Active Melody

Learn to play blues guitar.

How to use a Diminished Scale and Chord in a 12 Bar Blues – EP170

Description

If you’re looking for a simple way to add a little jazz to your blues rhythm or lead, then you’ll love this lesson. I’ll show you how to use a diminished arpeggio and chord over the 4 chord in a 12 bar blues. This is a simple technique for adding a jazzy flair to your blues. The first time through I’ll show you the rhythm part, the 2nd time through I’ll show you how to add fill licks to that rhythm.

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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Comments

    • Tommy B says

      Great Lesson! For some reason the yellow shirt against the red guitar bothered me as well…isnt that weird…but please feel free to wear anything you like and keep the wonderful material coming…you are great!

  8. Aussie Rick says

    Great lesson Brian. Have been keen to introduce a jazzy feel to my blues playing – and this lesson, besides being a great unaccompanied tune itself, has the take-aways to do help do that. Thanks again Brian.
    Rick

  12. Frank66 says

    Hi Brian,

    Great and interesting lesson. I’m developing more and more interest in jazzy guitar, thanks to you, so this is very much appreciated!
    As i only play acoustics, could you please always mention if the electric lessons will work / sound good / make sense on acoustic guitar to?
    That would be great to know before i set myself to learn the whole and sometimes pretty difficult lessons.

    Thanks.

    Eric

  17. Donzo says

    Great lesson again. I now hear that diminished scale played in Allman Brothers Elizabeth Reed, now I hear it in context. As I’ve learned more from your lessons, I hear them when I listen to other music!!

  21. Stephen S says

    I just cannot TELL you how this lesson made light bulbs go off in my head! I’ve always loved 9th and diminished chords, but never thought to work diminished chirds into a 1-4-5 blues. Add the chord-based licks AND the arpeggio! WOW! Heaven. THANKS BRIAN!!!

  22. madams says

    Hi Brian,

    I really love your recent lessons. I am starting to visualize the fretboard which has improved my playing immensely.

    Please keep up the great work. It is very much appreciated.

    Best,
    Michael

  25. sunjamr says

    Way cool! I spent 15 minutes watching the first video, then sat around for an hour just inserting the chords into a 12 bar blues shuffle in all kinds of different ways. Then I started working in some licks I know, and before long I realized “Hey, I’m actually creating an original song here”. And that’s why I love these kinds of lessons.

  29. Michael S says

    Real cool brother. I have been playing some of this stuff for years, but I always walk away with something from you. Nice to watch another picker at work, you inevitably learn something. Great job. Blow off the comments on the shirt, who gives a f… ? It’s your world.

  30. Bill H says

    Hay Brian. Like this one a bunch. If you can expand on this format, other maj. practice sets, min sets, really anything related, GO as far as you can take it. Linking chords and creating arpeggio links thru them is very helpful in expanding solo content in a very natural sounding way.

  31. Harris (Sebastian) T says

    Another good lesson, Brian. Thanks for being so thorough with the whys as well as the hows. Part 2 is a blur for me—something defective—can it be corrected? I live in Chiang Mai, Thailand, not too far from China. I bought a great copy from China of a Gibson es345, with 6-position switch for a fraction of the cost in LA, California (my former home). If anyone wants some help ordering from a reliable Chinese company, I can be reached at harristiano@yahoo.com.

  32. Don D. says

    This is a really great lesson, along with EP167 and EP168, a trio of lessons that are going a long way to freeing up the way I look at the neck.

    There’s something I want to mention that may make it easier for people to understand why the G6 works over the A chord; looked at a different way, the G6 is actually part of the A9 chord, and it’s not far from being the typical T-Bone Walker A9 voicing. It’s G, B, E, G ascending, there you have the 7, 9, 5 and 7 of the A9. If you take away the high G and add a C# below (5th string, 4th fret), you have the T-Bone Walker A9 (and you can also slide it down from a step above).

  39. gretchen H says

    Help me, Brian! I’ve been really enjoying learning ways to substitute dim, 2m, 9 and 6 chords for the ol’ reliables and this lesson helped a lot. BUT since you called this lesson “in Blues…work in a Dimished scale over the 4 chord” I’m trying to fit this into a 12-bar blues pattern and failing. Assuming the D9 and D#dim are variations on the IV chord as you were explaining, I interpret what you wrote as follows: After the Intro (I-V?), it appears to go like this: I-IV-I-I- IV- IV- I- I- V- IV (repeat intro leading into part 2: I -V ). Apparently you’re replacing the second I chord of a standard 12-bar blues with a substitute IV chord (D9-D#dim7). In other words, that D9-D#dim 7 chord measure is filling in for what would ordinarily be a measure of A or A7 chords, rather than a measure of D or D7, as in I-I-I-I-IV-IV-I-I-V-IV-I-I…Or is it?

  40. Phillip H says

    Hey Brian

    You did some great little innovative licks at the end of EP170. for premium members. Are you able to do a lesson on how you did these or licks like these in the key of A. EP 170 is great but it could do with some extra licks to fatten it out a bit

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