Step-by-Step Guide to Playing Beautiful, Melodic Guitar Solos (beginner to Intermediate) 

If you like this video, stop by and check out my website! www.ZombieGuitar.com

Brian literally gives away the instructions for how to create and to play music. He holds nothing back. He doesn’t retain some key piece of information in order to appear mysterious and knowledgeable, or to keep you coming back for the missing piece. I say this as someone who has studied music for 40-years. I find him to be the most GENEROUS of all online music instructors. I also find him to be the clearest and easiest to understand. He’s an absolute gift to us who desire to learn how to create and play guitar music, or music in general. If you’ve stumbled across my post here, just know that you’ve found the goldmine you’ve been looking for. …so explore and stick with it. 😎👍👍

Another golden lesson from the best! For beginners out there - he has just given the roadmap to become a guitarist. Key signature, chords in a key using the circle of 5ths, an easy key scale shape, and chord tone targeting within that shape. There is much more, but this will go a long way.

the way you played the A ad9 sounded like a grand father clock chime and it was comforting in a way

Brian, I can't get enough of this. I am 63, took retirement and have started to learn how to play the guitar. AND THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO LEARN 😅. I know it may sound unrealistic to many, but I am going to try at least and hope to learn it.

Thanks man you're definitely the best on the tube

Jeez, he's also explaining the arpeggio pattern : D, this is the REAL "guitar for dummies", not that useless stuff...hands down the best youtube guitar master!

Criminally underrated!

Literally the best guitar lesson i've seen in a long long time, love the way you explain things so clearly thank you so much for this

The lessons are conveyed in a way that's crystal clear and very easy to understand, my playing has improved dramatically since I started following the lessons Brian has posted and I've never enjoy playing and practising so much 😀 Thankyou Brian for another amazing lesson you rock man!

I don’t usually brag on RU-vidrs, but your teaching is clear and concise. Been playing 50 years, Ive only been blown away twice learning things on guitar and one of them came from your teaching.

A good instructor always repeats the information as they go through the lesson. I'm impressed you're doing that unlike most guitar instructors.

I absolutely did NOT want that solo to end

There's also a very warm sounding Amajadd9 by just fretting the d (7the fret) and g (6th fret) strings and letting rest ring open. That circle of 5ths thing along with the chord tone thing really opened things up for me. Thanks a million.

Ace bro! Love it! Have to say.. not many musicians/teachers etc explain all of these points you cover in one go, it's a lil bit here a bit there, soo it is refreshing to see a vid with in other vids normally what seems to be mental complicated but here you make it easy to grasp and apply, thank you! I am very much grateful for your time and effort put into making this vid happen, helping the people make it happen 🙏 very generous! You know the saying- generosity begets generosity. I can see you getting good returns back on your work, not from a professional point of view I'm no pro, I mean as in by common sense really.

hi, brian, I'm the sort that picked up the guitar and just played boring things. Since watching your guitar lessons I have become interested in playing again thanks to you. I am quite old but you have given me the inspiration to relearn.I'm heading to your web later.

Great Video, Sounds are Incredible, Gotta Learn this One! Thanks Brian!

Great stuff like always Brian! Learned a lot! Would love to see a part 2 - an intermediate to advanced version of this video. It would be useful to see how to incorporate licks (runs, sequences, repeating licks, arpeggio licks, blues licks, etc.) when crafting a melodic solo. Licks are usually used at the beginning to introduce the melody of the solo, at transition points between phrases in a solo and at the end of a solo to lead back into the song. It would be great to hear your take on how to incorporate these things when soloing.

Thank you Brian again very inspiring !! I am a member since last year, When I joined I needed surgery for both my thumbs and still do putting off approx for 4 years, a surgery called LRTI - Ligament Reconstruction and tendon interposition- To much-playing music in my life, etc sucks! Anyways surgery has been scheduled finally my left main hand first Jan 10, 2023. Since I haven't been able to play most things for some time I have been taking that time to learn about the structure of music and how to make sense of all of it. You Brian, finally made that possible for me! My father worked at Ludwig drums I got my first set from him in 1972 I was 15. then bass at 30 for 15 years then Guitar at 48 approx. Always working other jobs, music serious hobby you mentioned in one of your videos your appreciation for a good bass player you did a good job. If ok I could send you a recording from approx 30 years ago I played bass for 3 pieces covering good by pork pie hat - a Jeff beck cover so you can get some idea that I can play some and still appreciate you so much for your clear no bull shit approach! This lesson was well worth your effort and very much appreciated!!!! Primo instruction and I have looked at many some good most not. If you are looking to make sense of music finally like me, you need to stop in Brian's town and be patient you will be so glad you did that is how I feel and have experienced. Don't know the man, but I am good at recognizing bull shit instruction and this is one of the best I have seen.

