Active Melody

Learn to play blues guitar.

Slow R&B Style Lead Guitar Lesson – “Lovely Lisa” – EP174

Description

This guitar lesson is a slow, melodic lead played over an R&B style rhythm. This rhythm is made up of 4 chords in the key of A, with an interesting sounding F chord thrown in to keep things interesting. This lesson is designed to show you how to play the scale of the song key (not changing scales to match the chords). Most of what you’ll be playing will be the major pentatonic scale, however, you’ll switch to the minor pentatonic scale over that 4th chord (the F).

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Comments

    • Ken G says

      Great lesson Brian …. at 19:50 you were discussing why the notes worked over the F major chord …. the way I like to think about that little riff is that the notes are essentially the chord tones of an F major chord as a “C” form of the chord from the CAGED system …. not perfect but it helps me to look at it that way … Keep the lessons coming …. they have really helped my playing alot

    • William D says

      The reason the F chord works is because you have actually changed keys from A major to C major with the F major chord with just that one chord.. The F major chord is the IV chord in the key of C. The entire C major scale and its notes apply c-d-e-f-g-a-b-c or the just Aminor pentatonc/A blues scale scale a-c-d-e-g or a-c-d-d#-e. The blues note is an ‘outside’, ‘approach or ‘chromatic’note.

      The sound of this change is heard in “Statue of a Fool” into beginning and end of the song , and the introduction to Duane Eddy’s ” Strangers on the Shore”. You also hear it in chords progressions ll:A-G-F-G :ll

      You can have a lot of fun jamming on A major pentatonic then changing scales to A minor pentatonic or playing arpeggios over F chord like the F add2 chord notes F-G-A-C arpeggio diagonally up the neck. It is always fun to apply a different scale and this one really works for that. There is a great John Mayer Blues/Country Jam Track on YouTube that is set up the same way only with 4 bars or each key that starts with 4 bears of A major (with a G chord in the mix) and then 4 bars of A minor ( 2 bars in C and 2 bars in Aminor). It is incredible fun.

      This would be a great lesson to add new solos to in the future. So far this my favorite solo that Brian teaches.

  2. Jeem says

    Very, very nice.
    I suddenly have “orders” from the wife, “Learn that one…I love the sound of it!”
    (And since she approves “most” guitar purchases…mi tiene a sus ordenes!)

    Thanks for another great one Mr. Brian!

    Jim

    • jimbostrat says

      Funny U mention the wife ‘approving guitar purchases’…..man………….that hit’s home with me!! Even if it’s also my money………..and I admit my guitar purchases are a bit leaning toward the extreme side…..vintage………..I learned way back not to dare purchase anything or even consider purchasing any guitar sans the wife’s initial approval!!

      Jim C.

      • Jeem says

        Jimbo,

        “…Even if it’s also my money”?
        That aint the way it works bro’. Your money is “our” money and her money is her money. Who cares though as long as she “approves” without too much of a fight! :< )

      • steve S says

        Just tell her investing in quality vintage guitars is better than buying stocks. It’s true too. If you purchase correctly you’ll see. I had played some Japanese Squire Strats
        that played better that any custom shop strat I have ever picked up. I ended up finding 2 for a very good price. They’re worth 8-10 what I paid for them. Also big headed 70’s strat’s with the bullet truss rod when 3 bolt necks were looked on less favorably. Actually, I bought them because of the big headstocks! Again 4-5 more then I paid.
        Tell her that.

  11. barry says

    Another Brilliant and Soulfull Played Piece Brian !!Music is Medicine Wether you Play or listen and your certainly done both here!! My Best wishes Go to Lisa and Phil im sure this will be a tonic to both of them!! Barry

    On the question of whats happening over the F chord change too ways ,your playing F lydian coming from the C major scale relative to the Am: or D dorian second degree of C hope this helps .

    • Brian says

      Thanks Barry, I think F Lydian makes the most sense in describing. why it works. D Dorian sounds right as well, but I don’t understand why D Dorian works over and F chord – can you elaborate?

      • barry says

        Hi Brian

        The Chord F Contains the Top 3 notes of Dm7 You Played a D Chord just before the F Chord For one Bar Giving a Brief

        Change to the Key of Am You have the choice of three modes, D dorian F Lydian & A Natural Minor

        Which is all Part of The C Scale Just for that One Bar.

        • KingB says

          Interesting discussion. At the 5th fret, the F chord is of the ‘C’ shape and it is easy to visualize the A natural minor scale (a.k.a. Aeolian mode of C), which uses the same notes of the C scale as the other modes you describe, D Dorian and F Lydian . The only note missing from the A minor pentanonic is the F note, which Brian skilfully avoids, or I guess one could bend the E a semi-tone as in the recent slow country lead lesson. This really does encourage us to think outside the square or should I say ‘box’.

