Bluegrass Scales- The Country Scale for G, C, and D chords

In this lesson we will be learning the country scale for each of the 3 chords G, C, and D in the first position. The country scale is a foundation for bluegrass licks and improvisation. Learning the scale in one position for all 3 chords is crucial to the bluegrass style

[@timex7155]

Finally, someone who wants to teach instead of showcasing them selves . thank you. I subscribed so I'll look for more.

[@LysgaardLightning]

Good lesson. You should mention that When you play the 5th.in this case D. In your example, you are playing the blues scale.

[@chaplainmattsanders4884]

Thanks for this, my dude. I’ve been studying theory for lots of years but never knew the blues scale = bluegrass scale with different root. Mind-blowing and really, really helpful!!

[@CenterStageGuitar]

Happy to help! Please consider subscribing as we are planning on really ramping up the content this year!

[@Lilljoescratch]

The way you camera shot this is helping me so much Thank you !!!!!!!!!!!!

[@neildavidvandenbergh5422]

This is badass! 🙏🙌👍 I've been a Blues, and Blues Rock Player for almost 25 years, but have been seriously wanting to learn more about Playing within the styles of Country and Bluegrass. Great job, Thanks!

[@k3804g932]

Very nice. Most guys on the internet spend the entire length of the video talking about things that no one cares about, or don't understand. Good work. kg

[@frothymilksmiles]

Thank you so much! I picked up a lot from this. Very good teacher and very straightforward instruction. Blessing brother!

[@PetterLeijon]

this is one of the best lest lessons iv ever seen, it really narrows down the fundamentals of country guitar playing!

[@dogshowish]

You make it look so easy last year I not much practice on guitar due to been in Mental hospital

[@zackorr6809]

Just found this channel, already love it. Thanks for the lesson 👍🏻

[@jblflatpicker]

You can tell he’s not a bluegrass player, but he does better than most non-bluegrass guitarists in his presentation.

[@blakeholmes8691]

What he actually taught was the relationship between the root and relative minor. I’m a Bluegrass guy, we call it major minor sometimes. He’s not a bad teacher, just out of his element so to speak haha!

[@scolpitts]

Great lesson! How I never learned that the same scale sounds completely different depending on the chord being played over it is beyond me. Thanks

[@reinaldoferreira9503]

Nine minutes....super good....Tks from Brazil

[@WoodyLockwood_Vlogs]

I really like those Scales a lot. Really good for Acoustic Guitar..

[@saschaw.7251]

This is a great video and helped me a lot!!

[@shathan123]

Very clear and to the point and understandable. You’re a good teacher. Thank you.

[@gibby6904]

Good lesson with great camera work! Have any more?

[@daveharrison3655]

Heartfelt thanks!

[@artiene87]

Very practical lesson!!!

[@flooko]

that rocked. quick and useful info!

[@maxwellfan55]

Quite a lot of useful info here, seems more things going on (different?) in the D scale but the G and C appear to be straight maj pents with that passing blue note to give the country flavour. Would like to see more up-neck scale patterns in another video. Playing country in D seems not only to suit the guitar more (and many vocals), it also offers something different over the usual G and C. A good demo, you have unlocked a few more secrets and I have learned a little more. All good stuff. Thank you.

[@evanrayner]

This is the best easiest way to explain this to anyone! I know my scales But my music theory is horrible been trying to get into flat picking this just kind of brang it all together for me. I actually watched the video played my scales a few time thought about how stupid I was for not noticing the obvious but now I can improvise my own fills all it took was a 10 minute to the point video 👍👍

[@CenterStageGuitar]

Thanks for the comment Evan! Happy to hear this video helped

[@Glitchcraftproductions333]

I’m so glad I found your lesson. It’s so much more comprehensible to me than a lot of these other bluegrass lessons. I have a natural inclination towards blues and using that helps a lot with learning different sounds. A lot of other bluegrass lessons don’t utilize or mention anything about blues. So thank you, this lesson helps me immensely in working on my bluegrass improv!

