Active Melody

Learn to play blues guitar.

Solo over the chord changes by yourself and incorporate diminished scales – Guitar Lesson EP358

Description

In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to incorporate 3 different diminished scales when playing lead over chord changes. There is no jam track needed for this, you’ll be able to play lead by yourself and target chord tones, giving you a lead that works on it’s own.

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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Comments

    • Robert M says

      Brian is amazing, I don’t know how he comes up with all these original compositions. I’m still working on some from weeks ago. Today the fingers won’t go where they re supposed to go so I put it away and turned the tv on. 🤨

    • Joseph S says

      Brian, I loved the lesson and got a lot out of it. I have a request, can you do some more lessons for slide? I’ve really gotten in to the old school delta blues and I’m trying add another dynamic to my playing. Can you do a lesson in the style of Johnny Winters, Robert Johnson, or any of the great slide players?

    • Joshua C says

      I have been learning through your lessons for almost two years and have much respect for your passion in music and your ability to teach .With that being said I hope you will dig into Gypsy jazz genre and more ragtime lessons. ! Thank you for all the time you have put into teaching !

  6. Wiesław M says

    Excellent melody. Great lesson. Lots of interesting ideas and info on how to use diminished chords.

    One suggestion, if I may. It might be extremely useful if you not only said which frets to play on, but also which note of the chord you play, empathising that you play the root, third, fifth or flat seventh note, or that you make a chromatic walk up/down to that note. It would make us (me definitely) aware of the chord tones.
    .

    • Jay Guitarman says

      Yes. I also prefer…. Since it is possible to see the frets, it is less useful to also hear which number of fret is played. For instance, if you start the diminished chord on the A string, you should know why and not where it is. If you know that it is the third of the C shaped chord, and that you then go to the fifth, the seventh and to the flat nine, it is easier to memorize…

    • David L says

      + 1
      I find it very useful to knowing this so that I can make sense of target notes when I’m improvising. I find myself reverting to playing scales and not landing on the “right” notes.

  9. Walter D says

    Wow, this is 2nd-level stuff. Such high quality nuggets throughout. I really enjoyed learning EP-348 and this just dovetails nicely and reinforces the similar concepts. Thanks again, Brian.

  13. JohnStrat says

    Brian,

    I waited up a bit here in the UK last night hoping you might post the lesson but then hit the sack. Well if I had stayed up I certainly would not have been disappointed for this is absolutely the perfect lesson for me now, I am really grateful for you dedication to getting this across to us all and you do do a most wonderful job, a big thanks as always.
    JohnStrat

  14. charjo says

    Brian,
    Thanks for helping with the use of diminished chords and arpeggios, that’s really fills some knowledge gaps. At 12:17 of the part 1 video you play an Adim7 arpeggio, You play frets 3 and 5 on the A string, ie. C and D. It sounds good but to truly play the diminished arpeggio, every note should be a minor 3rd apart, so that should be C and Eb, ie frets 3 and 6. I only mention it so people don’t get the wrong idea for the pattern of the diminished arpeggio.
    John

  15. Biker13 says

    I’m in the minority I guess and always prefer a lesson with a jam track (it keeps your playing more honest). But these past 2 weeks I’ve loved the solo guitar lessons. Great compositions.

  17. Andy N says

    Lots of ticks in the box for me with this lesson. Always struggled with trying to use diminished chords. Along with EP348 you’ve got a little mini series developing here Brian!

  19. John D says

    Brian,that explication of the 3 diminished chord uses was great, Really made a connection with that.
    It’s something I’ve heard in music but couldn’t figure out…a
    So the 2-5 1 going to the four was cool too. Thank you. Great lesson
    John D

    • paul c says

      brian this may have been self explanitory to some but me NO! i would like to know how you determine which diminished chord to use. i notice when you moved from the 4 chord back to the 1 you used a 1 dim. but when you moved from the 5 you used a 1# dim . i realize there are only 3 dim chords but you still need to make a choice.what determines that? thanx paul