  13. Bill W2 says

    Very touching to hear you Brian dedicating this soulful tune to Phil and Lisa. Along with all the others here I wish you two strength and comfort during this difficult period.

    Brian your lessons really give us great insight to thinking out of the box in order to make our playing different. That “F” Major is a way of bringing the attention of the listener to the tune.

    Regarding the relation of “F” Major to “A Minor”…if i may…the only difference in the scale , and the reason they work so well imo is that there’s a one note difference which is the “B Flat” in “F Major” …all the other notes work. Hope i’m right in this and not steering others in wrong outlook

    peace to all in these crazy times.

  14. phil l says

    hy, Bryan,
    Sorry for my english but i ‘m french….
    It is a nice lesson . as usually .
    Sorry for my question for an another lesson but I don’t know ecxatly where to go for telling what i wanted to say to you :

    The lesson EP171 : western swing, was a very good approach of the jazz.
    Why don’t you make an another lesson on this subject ?
    it is an excellent way to improvise on jazz items , but it needs to be mixed with , by exemple , with harmonic or melodic minor scales.
    i worked a lot this lesson but i miss the way to introduce minor scales scales without going out of this metod of approach of a chord.
    I thought after this lesson you will make another lesson for explaining more about this method but you didn’t.
    I want to tell you I am improving a lot with your lessons .
    i’m 58 years ans i practice until 30 years with guitar and saxophone.
    I have made a great progress in guitar (and with the sax also) and i want to thank you for that.
    cdlt
    phil.

  15. stardoc1 says

    Beautiful dedication to Lisa. My best to Lisa and Phil. I’m sure this music will bring comfort to them. Brian, you are an inspiration in so many ways. Thank you for sharing your talent.
    Jim W.

  19. drlknstein says

    condolences and best wishes for phil and lisa..
    very nice lesson with excellent ideas and take aways , as usual-
    I wish I could remember more of them over time..

    and your shirt is way cool!….it reminded me immediately of a recent lesson (I can t remember which one) it was in the open position C and – G etc.
    I sprained my wrist working on it. .anyway once i got the melody going a little bit, i could t help going into “nashville cats” by the loving spoonful. a song that I love..

    … …well the record man said every one was Yellow Sun Record from Nashville and up north there aint no one who buys em… and I said.. .but I will … !!

    .Nashville cats.

    thanks

  20. squirewire1963 says

    Hi Brian, I haven’t visited your site too much over the summer but it is always a pleasure when I sign in and see what is up. I do pretty well with your lessons but I have a request. It is a pretty simplistic request but remember…we are new and a bit wet behind the ears. I can take the time to learn your lessons (and love doing so) but I tend to just watch and copy. How about lesson or three tackling a basic? The rhythm guitar that just enhances your sound track…not sure how to word it…just a choppy occasional chord played each measure. That would be a great beginner lesson explain (‘Splain Lucy) showing the how’s and what’s and when’s to add that great sounding chord to accentuate the feeling. I’m not sure if I was very clear but I bet you get what I am saying. 🙂

    • sunjamr says

      The tab for the lesson shows the chords for each bar, so I would just play the chords along with the jamtrack and try to copy it. There is much truth to the old adage: The best way to achieve success is to copy success.

  21. Robert J says

    Great lesson. Very sweet to dedicate this to Lisa and Phil. Very, very cool. As to the why the A minor works over the F chord, I think it’s because you’re working in pattern 4 for the Key of F, which is very close to pattern 1 for A minor. Just a guess. Thanks !

  22. gregd says

    Beautiful lesson Brian

    Today guitar players from all over the world were pouring their collective energy into this and wishing Phil and Lisa all the best with a passion encompassed in the music

    Maybe someday we will be able to measure it -in the meantime I would trust Phil and Lisa would be feel it.

    cheers greg

  27. Rocker9362 says

    I love this jam. Good job Brian. I was getting worried that this site was drifting towards a country music site. Thanks for renewing my faith in you and this site. I’m on my second year subscription and have really gotten my money’s worth. Best lesson site on the net in my opinion. very patient instructor with more than enough practice tools offered. Thank you.

  28. BRENDAN G says

    Hi there,
    Great lesson, a must learn song me. All the best best to Phil & Lisa from Australia.
    A quick question what pickup position are you using and is the sound clean with a bit of reverb?
    Regards
    Brendan

  30. sunjamr says

    I found the same thing as @robert-j: A simple explanation for why those lead notes work with the F chord is that they are played in the 4th position of the F major pentatonic scale. You can play any notes in that 4th position and they sound good. Or for that matter, you can play any notes on any of the F major pentatonic positions and they sound good.

