Minor error at 14:55 in this video. When it shows the *A minor pentatonic, position 4*...the note that is on the 14th fret of the A-string, should be on the 15th fret instead. Sorry for this error. RU-vid videos can't be edited, but I fixed it on the website version of this lesson which is here: www.zombieguitar.com/blog/4-approaches-to-soloing-over-a-12-bar-blues-progression
Brian - I have been playing guitar for almost 60 years. I have toured nationally for decades. I have learned what you teach over the years, but I never really had clarity. You provided that clarity with this simple lesson. Well done. I am a fan.
Keep in mind that these are just several different "approaches" to soloing over a 12-bar blues progression. You will still need to do some work when it comes to targeting specific notes as well as AVOIDING certain notes that don't sound exactly like you intended. "Blues theory" is not as cut and dry as "diatonic theory". The "rules" are more just guidelines, and not necessarily set in stone. For example, if you are doing approach #2 - one pentatonic per chord - you may want to avoid the 4th most of the time and replace it with the note that falls 1/2 step lower, which is the major 3rd. I probably should have talked about this in the video, but I was trying to keep it relatively short 😀
i find this video very instructional and clear, you're not trying to show off your skills as a teacher but keep it simple, most people doing videos dont realize that some less studied ears cannot hear easily the difference between scales over certain backing tracks, the fact that you make the same shapes over different scales allows us to distinguish what's going on, other than just open our mouths and want to throw the guitar away. An inspiration for sure. thank you for your hard work! saludos desde australia!
I’ve been playing for years professionally. I know most of this …. BUT…..The way you plot out the guitar neck has turned on lightbulbs for me. 12 bar blues is an art and I really appreciate the way you glue these scales and chord tones together. 🙏🏻.
I've been using the minor pentatonic in the one chord position for 20 years. Why hasn't anyone explained it like this to me before? It's almost like some guitar players try to confuse on purpose the way they explain things. Thank you so much for this lesson sir!
I don't think they are intentionally trying to confuse people but rather they are so far advanced they can't remember what it is to be s struggling beginner or intermediate player. They think they do but their lessons suggest otherwise. Finding a few good instructors on RU-vid that "get it" and can teach down to real beginner/intermediate players is priceless!
Wow light bulb moment, I just watched an old BB KING video and I just realized he was talking about approach 2 & 3I was wondering what he meant, now I know.
Amazing how you can instruct in a manner that makes the content so easy to understand. So many others try to explain in their approach, but just ends up as a ball of confusion with little incomplete tidbits of information. You are a natural Teacher and motivator. Thank you.
I agree, Brian explains things so well and makes it very clear. I never understood modes very well and watched tons of videos only to be more confused. Then I found his video on the subject and it all clicked!
@@bobkozalov8821 root notes & intervals is what you’re missing. Know where your blue notes are in your scales. Also learn chord progressions. Lookup chords of a key. I promise it’ll all make sense if you do those. I’ve been where you’re at. Try BB King lessons. It’s imperative to know how to mix major & minor pentatonic if you want to learn blues. That was BB’s specialty. You can do this Bob. I’ve been messing w RU-vid for 5 years & ive been thru more videos & channels than I care to mention. Be patient with yourself. Once you start having fun it becomes an addiction. Conversely, when you get stuck again, which you will, then find something new to learn
Well done. I’ve been struggling with this Am pentatonic stuff for many months. You’re the only teacher that could actually explain how to use the pentatonic position over the standard blues progression without trying to impress me with your talent and without confusing the heck out of me. Thanks for drawing back the curtain for me and others.
Cool,calm,and collective...no bullshit,straight on,no selltalk,really the Only one you need,the great Brian Kelly .thanks as allways sharing your wisdom//Lasse🇸🇪
Finally someone who explain this different approaches in a very simple way, In my case I usually use the minor scale with the major third, blue note, minor seventh, and some chromaticisms and emphasize the accents in the target notes of every chord, I usually use the pentatonic of the IV and V in the turnaround, or maybe in the V it all depends on what flows , almost nobody explained it as well as you, good job Brian!
I'd consider myself a pretty intermediate player. Decent with the CAGED system, know my Is, IVs & Vs in each five position, etc. I've been using the blue notes and grace notes in my soloing/noodling for a while now as I try to figure out different blues songs but I just didn't know how they fit into music theory. This video broke it down for me perfectly. I've been studying this for the past couple of days, so it's nice that you segmented the video into Chapters so that I can easily go back and re-watch the part I'm most trying to grok. Thanks!
Despite years of playing even the first approach is still a challenge. I feel like I'm just noodling up and down the pentatonic rather than creating music. In your demo it all fits around the chords so nicely. Well, more practice...
