Active Melody

Learn to play blues guitar.

Using Minor and Major Pentatonic Scales in the Blues – Blues Guitar Lesson EP368

Description

In this week’s guitar lesson, I’ll explain how to easily find the minor and major pentatonic scales, and how to connect those scales to basic chord shapes. You’ll then learn a stand-alone blues composition that uses both of these scales so you can understand how they relate to the blues.

Part 1 - Free Guitar Lesson

Part 2 - For Premium Members

Only available to premium members.
Register for premium access

Slow Walkthrough

Only available to premium members.
Register for premium access

Video Tablature Breakdown

Only available to premium members.
Register for premium access
Curious about the benefits of
Premium Membership?
Try it for FREE!
arrow_downYou need to be logged in as a premium member to access the tab, MP3 jam tracks, and other assets. Learn More

Add to "My Favorites"

You need to login or register to bookmark/favorite this content.

Comments

    • jimbostrat says

      Superb lesson!! Hey, John…………here’s a trivia A. M. question……………which guitar has Brian used most in his lessons over the past two months!!

      I can’t say that I blame him as everything sounds better on that fine old vintage sweet sounding instrument!!!

  12. Frank B says

    Hey Brian,

    Part 1 wasn’t so much a lightbulb moment for me , it was like turning on the lights of the whole stadium !
    Part2 is like looking directly into the sun !
    Thanks so much from Downunder.
    FB

  15. Frank N says

    Brian, This lesson is so good. It’s all starting to make sense now. You are such a great communicator of concepts which have heretofore eluded me.

    Thanks, and happy 4th.

  20. Jim says

    Thanks Brian – loving the major/minor pentatonic mix. Also loving that guitars sound – what year and model is it? I know it’s in another lesson but not sure which one.

  23. Ben A says

    So if you need a great example of using this Easy or using this Hard. Look at the Easy in Looking out the window…. and the Hard… Life without you. Both by SRV. Listen to the solo in Life without you…. you will see Brian lives under that F#m chord… or A maj Penta… So this lesson can be easily seen throughout the greats. Super building block!
    Remember SRV never read a note….

  27. Bruce G says

    What’s not to love about this? Fantastic lesson, and Brian is the best! Great lesson and the lights are bright!

    Question–I’ve heard other instructors talk about “target notes” in the context of picking notes of the root pentatonic scale that live nicely in the other chords… Maybe I’m not saying that correctly, but is there any other thought around the choice of these licks in the context of the current chord? Some of the licks seemed to land on notes other than the root that seem to fit better with the IV or V chord?

    • Brian says

      I always just use my ear to find notes to land on – I’m never specifically thinking about a root note, or even a note within the chord when phrasing like this… it’s always just done by ear. You can hear if you land on a wrong note – so you learn (over time) what to avoid

  32. Adrian H says

    Hi Brian, Excellent lesson! I agree wholeheartedly with your statement regarding finding the right note using your ear.Training your ear should be a continuous, active process. . Intuition is something we develop over time as we become more proficient and experienced.

    Keep up the great work!!!
    Adrian [ Ireland]

  34. Viet H says

    Excellent lesson, Brian. Thanks a lot!
    My name is Viet, a new member here. I have a question:
    As of right now, I can download file with tab only. Is there a way for me to download a tab together with its notation as shown in a “On-Screen Viewer”?

    Viet
    Portland, OR

  35. jseppi says

    Another fine lesson, thank you! Question: How do you keep timing so well? Lived played several of your lesson tracks and turned on my metronome. Your timing is right there. I tend to slow down and speed up witout a metronome or drums & bass.

  37. Chris K says

    Hi Brian, The best lesson yet ,EP368 , to come across the pond to Blighty. I love it. I play the pentatonics as most beginner Blues guys do, but your twist to blend between Major and Minor using the ‘ E ‘ bar cord shapes is so simple but really effective. Thank you. Chris K.

  38. clay says

    Yeah this was an excellent lesson. I know you rarely do a “part 2” but this would be an excellent candidate for a part 2. So many building blocks here…..

  39. Randy G says

    Best lessons out there Brian – thank you! Love those Blues and mixing of Maj / Min. When I saw your email earlier today, I was so looking forward to getting to the lesson. It all makes sense and I’m also figuring out how those bends work by blurring the lines between maj / min. It’s as much fun for me to follow your descriptions with a bit of theory as it is to actually play the music. I blame the engineer in me for that 🙂
    Would really like to see a bit more complex ‘following the chord changes’ too with a Bluesy feel.
    Well worth (and then some) the investment as a Premium Member.
    Your hard work is appreciated!

  43. tjl1274@verizon.net says

    Thank you Brian, this particular lesson has also opened some doors for me. When I first heard it, I immediately thought of “IT HURST ME TOO”, so I will also be looking to match this progression with that song.

