any artist and one should not, I think sequalae solidifies the teachings. Examples are 213,214,303 and 305.So I would love to have and learn the sequalae of this kind. Song like “Meet me in the city” by Junior Kimbrough would be perfect for students like us who will learn little bit of fingerstyle blues and some new renditions technique. Hope you will give it a second thought. Thanx.
Interesting arrangement .. thanks Brian.
Another useful one Brian funnily enough I was noodling around on this about a day or two ago and now I can start to see where it can take one.
Thanks. JohnStrat
I am a little lost on this one. You started out talking about playing the melody. How do you find the melody without the sheet music?
It’s great practice to try to figure out melodies by ear. Just try to work it out note by note. Good luck!
I was afraid that was the answer!
Do you have a process you follow to figure it out? I know for instance chords are made up of the 1-3-5 etc.
sheet music? what’s that? 🙂
I was afraid that was the answer!
snicker sncker
Do you have a process you follow to figure it out? I know for instance chords are made up of the 1-3-5 etc.
Just perfect!
Amazing! Thank you, Brian!
Terrific, Brian! It would be great to have more lessons based on well known songs with fill licks and/or improv (also like St. James Infirmary a while back).
The ES175 is also very tasty, but if I had it I couldn’t resist having it refinished!
Hi Brian–Thanks so much for the lessons! Is there any way you can post the full-speed tempo you play at on each of the compositions? When I print the tablature, there is a tempo indication, but I think it is the tempo of the slower walk-through played in the tab viewer. I’d love to have an easy way to tell what the full tempo is without trying to clock each lesson.
Another brilliant lesson, thanks Brian.
When I first saw this lesson was Saints, I thought, what will be next Camptown Races? But. man was I wrong! This is a great lesson, with so many take aways. You could turn Mary Had a Little Lamb into an awesome lesson.
Thank you Brian.
This was a great lesson Brian, just what I needed. After learning this lesson I tried the using your advice and now find it much easier to improvise.
Thanks again
Ray P
I think there’s a lot to be said for lessons revolving around songs familiar to everyone. A lot of working through a song is becoming familiar with it and I found I was able to work through this one quicker because I always had the song in my head.
Totally agree Glenn. So much easier – for me anyway – when I know a song
Cheers
Brian, you amaze me. You are on steroids the way you are churning out such quality and variety. I especially love these lessons based on a familiar melody. Thanks.
The tone you’re getting on your new/old Gibson is killer! It reminds me of the guitar tones I heard through our old record player as a kid. Great find Brian. What is the other old Gibson you have?
You’re probably thinking of the ES-125 – also from the 50s
Wow. Just amazing. There is so much useful advice in here I could easily work with the teachings from this lesson for weeks. The best part is how we can go wild on the notes as long as we play the right note to resolve at the right time. I have been using Let It Be as my basic song to try to dress up with fingerstyle embellishments, etc. and will see how I can incorporate the teachings from this lesson into playing that song. In When the Saints Go Marching In you can just hear the Dixie bands going nuts between melody phrases but I’m not sure it will work as well for something like Let It Be. I imagine you can’t address a song like Let It Be because of copyright issues. Anyways, thank you. I enjoy each lesson.
Brian:
I have one question regarding landing on the “Resolve” note. At 13:28 on part 2 you mention landing on the Resolve note, which appears to be B. Is this the 2nd for the A Chord at that point or am I just confused ?? Is there a general rule for landing on a particular note to resolve like the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th etc. Just not sure where the B fit in.
Thanks again for providing great lessons with some theory to help make sense of it all.
Randy
my name is not brian, but I allow myselfe to answer and tell you how I see it. The B is actually a chord-tone of the E-Chord (the 5th), but is played a litte before the chord-change (A to E) and therefore creates a strong tension and makes us “wait” for E-chord to releave the tension. The Note B actually “belongs” to the E-Chord.
Roland:
I was thinking after I posted the question that it was a Dominant 2nd type note of the Dominate chord E , along the lines of the Dominated 2nd lesson Brian gave awhile ago. Thank you for commenting on this. I love the theory parts, but can’t dwell on it too long.
Thanks for the help,
Randy
great lesson Brian.
I agree with Francois.It really opens up a new way of thinking and playing for me.Normaly I played the “saints ” in a ragtime fingerpickingstyle in C or G, somewhow a little bit like EP296.It sounds good ,but your version is different and more interesting. I wonder how you would do it in fingerstyle.Might be you give it a try and you will show us somewhen???