  31. DerekBlue says

    When I first heard this lesson last Friday night, I thought it would be fun and easy to play. A nice slow blues. I worked through it that night and most of the day on Saturday. I was right, getting through the notes was the easy part, but man! what an opportunity to develop your “feel” for the bends and the dynamics. This is a great lesson on timing, touch and bend technique. Can I play it? Sure. Will I master it? Maybe one day. So far, it’s hard to play through twice the same way. Tremendous opportunity for emotional expression and a great song for a tribute to Lisa. Thanks for another great lesson Brian.

    Brad

  32. thomas.zecha says

    Thanks for another fantastic guitar lesson Brian. You are definitly the best teacher on the web describing and showing how to become a guitar player.
    I think another way of describing the change to F is simply changing the scale to A-minor for one measure, than A-minor penta scale fits into F.

    Greetings
    Thomas

    • thomas.zecha says

      Thanks for another fantastic guitar lesson Brian. You are definitly the best teacher on the web describing and showing how to become a guitar player.
      I think another way of describing the change to F is simply changing the scale to A-minor for one measure, than A-minor penta scale fits into F.

      Greetings
      Thomas

      More accurate spoken: change the key to A-minor, F-major is than on the 6th

      All the best for Lisa and her family

  34. ZagerGuitarFan says

    Beautiful lesson, Brian! The shift to A minor pentatonic works well because, IMO, the F# is the Relative Minor of A, so there is a relationship there. The ear is already on notice that something is amiss by going from D to F, so it is comfortable with the oddly dissonant affect that has that sounds like it should just naturally be. It works and that is what matters to my ear.
    Lovely Lisa! Great title, too!

  36. KingB says

    Thanks for your insight into using a # V chord in place of a regular V. Albert King used this in “As the years Go Passing By’ (best known as the source of the “Layla” riff by Clapton) and it’s always intrigued me.

  40. Paul S says

    Brian – make an F Maj on the fifth fret. Some of the notes you are using are in that chord. So that’s why it works. Using an Am scale you simply add the f on the 2nd string 6th fret to make the F Maj chord. So it naturally fits since the notes are all there. Does that make sense? Love the piece. Looking forward to learning it. I’m still back on 172. Loving that too! Paul

  47. nathan m says

    just a thought but could you do a lesson were do something in a minor key. i don’t know why but i seem to be more comfortable in a major key, but i would like to be better in a minor key if that makes sense

  49. Purple Hazer says

    Your slow, melodic lead played over an R&B style rhythm has provided me with another tune to practise and enjoy. Once I am satisfied that I can play it well enough and with feeling, maybe not as much as you have in playing this song, but with some measure of feelings to bring out the meaning behind what it is about.. I will play it and tell of it’s reason.. Thanks

  51. Francisco M says

    Hi Brian.

    A minor works for the F chord because, A minor is the relative minor of C major, same notes. In turn, C major key is similar to F major key, given that they are only one 5th apart. The only difference is F key has Bb, C key has B.

    So, when the band is playing F in Lisa Song, if you guys play A minor pentatonic pattern anyway you would not be playing B. So it works perfectly. If for some reason you happen to play B, you would be playing a B over an F chord, which is a blue note (a flat 5th). Does not quite match the style but it is not a far leap stylewise.

    Hope it helps!

  53. Richard P says

    Can someone help me with the beat count? In tab I get confused sometimes. In the first measure, there’s a1/4 rest and a 1/16 note rest. Is the B just a grace note with the C# played on the e of 2? Is the 2nd quarter bend on the C# another grace note with the B played in the 4? In measure 2 is it 1 & a 2 (rest) 3 & 4 e & a? thx

  55. John M says

    I just recently became a member of AM, been playing acoustic guitar for 45 years. I’ve never picked up or played an electric guitar, NEVER. After hearing this incredible piece by Brian and playing it on an acoustic guitar which sounded OK but the true feeling of the piece was missing, Well, I ordered a Fender Stratocaster and an amp and in doing so I found the feeling. All I can say is thanks Brian.

  57. Frederick B says

    I was a bass player in a former life and to me the answer is obvious.
    A Major Scale: A B C# D E F# G# A
    F Major Scale: F G A Bb C D E F
    Not a lot of the notes are the same that’s why if the group is playing A and the bass is playing F it can sound pretty bad sometimes (Though this is usually a mistake the rhythm guitar would make, not the bass)
    Now the A Minor Pentatonic Scale: A C D E G A
    All the notes fit nicely in the F Major Scale. The order played might be a little different than playing in F but that’s what give it the unique sound.
    That’s what I think is happening but I’m new to this guitar stuff and bass players aren’t always reliable.

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