A mega lesson that brings all the need to know elements of guitar playing together in a concise easy to understand format. Amazing. Thank you Brian.

Brian, that video was so good! So melodic! Technically, fundamentally easy.

Hands down the best soloing lesson on RU-vid. Not only are you a great teacher Brian but also a great musician, I absolutely loved the piece of music that you wrote that was in this lesson! great work!

This is "The Master Piece of All Guitar Lessons". Thank you very much Brian. You unlock the secret of the Guitar World. Cheers from Indonesia.

Thank you this was a breakthrough lesson for me...don't comment but had to. Thank you! Can't wait to try it.

Thanks Brian extremely useful especially noticing that you basically used the 3rds for chord tone target...excellent!

Mad skills, outstanding lesson, you continue to blow me away in how you simplify complex Concepts!

Finally! This is the one lesson structure I've been searching for, that no teachers ever delivered, until now. All other Pro's lessons focus on teaching about one ingredient, leaving out the rest of the recipe and the process to mix them together to bake one's own cake. 📋 This man just gave us the keys to the guitar kitchen.🍳🎸 My deepest appreciations, sir. ♥️

Brian, you excelled with this lesson by breaking it down so well with your explanation and demonstrations which put it all together...great job

MASTERCLASS Quality- easily. Brian is a great teacher- I highly recommend his website/courses. Many pro's can play but not communicate well. Brian excels at talking in a way that even a beginner can understand. He can also play. This is a fairly rare combination. I've studied with really good players who just leave me frustrated and feeling dumb. Chasing chords is really important. With Rock and Blues I have found, at a minimum, be sure you know where the "I" note is and land and emphasize that one when the chord progression comes back around to it. It just sounds much better.

I love it. This is what I need to know about music theory combination. I really thank you.

Hi Brian, first i want to say how much i love and enjoy your lessons❤ Just a point, at 24:05 you dont really play a chord tone of the E major chord... You bend the major third and get a perfect 4th which means you're coloring the E major chord with a "non" chord tone... Can be confusing for those who are trying to understand how to outline chord changes... A better example was to bend a note to reach a chord tone... For example bending the eight fret G note a semi tone to reach a G# , major third of E = true chord tone. Embellishment are obviously super tasty but maybe too advanced for a first step in understanding how to outline chords. Thanks for all your amazing work 🙏❤️🎸

What great teacher i can't stop to watching every day

Your explanations and the how to are amazing ! You continually nail it!

Grabbed this lesson last year and it became a permanent fixture saved to my favorites. Probably one of the most practical, important, easy to understand guitar lessons on all of RU-vid. Watching your videos and learning from them has been invaluable on my guitar journey so major thanks for that plus the way you always present the material it's like sitting down with one of ur buds and having him teach you hah

Brian you are the best f*kin guitar teacher on the planet. I can't tell you how much I've learned and applied from your videos. Thanks so much.

Brian, you rule. I love the way you've managed to tie this all together in such a tidy and digestible format with a casual and humble presentation. I'm just revisiting your videos from a couple years ago (8 week program) and now this one and I have to say thanks for putting these out. PACKED with info!

Great lesson, thank you sir !

More platinum level content! I love how you show us how we can build our own houses. It is always fun to play your favorite cover songs. This video is THE reason I love to play the guitar. It never hurts to reinforce the idea that you don't have to be a musical genius to make great sounding music! If you get bored and want to do an easy video, can you share some advice on how to get over being self-conscious when practicing and composing? Thank you for the video, it was full of great gems!

There are many great guitar channels on RU-vid. But if you want a deeper understanding on what you are doing, this is the one for you. Highly recommended. Greetings from Germany.