Thanks a lot
Peter
This lesson, revolving around “When the Saints”, is a wonderful practice piece. I have always played it “plain Jane” style, because I don’t have a lot of imagination, but since I’ve been checking out lessons – with all the different “voicings” and learning (at least in my head), I am getting to have a better “handle” on where I can add to my old simple melody style. My broken finger is now getting broken in slowly. Yipee!
Greatly enjoying this and learning useful stuff. I may have to learn to sing it!
this is perfect, more more more 🙂
Great lesson with some great ideas. My wife caught me doing this with the Star Spangled Banner a few months ago. She said “How did you learn to play that?”. I said “really? If you can hum the tune you can figure out the notes”. The trick is to add the color as illustrated by Brian in this lesson.
Thank you for this idea! I would love to have more lessons like this. This way I learn a song with melody and chords plus how to improvise! Thats great! It is fun and sound like music!
Brian – what’s the odd chord at 18.30 in the first video please?
Just slid into an A7
Between the A7 at the 5th and the A at the 2nd there’s a little passing chord you slip in – its that one that’s puzzling me – I think the notes are EBDF#
Very enjoyable lesson and I like your idea of thinking of it in terms of call and response, helps to focus on melody and fills.
Brian- Another great learning lesson.Keep em coming. Thank for all you do. Dave
Excellent work, Brian! Your love for what you do is just flowing — really, really flowing! It works!
Thanks for working the way you do.
Glenwood
Super lesson as always, Brian — but what makes this one special is that it’s just so much fun. I’ve been having a ball building (or trying to!) on what you taught to keep working up new licks built on the basic structure and melody. So liberating! Thanks so much.
I love this. I’m busy with Christmas songs at the moment. In doing them, I realize that I get much more out of the “etudes” when they are close to or actually interpretations of songs I’m familiar with. WTSGMI is a great example of this, especially with the emphasis on improvising. I’ve done Silent Night, Midnight Clear, Jingle (Jangle) Bells & am working on O Holy Night. Plan to do Saints next. Thanks. Happy Hallowe’en & happy Christmas holiday season.
Just the ticket for where I’m at! Yes please more lessons like this I know chord shapes, voicings up the neck (CAGED), pentatonics and harmonic thirds & sixths, but putting it all together is the barrier I’ve hit. This lesson speaks to that . THX
hello brian, in part two when picking out the d# dim 7 you say think minor penitonic pattern one but 7th fret string 2 is not in it but, is in major so i think i have that , how about string 1 fret 4 why doe that work ?
Bellissima. Ongi settimana una nuova idea imprendibile.
Hi Brian, love the Gibson, love the song, could you possible do a lesson on Amazing Grace from this perspective of melody. By the way I own a 1959 Gibson Bryland, I got her out recently brushed of the dust still, the guitar works good, but the Brian and fingers haven’t caught up yet haha, Just love your style keep up the great lessons. Will
is that first shape move able down two a A up two a B ? Thanks
disregard wrong lesson tks.
Great stuff, this made me revist EP261 St James’s Infirmary which is along similar lines. Another good one to do would be Cocaine Blues by the Reverend Gary Davis. Davy Graham did a good version of this.
Also there was a good tip in your YouTube video. To play fast you have to practice fast.
All the best Barry
Your Gibson got a good home now Brian!
I appreciate especially those “etudes” that relate to an established song. I’ve been working with my brother on an arrangement for Reenlistment Blues (A theme melody in the 1950’s film From Here to Eternity) I worked out an accompaniment routine with chords, fills & a solo. I jammed with some people & got compliments on my arrangement. So, thanks for the ideas & themes in your lessons. I found myself using a Freddy Green chord on the I. It works. If you’re ever wondering what to do next, I’d love to see an exposition of Freddy Green’s MO. Next few weeks to be devoted to triads. I discovered them a few years ago, but your lessons go beyond learning the chords, but rather what, when & how to use them. Thanks,
RF
Well that was great Brian, I really dug that. How about a similar lesson around St James Infirmary? Could be a covid 19 special!
Oops you already did that, ahead of the game, great stuff!
Thanks for this lesson, Brian. I really appreciate the effort you make to explain how you get to certain notes and how it all ties together with chord shapes.
Great lesson. Thanks to you , I now have a great interest in triads, 7ths, inversions, drop2,3. I can intellectualize the link between chords and scales and play them…..waiting for the rock to hit me when I internalize it… The moment I know 2×3 = 6 without laying out 3 rows of 2 apples.
Hey!
New member here, any chance of upping the traditional version?
Because there are many parts where yuo say “instead of” and “this would be” that would be easier to understand if you made a lesson on the traditional version. Thanks!