Active Melody

Learn to play blues guitar.

SPICE up your blues lead with Chromatics! – Chromatic Minor Pentatonic blues lead guitar lesson – EP491

Description

In this week’s guitar lesson you’ll learn how to incorporate chromatic lines into the minor pentatonic scale to give your lead an “outside” sound.

To view the Part 2 video, download the TAB, and the MP3 jam tracks for this lesson, visit:

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

    • Mark H says

      Andre, one reason, apart from how it just sounds so ‘bluesy’, is related to scale names. The inclusion of the ♭5 is the single, additional, interval that differentiates the ‘blues scale’ from the pentatonic minor scale.

      In other words, including a ♭5 (or bending up to it) while playing around an otherwise pure pentatonic minor scale puts you momentarily into the blues scale. Hence the common terminologies, the blue note within the blues scale.

      I’ve always called it the ♭5 myself, preferring to be reminded of the exact interval, which is useful, for example, when figuring out jazz chord melody. I know what’s being referred to when the blue note comes up in discussion though.

      I realized after joining AM that I almost always include it in my pentatonic minor phrasing, finding it to be indispensable to what I’m hearing. I can’t think of any reason to avoid it, ever, pretty much like chili sauce. 🌶️

  12. Jeff H says

    Wow! What a knock out composition. This one really put a smile on my face and made me sit up and take notice. Such a great sound coming from that guitar. It really makes me want to add to the song to make it longer, I didn’t want it to end. You are an absolute Genius Brian, I print out the songs every week and store them in folders, but I will need to catalogue so I can find them easily. What a collection, so much Inspiration. And you Inspire us so much every week, thank you so much for your work and dedication Brian.

  14. JoLa says

    Brian, I gotta say this lesson is not only one of your best but also highly entertaining, the very last remarks got me laughing out loud 😂
    Your music deserves some kind of Grammy Award, it’s just phenomenal.

  17. NB says

    Thanks for this – there are lots of take-aways. I certainly agree that having comfort in knowing the intervals is the real ‘secret’ to really understanding what works and why.

  18. Andrew A says

    Brian, thanks for this great lesson. It is particularly inspiring when you speak of how you come to understand the construction of your songs and what the pitfalls are. Near the end you mentioned the importance of understanding/recognizing intervals. I’ve read and heard how important that is, but have no real understanding of what it means.Would you consider some sort of lesson that would help me/us understand and learn how to recognize and better use them-if that is possible.

    Thanks again for all your great work. It really is awe inspiring to see and hear what you come up with each week

  21. Rich F says

    Hi Brian!

    Remarkable and brilliant lesson… using the chromatics in a meaningful way!

    I love your deep philosophical discussions at the beginning… about half an hour before viewing this lesson, I was discussing with my wife what we mean by something being better or worse, and how subjective that can be… and lo and behold, I then heard you taliking about what is right and what is wrong, and how that is very subjective too!

    Earlier this week, I was talking to somebody about fate, and paths in life, and how we can stay straight on the path, or wander off and meander here and there but keep coming back to our given life path, and there you are talking about the same concept at the 3.15 minute mark in the video! Mind-blowing!

    Brian, you are branching out into a new area of AM tuition… deep philosophy!

    I noticed JoLa’s comment about your very final remark… have not got there yet, so looking forward to it!

    Now, to looking at your lesson in terms of the music!….

  22. Tim Read says

    Great lesson…one of the things I am learning most is making connections between the different things you show us each week…feeling pleased with myself because in part 2 after the full bend on fret 15 followed by the half bend, I think I worked out that the little lick that followed is a harmonised third from the F triad (E shape). As you say I won’t be able to think about that in real time but could give me a place to go when I am working through tunes….”well rehearsed improvisation” I call it 😁

  24. Tremelow says

    I’ve only heard the musical part for now, but it sounds so good, I will put everything else on the backburner for now and learn this next. And the explanatory part is something I am looking forward to, too (JoLa made me curious..). I wish everyone lots of fun with this one, I will certainly enjoy it very much.

  29. charjo says

    Great lesson, Brian and the second time the tone on the Wide Sky has been awesome. I visually recognize intervals but I’m really taking the idea of hearing the intervals to heart. The thought of Brian unfiltered made me laugh, too.
    John

  34. Jim J says

    Brian, I’m not so sure you know just how good you really are. And, I’d like to think we’re friends. All your lessons are great, this one I particularly like. I can’t put my guitar down.

  36. Rob N says

    Great little guitar, love the Wide Sky. With that small body it looks like the neck joins at the sixteenth fret so you get easy access to the high frets without a cutaway. Sounds great too.

  43. Jenna says

    Lesson isn’t playing part 2 despite being logged in. Tested other lessons and my connection, e.g. Ep490 works fine – but EP491 fails to load part 2 (the bit I’m actually pasting for)!

    • Bob C says

      What a fun piece of instruction. That was the BEST thing to happen to my morning. I mean, I’m dyin’ to go through the lesson, but I put the jam track on repeat as I got ready to go off to a job.

      Just a blast to listen to.

      Just put on my Fave list.

  47. John V says

    Hello Brian! Can you also please share how your getting that tone in this lesson regarding amp settings and possible effects, I know you stopped doing that several years ago but I have to ask. I’m very surprised nobody else as mentioned this.

  48. Werner L says

    As always, very challenging. Will never be able to keep up the tempo (at my age-74 / 3yrs playing) even IF I could somehow remember the notes / licks. Any tips on that issue? Since you are so good at making up these tunes to learn with, you’re the fire hose I try to drink from. Where were you 50 yrs ago?

  49. Philip B says

    Great Lesson! It always happens…when an excellent guitarist gets a new guitar in his hands and he loves the sound and the playability of it, good, new, fresh things happen. The inspiration shines through on this song!

  50. Robin B says

    Hi Brian – is there any way of downloading the video files to my PC? I have a limited internet connection and it’s painful to have to try to watch via internet each time, would much prefer to be able to access them directly from my PC when I want to replay them?
    Thanks for your great lessons, love the explanations as well as the notes!

  51. Bob C says

    What a cheery bit of genius to start my day. Looking forward to the lesson, but I may just put this bit of guitar-ing on regular rotation in my play list at home.

    What a BLAST.

    Off to work.. Looking forward to sitting down with this number.
    Gotta get me a set of P-90s

  53. James V says

    Brian ,
    I’ve bee NJ with you for over 2 years now and I think this is one of your best lessons. I’m 72 and have been playing guitar since 1964. I have Crohn’s disease and I’m pretty sick most of the time and I look forward to your new lesson every week. It ou put lessons out in a way that is easy to understand and learn. You ROC Bother.
    POP’S

  56. Scott N says

    Brian…you were playing the Am and showed the BLUE NOTE and then went down to the F7 and showed the flatted 7 as the blue note…QUESTION…is a blue note always the flatted 7. If not, how do I find out where all the blue notes are?

  60. KIRK E says

    I started working on this one so fast I didn’t comment last week. Had to back up and give this one it’s due. So good, one of my all time favorites. Cool little guitar too. Thanks again. Good word “nebulous” on the above comment…no clue, but I like it.

  61. Brad M says

    This is the hill I have chosen to die on. It has everything I need to be working on – full fretboard, 1/4, 1/2 and full bends (including the sometimes elusive consecutive bends – they still don’t sound like music). And, it plays fast and I have a need for speed, as in, I need to play faster. Thanks for the challenge, Brian.

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