Nothing new here. Seen it a hundred times. But the way you explain this is just amazing. This video is really really special. I'm young to watch this over and over again. THANK YOU.

What a beautiful 'paint by numbers' song or just beautiful music along with a DIY guide. I'm blown away; no lie! 🤘

Although I am familiar with everything you cover here I think this is a first class and clear explanation

I've see a zillion explanations of the major and minor pentatonic overlays, this is BY FAR the best one. Also, excellent reference of the circle of 5ths for chords in a key. That was a new one on me!! Well done bro, well done!!

Outstanding video! Literally EVERYTHING you need to create amazing solos! Even if he is slightly out of tune…

Very nice explanation of process and how it works!!! Thanks for doing what you do.

Finally a good and direct hands-on clarification for first step soloing into a one condensed version. Also covers a good mix of practice and explaining theory behind. Great video!

18:40 It was not the most amazing solo in the world. It was just a tribute :) Fantastic lesson Brian. Thank you so much

I really enjoy your style of teaching, you do it so methodically and explain it slowly then use the note names not just the number of the fretboard and which string like so many and too many RU-vid instructors do , you say and show the notes on the fretboard Illustration chart , and my brain really follows well , it is so important for Guitarist's to know the notes in each scale (knowing All the notes on the fretboard)not just the shape that way we know where to land or resolve for great melodic solo's, you're a great teacher Brian , One thing I would like to add, we don't have to land on the root note of a chord change the 5th of that particular note sounds great in most instances as well, things to experiment on as we go through the guitar soloing experience ! Very hard to learn this stuff overnight for aspiring guitar players, watch Brian's other videos on how to learn the fretboard, you just have to do it slowly and systematically you can't let it overwhelm you by thinking you can't do it ,believe me it just falls into place after a while ,obviously it comes quicker for some people, stay patient my fellow guitar players.

Thank you very much! Fantastic video! You are the best music theory / music guitar practice teacher on YT. I m a beginner, but with your help I can play right now all over the fretboard, understanding chords/cage system... Etc. I never met a guitar teacher who can explain all those things as simply as you do! And as a Frenchman, I improved a lot my English listening to you ! 😃

Brian, I thank you for being the great teacher that you are. I am just discovering how all this works on guitar and your channel is a real find!

The way you present the fretboard and explanations from 0:32 to 1:05 is absolutely revolutionary and mind-opening. It sounds great, and now we know why and how. Now to spend time on the guitar, with jam tracks, and learn it all.

Absolutly one of the best Teachers of music ❤❤

Wonderful stuff Brian. I really am glad I signed up to your course which is a fantastic low cost value. Keep up the beautiful work amigo. The world needs more beauty.

Brian, just wanted to say thank you for this video. Didn’t realize how useful the circle of fifths was until this video. I watched it twice and took notes and probably going to watch it a few more times . Its all starting to make sense now. Thank you for sharing your knowledge

Outstanding instruction. This can help intermediate players connect a lot of dots. Thank You!

Your vibrato bro! I'm so behind in your teaching that it was like a time warp to see the incredible change in your vibrato over the last few years. Just joined Zombie Guitar. Thank you for all you do Brian.

Brian's tutorials are always so easy to understand - and to the point...

Man I wish I found your channel sooner. You're helping me make sense of concepts that I've been aware of for a long time, but just have not been able to fully put together in a musical way. You've got to be one of the easiest to understand guitar teachers I've ever come across. Your instruction is simple, straight forward and breaks everything down in a way that strips what seems to be incredibly complex into very basic concepts. I can't thank you enough for putting this content together and making it widely available. Love your approach to playing guitar.

The best guitar teacher I have ever had. Insights and teaching far beyond other teachers, masterclasses, or subscription programs. I have progressed as a player much faster with Brain than with any other teacher or system. Please check his site out, well worth it. And no, I don't know him and we have never met. I just appreciate great teachers.

I have been looking for this mystery road map for years. Finally I found it. Can't thank you enough.

Brilliant stuff Brian and Thanks a million, I've been learning theory for about 1.5yrs and was getting stuck playing the same material over and over. This has opened the door for me to endless new material to learn and practice. By far the no.1 best video ive seen on youtube for progressing my guitar journey, Well Done. This was a lightbulb moment for me. Thanks again.