[@coleelijah]

Good video, thanks for breaking it down

[@robertadams8007]

Great lesson,thanks

[@bradsmithstudios8881]

This is an awesome explanation

[@ralex3697]

Amazingly helpful

[@netunobeats]

Tks for the great lesson

[@oneman49instruments]

Great great lesson! From Barcelona

[@saguarmusic]

Gracias a great job!!!

[@deniszukic1]

G scale: 3:06 C scale: 5:13 D scale: 6:38

[@petercontarino646]

Very helpful thank you !

[@Albertwildhorseshoer]

Thank you so much!

[@noahimua1289]

Nice job on making this knowledge accessible to the people. Good work here

[@CenterStageGuitar]

Thanks Noah!

[@jstaxcoach]

Great work.

[@daletamke548]

Thanks for video so opened up another key to playing my guitar.

[@CenterStageGuitar]

Awesome! Please subscribe and share!

[@chrisparrish8191]

Thank you for this vid.

[@donellis7564]

Excellent lesson. I think you’ve helped me bridge this plateau I’ve been at with my playing.

[@stevenschrock]

Very Smooth

[@renb7604]

I appreciate the lesson and the playing is excellent. But it is very confusing that the last scale is not really D major blues. Another important point is that that country sounding scale usually includes not only the 1, 2, flat 3, 5, and 6 (as shown in the video), but also the flat 7 and sometimes even the 7 and through in as lead in notes to the root. I have noticed that people leave out the flat 7 from the scale (which is technically correct), put in practice, players use it all the time in this context. That is also extremely confusing.

[@oldtimetinfoilhatwearer]

Bluegrass players will use all twelve notes in any key. It just depends on the context

[@paulbreaux909]

@@oldtimetinfoilhatwearer That may be true of any style, but I also found the last scale to be inconsistent. You showed the major pentatonic of the G and C, but then showed the D blues scale. And this may sound great in practice and while performing, but I think just a bit of clarity may be helpful. Just so folks don't confuse the last scale with a D Major pentatonic.

[@kylefletcher7924]

Dope !!

[@kellygotell1179]

I think it’s the G major pentatonic with added b3; C major pentatonic with added b3; and then D blues scale (D minor pentatonic with added b5 blue note).

[@gpluff]

Hi did you use the D minor blues scale (1, b3, 4, b5, 5, 7) instead of the major blues scale (1, 2, b3, 3, 5, 6) like you did for the G and C on purpose? Does it all still work? It seems to have caused a lot of confusion with everyone. Thanks and nice channel.

[@gpluff]

It just seems like you'd want to stick with the major blues throughout no? Thanks....

[@Rowen170]

Yes , that's exactly what he did. Major for G and C chords, minor for D

[@runtsmeadow6797]

@@Rowen170 No, I think he made a mistake. The last one was exactly the same tonal sequence as the previous two (if you start on the root note), but in F, not D.

[@pineywoods420]

Please do more “Point of View” tutorials. More instructors should.

[@renb7604]

One Last Point: When you play in G. The G Chord is the 1, the C is the 4, and the D is the Five. But in bluegrass people also play in the Key of C, and so it's C as the 1 Chord, F and the 4 Chord, and G as the 5 Chord. So the F Major Blues Scale is commonly used, but not in the Key of G, but rather in the key of C. I would create a new video and show the D scale and the F scale. This is a great and important video and the guitarist is really great. It should be corrected and it will be perfect. Explain when the F scale is used (Key of C as the 4 Chord), and also talk about adding the flat 7 as an extra grace not in the scale.

[@melaniemarrotte3073]

Love this

[@gwag8410]

Excellent lesson!

