"The Path" |
Using Minor Pentatonic #3
From "The GuitarPrinciples
Rock & Blues Electric Guitar Foundation Course"
| Message From Jamie...."Most instructional materials for electric guitar assume a ridiculously unrealistic competency on the part of the student, teaching advanced licks and calling them "beginner" licks. In the many years that I have taught electric guitar, I still see the same deficiencies, over and over again, in the students that come for lessons. Huge gaps in knowledge of Pentatonic Scales and how to use them, and how to make the licks they happen to know sound good.
Most students have trouble with the basic things like bending and vibrato, and the material out there to help them is, frankly, pathetic. I have never seen anything that actually explains what vibrato really is, and how the arm/hand/finger works together to produce it. Also, I have never seen a systematic way of teaching the arm/hand/finger to do a good vibrato. In our new course, however, that is exactly what you will see, and much, much more!" |
The cool licks that come out of this scale rely for their sound on a few notes that are added to the scale, namely, the major 2nd, the major 3rd, and the major 6th.
Let's take a look at them.....
Here we see:
Major 6th: added on the 3rd string with the 2nd finger
Major 6th (octave higher): obtained by bending the 5th with the 3rd finger on the 1st string 1 whole step.
Major 2nd: this note on the 2nd string with the 3rd finger may be used as a passing tone in runs, but is mostly used to bend to the major or minor 3rd.
Minor 7th: a part of the basic scale, but obtained here through a bend, a big one, with the 3rd finger on the 1st string). A potential string breaker in fact, of 1 1/2 steps!
The major notes add a very sweet sound to the scale, and when alternated with the normal "blue" notes of a flat 3rd and flat 7th, they are quite tasty. Of course, this is not the only scale we do this with. We used the major 3rd in Scale 1 with Solo #3. Although these "sweet" notes are used extensively in Scale 1, they can't be used in quite the same way as they can with Scale 3.
Between all these "flavor notes", there is a world of expression waiting in this scale. Let's take a look at a few choice, tasty licks.
Lick #1:  |
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| A familiar move starts this lick, the slide up with 2, followed by 1 on the next string. Remember, keep that 1st finger low on the slide up with 2! This seems like a "simple" lick, yet many long time players can't make it sound like it should! | |||
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To Perform Lick #1 1. Put 2 on the 3rd string, 9th fret, downpick the string, and slide up two frets. Keep 1 low. 2. Get the 1st finger down on the next note before removing the 2nd finger. Play the next note with an up-pick. 3. Hold 1 down on the 2nd string as you place 3 for the bend. Place 3, and keep 1 and 2 on the string as you bend. 4. With the bend held up with 3 fingers, put 4 on the 1st string and play the 12th fret. 5. With 4 still down, play the held bend, and let it down. 6. Finish with an up-pick on the last note. |
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If you are ready to finally sound good on electric guitar,
find out more about the "Rock & Blues Electric Guitar Foundation Course"!
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New!! THE GUITAR PRINCIPLES
Finally, there is a course that shows you what you REALLY need to know to be good on electric guitar.... |
| Scales - all 5 Minor Pentatonic Scales with GOOD, sensible, and usable fingering (unlike what is found in most methods) | Bending & Vibrato - The inside details on the mechanics of a good bending and vibrato, and practice routines that will enable you to master this essential skills. |
| Licks - THE essential licks from each scale with detailed video explanations, fingering, pick strokes, etc. | Muting, Damping, and Raking - Practice routines for developing string muting, string damping, and string raking. |
| Theory - The music theory behind the Pentatonic Scales. You will understand why certain notes get bent, why certain notes sound bluesy and good, and how to use each note of the scale in a musical way. NO NOTE READING NECESSARY! | Solos - A solo for each scale, illustrating the use of each lick, PLUS audio and video, FAST and SLOW with detailed verbal explanations and visual demonstrations of not just what the licks look and sound like, but how to train your fingers to do it too! |
| Technique - All you need to know about the micro-details of finger action when playing Pentatonic Scales & Licks. This information is NEVER given in existing instructional materials. You will learn Proper Hand & Finger Positions for all situations, as well as the details of Finger Movement in scales and licks. | |
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