You could make a lesson down the road for us guys who have just leant the scale (e minor in my case) but have no experience with licks. Once you show us some licks we can improvise. You are the best

You just opened the door for me ... only took me 40 yrs ... but so cool you teach awesome

DUUUUUUUDDDDDDE AWSOME❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Great lesson Brian! To start to learn to hear and understand notes and chord groups is very important to move on from just copying others, of course we all copy but you have shown how to use the circle of 5ths to make your own tunes and scales to solo in a simple way - that is musical independence and that is really what it is all about, learning the caged system will add fretboard geography to expand the range, really clever lesson bringing these musical elements together

Without any shadow of doubt that is the best guitar lesson I have ever watched...... I am a struggling beginner and do try to learn theory but never has it been explained so well. If this lesson was on vinyl I would probably wear it out the number of times I will revisit this!! Many thanx

Yet another great informative video, Brian.

Always giving the best of any topic

Great lesson! Beautiful solo! Thanks dude! You rock!

One of the best lesson for soloing in RU-vid...Thanks Brian..keep up the good work...

Great video Brian you said something I have never heard some one say ! about the caged system and it sparked my brain. Thanks I never stop learning.

This video was a big help with connecting the dots. A big 'Thanks!".

Can't recommend Zombie Guitar full course enough. Best teacher ever!

Brian for me you are the best teacher on RU-vid explaining and simplifying theory to practical use. This lesson is a complete game changer for me in making music and improvising. Thank you so much and please don't change a thing in your approach to teaching.

That progression and solo was just beautiful

Just excellent and then some. So much great knowledge and takeaways in such a short time and explained perfectly. Thanks as always.

This is awesome. You just opened so many doors. Thank you!

Great lesson thank you, been struggling with this type of chord sequencing for awhile so thanks again, really well explained and to show the whole chord and lead was very helpful

Well that was one of the most useful and informative lessons I have seen all year!! brilliant, thanks mate. What a great teacher!

You might just have the best lessons on the internet. You explain so elegantly and simply what everyone else makes so complicated. Even having a lot of this info under my belt, while I'm not sure I learned anything new, this was still a valuable lesson for me. It just removed a lot of jumbled info out of my head and brought it back to what matters.

A great lesson Brian! Loads of useful imformation here!

So well explained. Thank you for the hard work to bring this to us.

i just wrote a song using same chords 😅 and your solo is amazing bravoooo will watch till the end , thank you from the beginning.

That really did sound fantastic Brian.

Wow. There’s so much useful information in this lesson. With all the techniques and areas of music theory to learn, it can be difficult to see how they all come together. Enter this vid. Well done and thank you! Liked, subscribed.

Thank you for taking the time to make this video I have always gotten so much out of your teachings over the years but this one in particular really resonates especially when I hear you describe the way you look at things on the fretboard with regard to the pentatonic scales both major and minor it lines up pretty much perfectly with how I see them which helps me to know that I'm on the right track. Peace and blessings 🤙🏼

I love the way you teach music and guitar. Thank you. I have a good background in both, yet your explanations and examples inspire me.

I absolutely love this format for learning, very intuitive and giving a path, a direction Thank you Brian! It’s pure gold!

What unselfish sirius naturall knowlege giver .human.you r not master in music only you r life master.thats a big gift.very very rare open mind concept....stay strong my good friend

Brilliant explanation for a newbie. Thank you!

Fantastic lesson even for beginner Keep it simple theory is what we need and not overwhelming . Thanks for great lesson.

Great great teacher ! Simply explained no confusing stuff ! Thank you Brian !

Thanks Brian! Thant was an awesome lesson! I am really glad I tuned in!

This lesson is fantastic! This is one I will go over several times. Thanks!

Excellent lesson Brian! You Rock Brother!

Excellent follow-up to the 8 weeks - Roadmap vid. This is exactly where I am in trying to solo (over the Roadmap). GIves me a much needed direction. Thanks!

ur the best teacher on earth.

Very melodic and beautiful great lesson ty!

Thanks dude,...you're giving me some great ideas to run with. Kinda sucks when you have no 'game' and just copy the pros. One of these days I'll rip out some of my own stuff.

Awesome stuff! I just learned what chord tone targeting is. Thanks a lot!