Description
In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play a slow and heavy, Chicago style blues (on electric or acoustic guitar) by blending the notes of the Major and Minor Pentatonic Scales.
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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Fantastic lesson Brian! Ever week I feel like a kid waiting to open their Christmas presents. I can’t wait for the new weekly lessons to come out!
Can’t believe that sound is coming out of that guitar…looks can be deceiving. I would have walked right past it at Guitar Center.
Great Rockin’ Dirty Blues tune. Sounds original and familiar at the same time.
This is the lesson I have been waiting for.
That’s Brian.
Can’t wait to start learning this.
Brendan
Excellent!
Very useful application of major/minor pentatonic shapes. Fun music!
I can’t wait to play this one! Sounds great! Thanks Brian
Great lesson 😀
My kind of music more please johnstrat
Love this style of back to basics blues/rock! Thanks for putting this one out for us. Looking forward to learning another new lesson!
Great lesson! If only my fingers could move that fast!
I have followed your site for almost a decade now and this is definitely in the top 2 of my most favorite lessons you have ever done! Your style of teaching resonates so much in so many ways. I can honestly say this one takes the cake!! Thank you for continuing to deliver week after week after week.
Agree Bill – its definately up there !!! 🙂
Love it Brian, this is so up my alley! Also really loved last weeks.
I loved the V chord (B) ideas. I have struggled finding B ideas when playing in the key of E in the open position. This is great!
Great sound and beat to learn. The major and minor blending makes it sound dirty. Lots of fantastic connections and ideas. Again, nice V chord suggestions.
Brian: Love that mixolydian scale, but I’m confused about it. Wouldn’t E mixolydian be the B major scale, starting on the E, or the 5th scale degree? Doing that doesn’t get us to the pattern you showed in the video. Or another way to look at it. Wouldn’t E mixolydian be the E major scale with the flat 7? What you showed sounded great and it’s easy to get under the fingers, but it isn’t the E major scale with the flat 7.
Yes, I’m sure I’m overthinking this, or making some wrong assumptions, but can you help?
Hi James,
The E mixolydian mode is the fifth mode of A major. The symmetrical pattern Brian shows around the A shaped E chord is E mixolydian and has a two flat 7th intervals. The symmetrical shape is actually part of the B dorian shape starting on the B note, 7th fret on the 6th string, which has the same notes as the A major scale (ie. A major has the same notes as B dorian, as C# phrygian, D lydian, E mixolydian, F#aeolian, G# locrian).
John
Charjo: Thank you, thank you. I see it now. So playing with A major scale with E as the tonal center gets you E mixolydian and playing the same scale with B as the tonal central gets you B Dorian, I think.
That’s it, James.
Wow. Top lesson. Cheers Brian.
I really liked this one Brian, learned to play some notes that had puzzled me for years.
Joined a couple years ago this is easily in my top five lessons please keep this style of blues coming thanks for all you do always a pleasure
F Book just threw up a feed featuring Bob Margolin talking about the recording of Hard Again by Muddy and Johnny Winter. Great read. Then this little gem comes along which is right in the pocket of what Muddy was doing – well imho at least – thanks so much 🙂
Just love it,
This is another instant classic Brian! Great lesson. 😎🎸😎
Great lesson, great song, fantastic sound, even when it finished, I could still hear it in my head. Another Gem Brian.
Hi Jeff, I know what you mean about still hearing it. I think it will be with me all day 😊
Yep another great lesson, makes me pick up my guitar.
I love this stuff Brian – please keep em coming – Thanks again
i like the connections between the chords and the scales, special the mixolidium
Opening few bars reminds me of the opening on ‘Hey Joe’ love it
Truly a gem this one Brian, thank you! Thank you to continue demystifying the underlying patterns and building up my play weeks after weeks! I wish I came across your lessons 10 years earlier!
Five star lesson.*****
I’m excited about digging into this lesson. Great cure for snow storm & getting ready to do taxes blues! I like how you explained your effects settings at the start. I haven’t used pedals since the late 60’s with a fuzz tone driving my Fender Bandmaster….but now mostly play to entertain myself and am interested. Do you have recommendations for pedals – looks like a plethora out there
“Brian’s Bread and Butter Bedrock Blues” Thanks Brian for a great lesson. Seems that this style of play is what piqued my interest in your teaching 5 years ago and I still really love learning how to play it. I have also enjoyed your lessons in music theory that have given me the ability to understand and play other subtypes or genres like jazz or swing but basic blues really gets me going.
Hi Brian, excellent stuff this week, and great campfire acoustic jam that will really ring.
Thanks for the awesome lesson! Amazing that you open up so many ideas off of cord shapes. Making my Saturday morning super fun.
Really enjoy Chicago Blue 12 bars. It’s easy to play along with and everybody taps a foot to it!
I appreciate you pointing out what pattern Minor or Major. ‘That’s what I watch for when I first view the lesson.
I was trying to remember the easy way of getting into the Mixolydian scale. That was a-ha moment 🙂 A shape
Thanks as always
Love this lesson Brian.
Your excitement in the open EMP1 and EmP2 on strings 1,2,and 3 area is contagious. I want to own it!
Great lesson! Love that sweet & sour milky growl you coax out of that Odell. Many great takeaways. Always trying to blend pattern 1 minor and pattern 2 major. Focusing down at the nut with your examples gets me; I mean really gets me, in my blues wanna-be roots!
Thanks