Another great lesson! Always love how you clearly break things down while providing much of whats really needed! I have to admit, with everyone now having much higher quality production videos, at first I didn't really pay much attention to yours when I would see the videos on my feed. After finally deciding to watch one completely, immediately I realized how good the content and information was and haven't stopped watching them since! No fluff but all business and great content! In the end that’s what matters most so much respect for what you do!! Just had to say that! Keep up the great work and thanks for all you do! :-)
Thanks man. Can I ask specifically it is about the production that initially turned you off from watching the vid? I'm trying to get to the point where more people want to click my vids!
@@zombieguitar Sure but rather than replying about it all here publicly, I'll just send you a direct email which I'll grab from your website. I think that'll be best. :-)
Brian, you're a gifted teacher... RU-vid is full of teachers who are well-intended, but you've actually thought things through and the result is "creative clarity!" Thanks again for another great lesson.
I've been playing my 1964 strat all this years and never really knew that I was playing these shapes. I just learned by ear. So nice and simple the way you explain it all. Love it!
So I' started to play guitar again after 45 Years having picked up the guitar perhaps twice during that period.I did originally start playing Classical Guitar, Flamenco and basic pop songs.A big thanks to you young brother, your explaination of the scales has really helped me to understand what's going on and have given me a direction as to how I should go about learning to improvise.Thanks for sharing.
What an outstanding lesson! I've been playing guitar for over 40 years. Now that I'm retired I am finally putting effort towards being able to improvise solos instead of learning them note for note from recordings or tabs. When I started playing there was no RU-vid... or internet... or personal computers. :-) These approaches provide building blocks from simple to difficult that will help me manage chord changes, allow me to use the entire neck and add color to my solos instead of just playing the the pentatonic scale from the I chord over the entire I-IV-V progression (which works, but gets boring). Thanks! My looper pedal is about to get a workout!
The problem with this exact subject is that its very often over explained to the point of making it incomprehensibly difficult to follow. This lesson is very clear, concise, and easy to follow and that makes all the difference
The part where you explained the pentatonic 4th position always has the root on the A string was a lightbulb moment for me. I know the shapes of all positions by heart and now its that much easier to not get lost when soloing over changing chords. Thank you!
Hi from France and thank YOU . Few questions , on a A minor blues, if i take the hybrid way of soloing ( your part 3 ) i can use those patterns , not sleep on it , a 3rd/ flat 3rd and a 6th/ flat 7 th ? Or this is only for a the 7 shaped chords ? I'm asking because you're using the minor pentatonic, for your 12 bars blues progression, scale which is perfect for minor blues as well : )
Make sure that you are clear about the fact that these intervals are related to each CHORD...and not just the KEY. Many guitarists get confused about this fact. When they hear 3/b3 or 6/b7, they think that it is always talking about the overall key (eg. In A blues guitarists may mistakenly think that these intervals are solely in relation to the note 'A'). However you need to realize that these intervals are in relation to the root note of each specific CHORD that you are soloing over... So when you are targeting these specific intervals, make sure that you are aware they are always going to change on a "per chord" basis 😁
I've spent time on at least 50 guitar education oriented channels, and when I want the most practical, efficient and effective techniques, this is where I go now. Brian has distilled a massive amount of theory and experience into the essential pieces, and all you have to do is pick them up and use them. Thanks for another great video, sir!
Great lesson man. I really believe you are the best teacher on utube, everything explained in laymans terms makes things so simple to understand... by the way, the new course is excellent ... 👍👍👍
Brilliant video lesson... I have been practicing my soloing and you have covered in less than 20 minutes what I have been trying to get my head around!! Thank you so much.
A great lesson just when I needed it. Thank you! I have been trying to target the root notes over each chord in a progression and do not a problem knowing where they are over a scale and my timing is pretty good. My main issue is knowing licks that are appropriate over each chord change so that I will end up on the appropriate root notes.
I am just getting to this stage in my guitar journey. Your explanation and video has been extremely helpful and insightful. A great break down of this invaluable technique to nailing the blues. Thank you!
Well that's a great example simplified so us laymen can understand what is going on and how it all fits together,others give you a example but you have hit the spot for me on this one,Thanks appreciated..
I have only been playing for a few years now but all this time I thought if the song or progression is in say the key of Am then I would be restricted to solo only using the Am pentatonic scale. Never knew you can mix it into other scales based on the different notes in the progression like in your example 2. Sounded cool and now I have to give it a try. Thanks.
Right on, Brian! This is the best breakdown of the different variations! Most lessons leave stuff out, and for years I've been dumbfounded. Especially on the use of IV and V, and being able to add the minor or major 3rd to those. And of course, how to incorporate the darn Maj 6th note. Cool! Thanks!
