Description
In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn the 3 main positions for minor triads (along with embellishments) and will be able to practice them in a stand-alone fingerstyle composition.
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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Michael Allen says
You never fail to get me excited every week with a new lesson! I love finger style ! Thanks Brian
blues46 says
Thanks, another way to cement triads and finger style playing into my brain.
David S says
Brian, your going to make me play the guitar in a way I never dreamed.You continue to amaze me.Thank you for all the lessons and maybe one of these days I will find them all.I am enjoying retirement more than ever.Didn’t know learning theory would be this much fun.Thanks again for all your hard work. Dave
Chris R says
Love it!
Ronald M says
Brilliant! This lesson is worth the cost of membership.
Andre H says
Go Down Moses!
Francois M says
You were smiling at the beginning of the first video. You knew you had something good here. You took a minor key song and made it sound upbeat. Sort of like the soundtrack to a Tim Burton movie. This piece has a catchy melody. I just read the book How to Write One Song by Jeff Tweedy and it inspired me to try to add some lyrics to this piece. It was tough to do that with the bluegrass peices. Thanks!
richard p says
Once again, a really cool vibe. After 2+ years on AM, I really get all of these triads and embellishments, so I really appreciate what you’ve taught me. Hopefully… hopefully… some day I’ll get the musical style that you have. Right now I’m all mechanical, and very little musical ability. But, for some reason it doesn’t frustrate me… I know it’s just a matter of time. I also think it’s like learning to talk… you start out with one word utterances, and eventually you learn a rich vocabulary. I’m looking forward to a musical vocabulary over time.
Robert Burlin says
Oh Boy! Haven’t even listened yet but I know I am going to have fun tonight.
And learn some great insights. How blessed can I be?
I am loving last weeks flat picking lesson and have to master that one.
Too Cool.
Ian C says
Fabulous ! I have recently developed a little practice piece that uses many of the elements included in this lesson. There’s several other great sounding embellishments here and I will expand to incorporate what I can.
I have developed a few small pieces inspired by your style of teaching and I would encourage others to try the same. I have discovered that I knew a a great deal more than I thought in taking this approach !
Thanks Brian.
Glenn W says
Great lesson. Good to see one with the rhythmic drone/independent thumb. Even though it takes a lot of work it’s definitely a technique worth working on and great for improvising and sounding impressive. Once you nail it it stays with you for ever.
Glenn says
Wow, Brian, this reminds me of the music with 1930s and 1940s cartoons.
Doug H says
Nice!!! Sometimes I wish he’d wait a while longer between lessons. When a new one comes out I wanna play with it before I’ve done much satisfactory work on the previous one. Its obviously my problem, not his. Im always jumping around from one technique, pattern, skill, etc, to another.
Daniel H says
I hear you Doug. Sometimes Brian will put out lessons of genres or styles that don’t interest me and I am ok with that because I can work on the last lesson that was relevant to me. Good news – Bad news is Brian has been on a tear putting great lessons every week the past several weeks. I have been a member over two years now and his material has been getting better (or maybe I am?). I am embracing it as a good reason to wake up a little earlier, get my coffee, and learn harder!
Marcel v says
Thanks again Brian! love your lessons and hope for more fingerpicking.
I also cannot keep up with your tempo in bringing new material. But I try to concentrate on one lesson, and go to another when I’ve spent enough time on it. (and go back to previous lessons to rehearse them). The temptation to switch to new lessons is great, but I try to focus on the material I’m trying to get under my fingers before moving to a next lesson.
Incredible how you can make up a lesson, record it, transcribe it within a week. While it takes me much longer to just study it. Thanks again.
Buster89 says
Wonderful piece ! I really enjoy that style of beat on the drone root string. Took a couple of days but I think I got it. Thanks Brian for another memorable and valuable lesson.
David E says
This is a great lesson to move up and down the fretboard using the I IV V chords. You have given us minor triads but it occurred to me that the principle would work for major chords to. Of course the embellishments may need to be altered sometimes for a major feel. What do you other guitarists think?
David S says
Brian, Found Lonnie Johnson lesson that I hadn’t got to. Another fantastic one. Any chance on Lonnie Johnson style lesson sometime. Lots of light burners in this. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Dave as Elvis sometimes says. EP 140 fantasticle !!!
Pentti S says
Brian, thank you so much for this.
Your composition is simple, but very very beautiful as such. You suprise me every week.
Thank you for your strategy to create original tunes in your lessons. No other guitar lesson in the internet offer this. It is unique.
Keep on going and I will subscribe.
Thanks
Pentti J
Peter H says
Great lesson. I’m still working on it but it has really helped me with my fingerstyle playing. Challenging but rewarding.
Robert M says
Enchanting tune, rather spooky. I like it. Why is it Dorian?
Stephen K says
Interesting piece – thank you again for the variety of styles and diverse ideas you bring to your lessons! It has a sinister sound to it, I’m guessing because its all minor and 7th chords. Reaaly unique composition and I love the constant bass lines.
Michael G says
Love it. Another unique feel with the same skill set and theory. Awesome. Mysterious sounding; reminds me of Brian Ferry’s “Limbo”. I wish that you had be around when I was in high school. I’d be a guitar “god” by now.
Mark W says
A technique that worked for me on this lesson was to tap my foot with the bass note. Practice just doing that first, then layer on the fingered notes, simple first then the more difficult fingering once you get the feel of it! 😁
steve h says
Thanks for the lesson and encouragement. Nice of you to acknowledge that for beginners like me its a slow-go. Have a looooong way to go ’till i get independent rhythm down! Best.
Asle V says
I L O V E this lesson !
There should be a follow up lesson for this with some swinging chords !
Tipp topp tommel opp !
Donald S says
Brian,
In measure 20, i was playing it st 25% and there is a little slide in the musical notation that you play, but what you play goes up in pitch. The notation doesn’t show that and the tab doesn’t have it at all.
What is supposed to be there?
Thanks
Don