      • Jay Guitarman says

        Hi Paul, I try to give you my view of this approach, and yes of course, the lapse of time Brian reserved to this subject, may not be sufficient to totally grasp the matter. But he inspires us to come up with new ideas and to think about what we play… So I have two ways to find the diminished chord you need to put more tension in your playing. When you play the D chord, you can play instead the sharpened version of it. When you play the five chord you can play the sharpened version of it, i.e. the E # chord. So my reference strings for these are the A string and the B string. If you then imagine the C shape lying underneath you got it! You can then play the nice appergio on top of these chords as Brian explained. So my reference string is not the high E string or where my pinky is…

  21. brian-belsey says

    Could I suggest an alternative lh fingering for bar 7 over the A dim7 chord? I find it suits my hand better to move from fret 4 to fret 7 each time (with the pinky), finishing on the 2nd string. The pull-offs work nicely on the 2nd string and the hand is well positioned then for the last two notes of the bar.

  22. Joseph S says

    Brian, I loved the lesson and got a lot out of it. I have a request, can you do some more lessons for slide? I’ve really gotten in to the old school delta blues and I’m trying add another dynamic to my playing. Can you do a lesson in the style of Johnny Winters, Robert Johnson, or any of the great slide players?

  24. David O says

    Thanks Brian, for another great lesson, Interesting, I’ve been playing around with diminished chords and scales whole / half and half / whole for a few months now. they sound great together so your timing is great, nice tune too. Cheers..

  25. David B says

    Fantastic lesson.

    I really like and try to use in my challenges this (play on chords) technique.
    If the next monthly challenge doesn’t take all my guitar time I Will do this.

    rgds
    David B.

  26. Dan S says

    This lesson inspired me to go back to lesson EP 170 which discusses the diminishes, jazzy sound . I’ll be back here for sure. I also agree that it would be nice to mention what the note is in relation to the chord. Even the basic concept of a 7th chord. I find myself stopping the tape just to think and realize that the note you are hitting is the 6th note in the major scale. You certainly wouldn’t want to mention this too often, but yes. once in a while would be nice. Oustanding body of work.

  28. Jay Guitarman says

    Hi Brian, thanks again for this excellent lesson, because of so many options you showed. Thanks for this. Yes, it’s complex, but challenging…
    As to the diminished chords, I have found out a different approach: when you go to the 4 chord, you can just use the sharpened version of the chord, so in this case you go first to the D sharp diminished, and then resolve to the one chord. In addition, I found out that the appergio you played was almost a D7 appergio except for the sharp D at the octave.
    In the same way, you can consider the second diminished chord you presented as the six chord of the one (A) chord. If you play the the F# 7 appergio over it, it has the same effect. And finally, when you go then to the five chord (E chord), you can just play the sharpened version of the E chord before it, which means you can play the E#7 appergio on top of it. So, I retained the following interesting ideas: when playing the D chord, you can play the D#7 appergio, and when you are about to play A chord, you can play just before it the F#, followed by the E#… before resolving to the A chord.
    Anyway, a lot of stuff to learn and to get used to…

  29. Chris H says

    Brian, that was awesome. There’s so much chicken on that bone, that I can put it back in the refrigerator and gnaw on it all week! The instruction was superior … if a jazz guy was presenting it, I’d have been lost in the first five minutes, but you broke it down in a way that was, well, digestible. I might even find myself sneaking to the fridge for a midnight snack!

  31. richard p says

    Dang, another new tune, and again I got happy goosebumps from it… these tunes are fantastic. And, Brian, you’re not getting too far in the weeds… it’s the perfect level of detail for most of us. I suspect most of us generally know our scales, and generally know the CAGED system. We just haven’t figured out how to put it all together to improvise effectively. So, when you talk us through the rational for each lick, and the chord sequence, it really helps… we’re building our knowledge and building our library.

  34. David L says

    Yes, Yes, YES! This lesson was awesome. I love the melodic lead lines and the expanded chord progressions. Your explanations were fantastic as always, and as others have said it’s great to have an option to move beyond the major/minor pentatonic and CAGED playing.

