Active Melody

Learn to play blues guitar.

Trying to improvise in a minor key? Try using these – Guitar Lesson – EP520

Description

In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn several rhythm and lead ideas that you can use when improvising in a minor key.

Part 1 - Free Guitar Lesson

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Comments

  5. Mike R says

    I really needed this tonight. What a wonderful, emotional progression full of lots of sophisticated sounds. You never fail to make these progressions sound so different than just a 1, 4 ,5, routine. This is really fun to play. Thanks, these minor chord progressions are some of your best I think.

  7. cloughie says

    Ooh ooh I know why the G# works in measure 17. 😀

    The chord movement is Gm to G7 going to Cm.

    The 1st two notes A and Bb are from the Gm scale.

    Then … B …

    A G7 chord has a diminished triad upper structure ie starting at the 3rd B D F.

    Sweet.

    Now just extend that triad by stacking one more minor 3rd on top of F and voila! G#

    So the arpeggio played can be named after any of these tones:
    B°7
    D°7
    F°7
    G#°7

    Like Brian says the importance in this context is it ends on the G# which voice leads beautifully down to the G ( which is the 5th of the Cm chord ).

    So the way I think of it is a nice sequence of tones, which sound interesting, as a way to get from Gm ( using the Gm scale) to G7 ( using the ascending B°7 arpeggio) to C.

    QED 😎🥳🥸

  8. Jeff H says

    Wow, what a Gem! This one goes straight into my Favourites folder. I love anything minor key, and you just brightened up this cold, wet, winter day in Melbourne Brian. I love the Intro, and Outro, such a agreat feel and looks like a fun one to play, sounds great. Always interesting to see how these compositions are constructed. Thanks Brian.

  12. Daniel H says

    Brian, I find myself tempted to memorize these licks as if you are teaching them from “The Book of Blues Licks” and getting frustrated because there are simply too many to memorize. Should my energy instead be focused on mastering the source of the licks you use and the intervals within them rather than the exact licks themselves? I think I know the answer but its always good to hear from the teacher.

    • Nick_66 says

      Same here! I think that Brain is getting to technical sometimes with his lessons and I am losing control over it which frustrates me a lot! Still liking his lessons but sometimes it’s hard to follow and then I get lost.

  15. David R says

    Whoa great melody!
    BUT what blew my mind “light bulb” was the D7 triad! Didn’t realize they were the same on the A,D,G strings. Makes perfect sense now, as like the rest of the fretboard it all connects! Thanks will never for get this moment. I have tried to memorize all the triads but so hard, its easier learning scales!

  18. Rocky W says

    LOL ! I have my 15 year old grandson here with me, and i am cracking up watching light bulb moments go off in his young head. He has been playing for a couple of years. I think the wide eyed moments are what get me the most. I think you might be his new guitar Hero ! Thanks Brian, you have brightened up this old mans day ! Great lesson !

  20. Paul N says

    A+ Brian, when the composition ends up more complicated that you meant it to be, and you have to go into more detail than you meant to, it’s great for me! Whether I understand it at first, or not. I absorb what I can, and can always go back later as I become a better player. I actually track the lessons I want to go back to later as I become a more advanced player. And the variations in styles, theory lessons, etc., are what keep me looking forward to a new lesson each week. Thanks for all of your hard work!

  23. Tremelow says

    I almost skipped this lesson due to time constraints, but now I am glad I didn’t! So many ideas/take-aways that – for a long time member – may not be entirely new, but inspirational nonetheless. Thanks Brian, great lesson!

  25. Raymond P says

    Another great lesson. I love the different ways you show us how to use pieces of the chords and how the minor major chord relationships work. So many cool ideas throughout the lesson.

    Thanks Brian

  26. Mark H says

    Five star lesson this one, I’ll be revisiting it often when working in a minor key. I’m just going to pick the low hanging fruit for now and get those things down before working on the whole arrangement.

  28. Robert G G says

    Thx Brian. What a great blend of blues, jazz and swing. I love everything you come up with. Even though I can.t play some of it.. definetly stealing from this. It’s what I need to. Get my fingers to play out of my comfort zone.
    Best to all…
    Blues Bob

  29. Damian S says

    Something i dont really understand is why we are using C chord over Bb major chord (relative G minor) progression. Is it just a typo because we are using only power chords in this moments?

  30. herbie says

    Hallo Brian,
    leider hab ich noch keine Antwort erhalten. Ich bin seit Jahren (ca. 9 Jahren) begeisterter Kunde, das Ausdrucken der Übungen ist noch immrer nicht möglich.
    Bitte um Aufklärung.
    Herbie

    • Nick_66 says

      If you click on the three vertical dots in Soundslice a menu will open and then when scrolling down you will find the option to print out the tab. It then generates a PDF which you can print out. Good luck!

  34. Nick_66 says

    Really love this tune, but the lessons are getting way to technical for me. It’s hard to follow you Brain especially in the second lesson. I can only play this song by ear and memorizing it, but not fully understand how everything fits together. Will have to skip back a lot of lessons to fully understand how all those chords works together and what terms like relative minor means. Guitar theory was never my strongest point 🙁

  38. michael f says

    Can Brian or somebody check my understanding of why that D7 works (resolves to the Gm)? Brian says, , “it’s not in the Key of B flat.” True and so far so good since the third chord in key of B flat would be Dm. But then he says , “it’s the 5 chord in the key of Gm.”. That has always thrown me…… Technically that D7 lacks a flat 3rd, so its not a “full minor” but since it includes the flat 7 (C note) it is “minor enough” to be considered a minor right? More importantly, it resolves to the Gm. In a minor 1-4-5 blues in Bflat the 5 chord is Dm; however, since it leaves you hanging by not resolving to the Gm , it doesn’t work. A dominant 7 played over the 5 chord in a minor blues, is still a minor chord. technically right?

    • Daniel H says

      Its a musical trick using a dominant chord (think of it as the V) to add tension to resolve back to its I. Forget the overall key, just think of the two chords in isolation to each other.
      A dominant chord resolves back to a major chord stronger than a minor as both the major 3rd and b7th are just one half step away from the next chords 3rd and root. In the case of resolving back to a minor chord only its root is one half step away. It’s these half steps (one fret) which creates the tension.

      minor v > minor i : medium resolution
      Dominant V > minor i : strong resoltion
      Dominant V > Major I : strongest resolution

      Its the 3rd of chord which makes it major or minor not its 7th.

  39. Chris H says

    Have to comment on this one, Brian. In addition to the cool riffs and harmony tips, you often bring some discipline to rhythms … I’m a real pantser … fly by the seat of my pants when playing rhythms, so work on counts and beats are a good effort for me.

  41. Rick B says

    Hey Brian – thank you for arranging and teaching another interesting solo! I have an idea for a new feature that I’m sure other’s have requested – and maybe it’s even available but I am missing it. Would it be possible to have either a text window on each lesson to make notes, or even have a spot for notes on included right in the tab? What prompted this is that in this particular lesson….there are so many fresh ideas for songwriting and improvising (the whole idea of going to the 5th of a minor chord within the key) that it would be great to annotate it for quick reference. I apologize if this feature is already there in some form.

  42. Slimpicker says

    Great to learn the A7 shape arpeggios. I really enjoy learning the different arpeggio shapes from EP 512.
    It would be great to have lesson on minor arpeggios and dominant 7 arpeggios

  45. Carl G says

    What a great lesson. Not only is this groove absolutely gorgeous and fun to play, but the explanation of the chords and theory behind it was so helpful and instructive. Thank you so much!

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