[@pyannaguy4361]

Good lesson! Wonder if it might be good to sneak in a bit of Music Theory vocabulary & just mention that A minor is the RELATIVE Minor of C. That's why the A Bluesy (minor pent.) sounds Country (major pent) in C. They have the same key signature. E minor works for G major, etc. = RELATIVE minor & major. Lotsa commenters are saying I never knew this "trick." It's called the Relative Minor (& Major) relationship. Every key has its relative major & minor. ...Good to know. Thanks for your time!

[@CenterStageGuitar]

Excellent point you are making here!

[@tommytele6970]

Remember there is a minor 3rd and major 3rd in the MAJOR blues scale, Which he calls the ‘country scale’. It’s usually more of a passing tone unless you want to get your mojo on..and nuttin wrong with that. I think some people got confused because he didn’t play the major third in the example.

[@frankrusselldesign7563]

So this is most odd,ly fantastic, and I am learning this. The minor blues scale on the 5th chord? What do you play on the minor chords?

[@dylans9405]

Best blue grass lesson on the tube

[@TonySwede]

HI - I am a bit confused.. if the G is played over an E and the C is played over an A then shouldn't the D be played over a B? Sorry to pick this up because it doesn't make much sense to me and I am new at this style of playing so need to try to get it right, thanks

[@kiabodesign]

the G major scale is the same of the E minor scale, are the same notes, because E ist the minor relative of G. so is the A minor for C major. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relative_key. What he calls E blues scale is the E MINOR blues scale, the e minor pentatonic + the 5b...and this my friend is the same of the G MAJOR blues scale, just because that extra note in the pentatonic is the 3b of G. You are right, the B minor blues scale ist the same of D major blues scale.i hope this will be helpful, keep playing dude!

[@Composer19691]

TonySwede .... My thoughts exactly. It should be a B minor blues scale played over the D major chord.

[@nodgelyobo1]

@@kiabodesign , Thanks that helped me a lot too...

[@michaelyaussi5481]

Totally agree, that was weird. He plays the D blues scale there rather than the B blues scale. Really cool video other than that strangeness for beginners.

[@iamiupa]

@@Composer19691 Or maybe a D minor scale, but played over an F major?

[@joegarcia2323]

Something’s weird here. For G and C we have the “Country Scale”, which is just the relative minor blues scale. But when he played over D, he just played the regular D blues scale instead of playing the B minor blues or D “Country” Why did D not follow the same pattern

[@gymguy-ct4zm]

Yeah this lesson is kind of dumbed down for what should be explained.

[@tedoconnell9712]

Two years later...I noticed this too. I still love the video and the sonic possibilities it unlocks. I thought I was all clever figuring out that the relative minor blues scale is the way to remember where to go in the context of any particular chord (i.e. E for G, etc.), so when he got to D I was guessing ahead, looking for the blue notes in B. A little frustrating, but the things is it sounded good when he played those notes in D as well.

[@stokesdotcom]

He shows G maj pentatonic, C major pentatonic and D minor pentatonic.

[@JM-pf2of]

I can't find a g maj pentatonic scale that matches what he's playing

[@paddysdynamicvideos]

​@@JM-pf2of Its the Blues scale. G major pentatonic with a b3rd.

[@paddysdynamicvideos]

Weird he didnt specify that in the vid. Seems like the most interesting part and he didn't point it out.

[@fannyingabout]

aShitty drunk it’s the flat 3rd which confuses people. In a major pentatonic scale the 3rd is usually a major 3rd but what happens is that the standard five note pentatonic scale gets another note (the flattened 3rd) and its given another name. It’s this movement between the flat 3rd and Maj 3rd that gives it the sound, in essence it’s a clash or tension between the two thirds. Same in minor pentatonic with the flattened 5th. In fact the two scales are generally (but not always) interchangeable and your ear usually determines the sound.