Right on…, some light bulbs went on for me in this lesson…it was always there, but I never SAW IT like I do now. One of the best 12 bar blues soloing techniques out there. Thank you thank you thank you Just saved me about $100 in lessons!!
For somebody like me that is very deficient in theory I kind of sort of understood that I think if I go and spend some time with it it will actually make some sense. I've been a rhythm guy the whole time I've been playing guitar so learning to play notes and scales and more lead progressions is new for me. Very exciting it's like learning a new language at 54. So thanks for breaking it down in a way that an old guy can understand it
Hahaha I am playing guitar since 27 years and I figured these positions out by myself when I was about 13. But I never actually knew what I am doing or that I can play these positions on the different chords. I did it somehow intuitively. What a shame. But this one video brought it all together. So cool :D
Are you from Chicago? I ask because of the Chicago flag in your hoodie design lol I'm from nearby (a little over an hour away, in Indiana) If you are, that's pretty awesome, I love finding out when people I respect on here are from somewhere close
hi Rob. Is it possible for you to format a 30 min to an hour play along guitar exercises video on metronome that can be followed by us watching you practice at different tempos? especially for dexterity, flexibility and speed. This will be very handy to play everyday and practice on your lead. since there are so many exercise videos on youtube the temptations and confusions dont allow a lot of us to format a rigid plan for long term goals.
Great rational lesson. I know and understand it all but where can I find the music in me. It must be there somewhere ! Who should I listen to …..without vocals for inspiration.
Why doesn't any one explain why the blue note can be there, no one ever explains that. I just read in a book today that the blue note is always the flatted 5th of whatever scale you are in and it just makes the scale sound very bluesy, why doesn't any one ever explain that simple concept?
Question, instead of playing over the E chord at the 12th fret couldn't I just use the 4th pentatonic box between the 5th and 7th frets? The D root would be on the 5th string 5th fret and the 3rd string 7th fret plus you would have the extensions in both directions. I'm kinda new at this but it would seem like it would not as far to have to move your hand.
Yes of course! That's what I would do too. I just used pentatonic position #1 over each chord to demonstrate the concept of "switching pentatonics". However, you can apply the exact same concept in one single position (which is actually what I did in approach #4 if I remember correctly 😁)
Dear Mr Kelly What a great lesson Thank you so much. I have also joined you're free membership group, but I'm sure it wont be long before I am a fully paid up member. You're teaching methods are fantastic, explained clearly, and in such a way it becomes easy to understand. You most definately have an amazing skill with the Guitar, as well as an amazing ability to pass on you're vast knowledge in an easy approachable way. Thank you once again. What I got out of this outstanding video lesson is the the D pentatonic scale shape, or 4th "box". As I know the scale. I have only ever used that shape when assending up the neck. And considered it still part of box 1 Known to everyone as the Am pentatonic scale. It has NEVER occured to me nor have I EVER been told that Box 4 could be played in position 1 and played over that same position, and shape. There are so many "dots" I have not linked together yet. Mainly because of a lack of musical knowledge. Yes I was one of those kids that never botherd. And now it just will not "sink in" ! I have scale knowledge but it's shameful how much. BUT you're lessons are kicking down doors and blowing away the dark veils that have hindered my guitar progress for so long. Please " keep on keeping on" Mr Kelly with kind Regards and safe keeping in these mad times we are living through at present Sincerely MG
Brian,, I'm now with Your Site.. You can't Rid of me; 🙄😂 I finalized other site. Its AMAZING! I watched above and Relearned All I knew All these years ...IF ONLY, IF ONLY.. Its All about The Teacher and Receptive Soul. ABOVE! BLUES PENTATONIC,,, IF ONLY MY GUITAR TEACHER, YRSSSSSS AGO, AND Other site WOULD EXPLAIN LIKE YOU ,BRIAN... YOU ARE AN OUTSTANDING TEACHER; YOU JUST MADE EVERYTHING CLEARER TO ME ABOVE.. BORROW NOTES FROM OTHER SURROUNDING PENTATONICS. 👀 YOU Have a DIAGRAM ALONG WITH YOUR EXPLANATION,,,BRAIN! I RECEIVED INFORMATION , NOW! MAKES PLAYING THESE GROUPINGS OF PENTAS,,, SMOOTHER AND UNDERSTANDABLE FOR ME!! I PLAY IT MUCH SMOOTHER NOW!! It All came about.. Brian ( you have a list of your Lifetime & Monthly $$) Ok, Brian! ✌🌺😉
Thank you Robby! I really appreciate you joining the site 😃. Definitely check out the Zombie Guitar Facebook group too if you haven't already. I'm in there all the time answer questions and doing live streams 😁