    I have been a memeber since 2012, when I first started on a new journey into the blues and theroy. I came across your lessons and I spent considerable time working on various lessons only to not progress very far with them. My saying all this is to comment on “this” particular lesson and how I plan to try to make it part of my repertoire.

    I think also, I will go back to some of my saved lessons and take another look and perhaps change my thinking a bit on how to apply them. A ton has changed in the past 8 years with sooooo many subscription based music sites, and free stuff, that one cannot subscript to all of them (well, you could) but I think that would be a bit much. So I have three sites that I subscript to and I will continue to enjoy your lessons, again thank you and rock on!

  44. Anthony L says

    another terrific lesson, thank you! i have found the past few months of lessons so helpful – beginning around ep361 Gospel Blues up until the present. i’m in the middle of my second year subscribtion so perhaps things are beginning to click a bit more, but i’ve found the recent lessons to be more manageable and fundamental. i would recommend anyone new to the site to start in around ep361 and continue on up to the current lessons. one can always then pick and choose your style/favorites from the large, just as brilliant, catalog of previous lessons.

  46. john l says

    sweet stuff! looking forward to jumping into this one. can’t get too many turnarounds! well, maybe you can – me – I live for turnarounds. well, that and nine holes in the morning…and then back for more turnarounds!

    • Cardo says

      I see that you didn’t get a reply. I believe that the safe approach is to stick to the pentatonic scales, major and minor, because the beauty of these five note scales is that there are no bad notes, although some do sound better than others and it’s best to let your ear guide you with that. In this lesson Brian is again showing how mixing the major and minor scales adds a lot of color as opposed to just sticking to one or the other, although a lot of great music does only stay in a single scale. Another point he continues to make is that the pentatonics sound good over all the chords in a key so although one could “play the changes” it’s not necessary to do so to sound good. I hope this helps.

    • Hugh P says

      Hi Barnet g, you can get the standard notation from the on-screen tab viewer by going to settings and de-selecting tab and chords and only selecting notation, or any combination. You can then print this to pdf. Give it a go. Best wished. HP

  54. Les Brown says

    It’s funny how my learning progresses through your teaching method. When I learned my first song from you I picked up some great ideas, but could only play the song by rote. But then, as I began to learn more of them they started connecting together and my visualization of the fretboard took great leaps forward. The neck began to gel in my mind and ears, and the notes I “heard” in my head found their way to my fingers with greater speed and dexterity. It came through the songs, and the way you combine theory with actual music and incorporate melody into EVERYTHING. I have found nothing like it anywhere else.

  57. Timothy H says

    This a great lesson… first real epiphany moment of mixing major and minor pentatonics. I noticed a couple of discrepancies in the tab vs. the videos but nothing the prevented me from working through the lesson. I use the tab in the player most of the time anyways.

  58. Philippe P says

    Hi everyone, Hi Brian,

    I am a new premium member and really appreciate the « hard » work you’re doing for making guitar affordable to everyone.
    And the EP368 lesson is awesome and useful.
    Ps: you guitar sounds af if you are using nylon strings.
    Maybe you have some information on this.
    Greetings from France

  61. john p says

    I’ve learned much from you. I can’t stop playing this and I can’t pull myself away to learn that awesome clapton acoustic Im eager to learn. I like the use of major with minor even though clapton doesn’t typically do it. Its really awesome the way you teach us “B”! I’m so grateful to you. Thanks a million

  64. FergalT says

    Just checking if tab notation for the bend on measure 10 is correct
    I think it is just a half bend, not a full bend, from the B note to the C – which is the same as the opening lick but just an octave higher.

    I could be wrong though.

  66. Pillarcat says

    OK, I’m new at this, so please indulge me. This is a great lesson, and has become part of my daily practice, but I have a question: It is all for the key of A. What would the root fret be for the major scale in the key of G? Would it be the nut? Or at the high end of the fretboard? Both are extremes. Is there a place midway?

  68. William F says

    I love this video and, as with most of Brian’s lessons, I have to watch them several times to get it down–which is an important advantage of premium membership.
    One question I have relates to his description of pattern 1 of the major pentatonic. He implies that it derives from the A-shape by showing the link to pattern one from the first position A chord. In the CAGED lesson using the G major scale, pattern 1 derives from the G-shape–right? Anyway, I just found it confusing.

  69. Tom W says

    Warning – I’m new here!

    “Full screen mode is now available! Just click on the gear icon and scroll down until you see “View Full Screen”

    What gear icon would that be? I don’t see one. I’d really like to take advantage of the full screen but don’t sse it on the screen

  70. Mike H says

    This is the prototype of all blues prototypes. The reason it starts out in the major scale is,… he’s happy because he stole his best friend’s girl. Then the “joker” got lucky and stole her back again so… that’s a very serious turn of events and therefore minor. Love it. Very well done. Thanks, Brian.

Leave a Reply

Recent Lessons

Contact

For all support questions email: support@activemelody.com
For all other inquires email: brian@activemelody.com