[@alexgray8804]

I’d love another video with A, B, E and F. I suppose D scale would work in F, G in E, not sure the others…

[@WILDBILLSOUTDOORS]

Thanks for sharing, could you do a lesson on the solo part for Charlie Daniels "Long Haired Country Boy" it's in the key of "D" and I play it in drop D, I can play the intro and the lick, but when I attempt the solo part I get lost after the first few notes. As many things as there are on youtube for this song, no one has ever really broken down that solo, wich should be easy, but I'm not much of a lead player anyway :) !

[@waylonjr]

In Drop D, when soloing and for chords, G for instance, you'll have to wrap your brain and fingers around the 6th string notes being two frets up...

[@mattfountaine1389]

I covered it..got the chord’s & signature lick down pat but never mastered the solo so I just whistled it 😂

[@jamesgentry2018]

3:05

[@teater51Cover]

😍👍

[@debbiefincher112]

a little confused in that the D scale you just showed doesn't have C# so doesn't have the whole triad for D?????? Can you help me understand?

[@CenterStageGuitar]

Debbie, so this is more or less a D pentatonic major scale. It omits the C# or natural 7. The triad for D is 1, 3, 5 and all those notes are in the scale.

[@giabgr]

So then where is the F# in this scale?? First two notes are F and G. Looks to me like the D pentatonic MINOR scale.

[@iamlexlex]

this is obviously D minor pentatonic.

[@baleksydon5471]

Obviously... (Asshat)

[@danielmelvin4525]

You can play either the Minor or major scale in that position, Also don't omit the c# slide from the c# to the d on the second string frets 2&3 and then pluck the G third fret on the first string for a real country lick them descend in like a g major arpeggio.

[@artiene87]

1:19

[@artapollo3367]

3:46

[@briancarroll3541]

seems like u r doin G and C maj. pentatonic (with flat 5th), but then D minor pent. w/ bluey. do i have that right? have also seen 'D modal', but that doesn't have the blue note, just the flat 3rd (F#~F).

[@chesalgado]

Maybe I missed something but in the D scale, you specify open D string then 3rd fret on the D string. When in all the other scales the distance from the root to the 2nd has been two semitones, but on the D string from D to F that's three semitones? I'm just writing this all out on paper for practice later and I noticed this. Any explanation?

[@chesalgado]

Another thing I noticed is that this sound correct if this was a D blues scale but it's supposed to be a D country scale right? Or is the minor on D intentional?

[@fredworthmn]

The presenter said at the beginning of this video that the Country Pentatonic is the same as the Blues Pentatonic. He also started the "D" scale on the 6th string 1st fret ("F") so he is consistent in what he is presenting. The note you are questioning is also the "F". I also wish the presenter had written this out for us. My head was swimming trying to keep up with him.

[@chasewatson2248]

@@chesalgado This confused me as well.

[@bikersoncall]

I don't think it's right, doesn't follow that same rules as G and C, not that it can't work, but something doesn't seem right to me either.

[@justsomeguy8385]

That's because he played the D blues scale over the D major chord. I honestly think it's just the case of a blues player trying to teach bluegrass, but getting confused and showing the wrong scale.

[@Youreout]

What model Taylor is that, if you don't mind!

[@banjopete]

Jeff Watson , doesn’t have to ! Fuck you.

[@lacuevadelvampiro]

wow! nice camera angle!

[@artiene87]

1:54

[@justsomeguy8385]

I wish you would have explained why you played the D Blues scale over the D chord. You played the others using their relative blues scale, E Blues over G, and A Blues over C, but for the last one you just went D Blues over D with no explanation for why you would do that. Or was that a mistake? Seems like that should have been B Blues over D for consistency.

[@booswalia]

Shouldn't the F be sharp in the D scale???

[@bob81pizza]

If it were the major scale, yes, but the minor 3rd of a D scale is an F natural. Just like the minor 3rd of the G scale is a Bb (1st fret on the A string). This is what he calls the 'Blues' note

[@skatetodeath666]

@@bob81pizza why is he doing dm blues scale over the Dmaj but, blues major scale for the G and C ?