    I joined a few months ago, really not knowing much about pentatonic or caged playing, so I love that you have such an extensive back catalog of that material to build my knowledge and playing in that area. And then, when my playing had progressed….you have these lessons that expand my playing even more!!

    Really great work, Brian. Thank you!

  35. james s says

    this is getting silly now !! i can do this one as well , i left this channel a year ago because i couldnt play any of this matterial , have no idea what sparked , , but im getting on great with all the lessonsnow and having a crazy time 😉 thanks brian

  37. Les Brown says

    I’ve got to tell you, the most useful method you use in teaching these compositions is the way you stop after each new section and PLAY IT BACK FROM THE BEGINNING! That has sped up my learning more than I can say. It really helps me connect the pieces into the whole melody. I have a hard time with rhythm and this has been digging new and important grooves into my cerebral cortex!!

  38. grnvlyglfr says

    Brian, Long term member here and a huge fan. This is a particularly great song and I continue to be amazed at your ability to compose stuff like this. Very enjoyable to play, and very playable if you put in the time, like always.
    I have a suggestion for you to think about. On this tune, and a couple other similar ones, I find myself wanting to play through it a few times without it sounding the same every time. I should be able to take the “lesson” of the song and figure out my own verses using the same progression, different chord voicings, similar licks, etc. but I don’t seem to have that skill, or at least not enough of it. So, the suggestions is, how about doubling back to a song like this and talk us through how to play variations that utilize the same techniques and tools you gave us in the first version. It seems to me that it would be a great way to really get down the original lesson and ideas you’re showing us.
    Thanks,
    Mike M

  39. David LC says

    Brian,

    I need some help please. I’ve looked at this as a way to play some solos or melody notes while playing chords.
    I’m trying to figure out (have a light turn on) on how to pick a scale to play that fits.
    In this lesson it appears to me that there are different scales for each chord change in the “song”. That seems a bit complicated and a extra large amount of memorization. By that I mean thinking of different scales for each chord and then having notes that walk up or down between chords. They sound good to the ear (ie not a sour note) but they don’t necessarily “fit” a scale.
    The other option may be to play a scale in a key that encompasses all the notes and chords in the song.
    Where’s the magic switch that I keep seeking?
    It’s all helpful and I’m certainly more “musical” than ever but memorization isn’t music. Not really.
    Thanks,
    David

  40. David LC says

    I’ve been watching this video over and over and there’s a lot more here to learn and play than I first came away with.
    I’ll keep working on the understanding process and hopefully the light will come on without a lifeline from you.
    Sometimes it takes plain old work and then, maybe, something magical happens.
    As both grnvlyglfr and Mike have commented linking back to this specific lesson and expanding some parts and variations may help more than one person.
    Now, back to the practice room. Lol

    Thanks,
    David

  44. alfred c says

    I agree with everyone who said this is really good, Brian. So many great ideas, much theory, and a melody too? Wow! The reason I’m so enthusiastic is that I appreciate the stretch within this lesson that demands my ear, thinking, and technique. I can’t help but improve my understanding of music theory and playing and enjoy what I’m playing while learning, and, hopefully, entertaining others. So glad I found you on the web. But this one won’t take a week… maybe a month and then a while after that to season…. Thanks, buddy.

  45. Michael K says

    This is such an important lesson. Don’t know how I missed it before. This really filled in a lot of mysterious blanks in my head that I have had lately. So learning that diminished chord bridge trick along with using the pinky to name the Xdim7 chord cleared up a lot for me.

    It was also mind blowing to realize that moving that shape up or down three frets has the same notes, just a different inversion sequence and obviously the tone of the chord. I remember playing that chord in “More Than Words” and moving that D7 chord shape up the neck three frets a few times and always wondered why that sounded so nice. Now I know.

    I have been working on my pentatonic scales, major scales, and drilling any new licks that I have learned from you, and it’s definitely paying off. Still a lot of work to do, but not at a plateau of any kind at the moment as I keep pushing myself to absorb more and more of this. Especially the theory part, as that doesn’t really require any skill. It just takes some time to work out the details and make sure it’s understood correctly.

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