[@jerrytom3514]

Please help ... first of all -- Nice job! Anyone out there - I am starting to play guitar for a bluegrass group. My background has been more classic rock - like the Eagles, Beatles, Neil Young etc. Any recommendations on who I should listen to? Can you give me five top BLue Grass songs that I should try to learn? Someone told me “Talk to me Texas” was a good start -- since it was a nice easy song . Any others? I wanted to be somewhat prepared when I met these folks. thanks -- Again any recommendations would be appreciated. Tom

[@evanrayner]

Jerry Tom it all really depends what you like, personally for me I started the same with rock/ Classic rock and ended playing country then getting more into bluegrass but I found fun songs were always best, doc Watson has a lot of song that are fun to play along to with some basic picking, tony rice, asleep at the wheel also has some I like there’s to many artists for me to name but these are some of my favorited

[@fredworthmn]

If you're an old guy like me you might want to look into Gerry Garcia's work outside of the Grateful Dead. He plays a lot with David Grisman and Vassar Clements. He also has some jams with Tony Rice which are outstanding (The Pizza Tapes). If you are going to be flat picking a lot I recommend Bryan Sutton (and Tony Rice of course). He recently (3 or 4 years ago) played with Hot Rize Reunion and they did some outstanding music. Try googling "Wind Songs". They are a TV show that has a lot of the bluegrass royalty on their archived library. It comes on PBS now and then. Watch "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" a 2000 movie with George Clooney and a whole bunch of BG royalty. Get the CD. Funny as heckums! (Who's that guy who played Dan Connor? He's in it.)

[@ejtonefan]

Clarence White and Tony Rice. Download Amazing Slow Downer, set to slow playback speed, and transcribe note for note yourself into GuitarPro. I have yet to find a transcription book that I would recommend. I recommend learning "Billy In The Lowground", Doc Watson "On Stage". I am interested in knowing how you are doing with flat picking after 1-year.

[@jacksonrivers3811]

Thanks guys - very helpful!!!

[@etiennelebien5670]

y à t'il une tablature merci

[@Steve-si8hx]

So what did that A minor scale have to do with playing over the C Chord ? Because when you went to play over the G C D chords, you just played the G C D scales with the blues note added ?

[@CenterStageGuitar]

Am is the relative minor to C major. Meaning it has the same notes so another place on the neck you can play C major

[@Steve-si8hx]

@@CenterStageGuitar Ok yes I knew that I just wasn't sure why it was explained in the video. Thanks for the reply

[@fsindler1]

Are the scale charts available somewhere?

[@JM-pf2of]

I can't find the g scale he showed anywhere online

[@sloppyg9185]

It's the E Blues scale. Just using the C as the Root

[@bwade8786]

Basically relatuve minor pent?

[@ejtonefan]

You summarized in 3 words what he didn't do in the entire video.

[@tcrossfranco]

Just an observation...for G he uses E blues scale, root note (of chord) G, a minor 3rd higher...same idea for the C chord...A blues scale with ''root'' note C, a minor 3rd higher...but on the D chord, the so called root note, D , is the same as the first note of the D blues scale he uses here...in other words the logic , musically, is inconsistent...so according to the😢 instructor, this could make the scale over the D chord sound bluesy...😮

[@derekblankenship6079]

G blues scale, C Blues scale, D minor pentatonic scale in case anyone is wondering... not sure why it wasnt really specified.

[@ejtonefan]

I don't think he knew.

[@tegenvoeter]

Hè shows a Fm pentatonic over a D chord?? Starts in F and ends it in A??

[@Hironmountain]

It's a F major or D minor pentatonic with a blue note.

[@jjfournie5047]

It sems to me that your example of D country scale is actually the F country scale

[@VW.907]

Interesting, the blues/bluegrass g over blues scale.

[@ata5855]

Why is it a D Pentatonic Minor instead of Major? It’s Major for the other two chords

[@mathuwhycough6591]

Mike Mac seems like a slight flub tho major or minor pents will sound pretty good over major or minor chords

[@steveterry6583]

My bluegrass buddies and I are LOL sounds like a blues player trying to play bluegrass. Thanks for trying keep working at it

[@CenterStageGuitar]

We would all love to know how its done. Please show us

[@mjtmn]

The trick to being a true bluegrass player is putting others down and insisting they aren't pure. Whoever the crowd goes with is the real deal

[@runtsmeadow6797]

This is C, G and F.

[@kevinmagrath6817]

don't like the upside down angle I'm used to watching people play its standard format but great lesson thank you

[@johnbelcher7164]

.miners are the best

[@alan4sure]

Minors? Or people who dig the ground for gold?

[@Kevin-db3dm]

Isn’t that an E minor pentatonic scale not a G?

[@timpickard3946]

He did step out of lesson topic when playing a minor blues wit the D major chord. It still sounds good and even more so if a D7 was played. However the 3 chords together G C and D are the main harmonies in the key of G major and would all sound best and make the most sense for soling if you stick to the G major blues scale notes throughout the progression.

[@CenterStageGuitar]

Eh, I don't know about staying on the G major blues scale. Depends on the sound you are looking for I guess. Watch the great bluegrass pickers, they do not stay simply on a G major blues scale

[@JM-pf2of]

I can't find any country scales.. I want to know the other positions.. anyone?

[@JM-pf2of]

i didnt use the right choice of words, i meant any other* scales with a diagram. but turns out....i drink to much and dont think before i type. fair point,

[@JM-pf2of]

@Charles H Geis IV do you make music?

[@fortunatoofamontillado1059]

why note let people know they are called the minor and major pentatonic scales

[@CenterStageGuitar]

If you watch the whole series on our website that is explained

[@superchamp44]

@@CenterStageGuitar Ok, then how about a change the title of the video to Country Scales for G, C and F Chords (yes it is a Dm that he shows). He even wiggles that F at 7:09. I think he realized his mistake by 7:15. And then at the end he ends on F accidentally again..and then "if you want to end on d, slide to it" Huh? Really good video despite this oddity.

[@renb7604]

G Major Blues Scale, C Major Blues Scale, F Major Blues Scale (NOT D!!!) The last scale is not D Major Blues Scale it is F.

[@thebigbw]

F major blues scale is the same as D minor blues scale. He doesn’t explain the switch, which I think is where a lot of people are getting thrown off.

[@ejtonefan]

@@thebigbw I don't think he knew. Misinformation is worse than no information.

[@michaelteel4917]

No ,you just strum different..

[@yvocinfo3381]

Blue grass came out of native Black American Blues music.

[@ukusawright]

Nope it didn’t, the roots of bluegrass came from Irish, English and Scottish folk music!

[@ejtonefan]

@@ukusawright and American gospel

[@kofblz]

Why not just call it what it is -- the Lester Flatt G run? Or the major blues scale? There's no need to introduce more confusion. You can make that scale sound very bluesy. And bluegrass players don't play the minor blues scale of D in that way. The formula might be better : G chord - G major blues, C chord - C major blues + G minor blues, D chord - D major blues + G minor blues.

[@Telee_Pawt]

That has to be the most confusing thing I ever heard.

[@davestambaugh7282]

You show up at a bluegrass session with the wrong type of guitar you are going to get a lecture about why you should only play a drednaught.

[@alan4sure]

And rightly so, too.

[@gymguy-ct4zm]

Yeah neat lesson and all but this doesn't actually show you what scales to learn. Thanks tho

[@rogermcgrady2019]

If u just start out you cant learn from him he goes to fast

[@Ksaxkradio]

Well you probably shouldn’t be learning bluegrass if your only starting out

[@Thomas-ti4gm]

just to fast

[@fearfullywonderfullymade4057]

You teach way too fast

[@SEESEP]

Thank you so much!!!