Country Soloing in Major Keys | Mixing MAJOR and MINOR Pentatonics

In this Country Guitar Lesson we will cover what makes up the "country" sound and how we can add notes to the scales we already know to enhance how we play. Then we will cover some of my favorite licks that I use to switch back and forth between the two scales. Thanks for checking this out and hopefully you find it helpful!
Cheers!
-Steve
0:00 Terrible Intro
0:24 Why Mix Major and Minor?
2:01 Altering the Pentatonic Scales for Country Playing
9:06 Lick 1
11:16 Lick 2
13:42 Lick 3
15:09 Lick 4
17:07 Final Solo
18:45 Please Subscribe...Blah Blah Blah
19:28 BACKING TRACK

[@jackjones2381]

Some time’s something like this simple lesson can change your whole out look at playing , been playing all my life 68 years , keep your eye on the small things , they can be a big deal

[@snogglemonkey]

Totally agree.

[@dainejir661]

BEST country guitar teacher EVER!

[@rangoverdun]

Thanks for doing these videos..i,ve been playing since 1959 and learn new things every day and these videos really help

[@stevetharms]

Hopefully you bought a les Paul when you started and kept it this whole time 😂

[@devensevils]

Dude, this is seriously epic! I’ve been a rock player for so long that it sounds weird trying to play country. These transitions are absolutely awesome to help me wrap my ear around this! Thank you so much!

[@stevetharms]

Right on, glad you found it helpful!!🤘

[@jrsjukebox]

Dude this unlocked soooo many things for me thank you!

[@stevetharms]

Hell yeah!

[@mervynfutter]

Great lesson and very helpful. Thank you.

[@stevetharms]

Thanks for the kind words Mervyn!

[@scottparmenter5783]

Very helpful thanks!

[@stevetharms]

Thanks Scott!

[@gorgemusic]

Thank you so much for putting in the time and effort to share your knowledge. After many years of playing acoustic guitar I’ve had to switch to electric because of left hand issues. Thank you for helping me progress at a rate I didn’t think was possible.

[@aubreygrandy170]

Great videos. You should be very proud of the excellent job you did presenting the material.

[@stevetharms]

thank you!

[@hearpalhere]

Fantastic examples, thanks for another great video!

[@stevetharms]

You got it!

[@drsteviejasengnsangma8739]

Awesome licks.. Thanks for sharing

[@stevetharms]

You bet!

[@blueeyephil]

Great video with a very good explanation of moving between major and minor. Loved the guitar! I've often thought I'd like a strat that sounded like a tele. And here you go. I'm going to practice these licks.

[@user-pv9cs4jp5l]

Steve you are a fine country guitarist and a very good teacher. You seem like a nice humble person as well! I really enjoy your lessons, thank you!

[@natadams9428]

I have to say your videos are more comprehensive than any other videos I've seen concerning country guitar. Keep up the Great work !!

[@gmurp5415]

You're the one I've been looking for. Thanks. Probably take some time to assimilate all you've shown me in the last couple days, but I enjoy every minute.

[@kennybryson6542]

This is great stuff!! I’ve been searching for this type of content with the lessons and explanations for a while now. Thank you!!

[@stevetharms]

Right on, glad it was helpful Kenny!

[@douglasbernes3773]

Thank you

[@stevetharms]

You’re welcome Douglas!

[@HughJengine]

Keep it coming, thanks for posting

[@p.errant5452]

This is pure gold, man. I'm subbin'!

[@stevetharms]

Thank you, it’s much appreciated!

[@robsexton4181]

Wish I could give multiple thumbs up for each lick section. Fantastic and very helpful. Great teaching style.

[@jeffreyhoehn9307]

So cool!

[@tomsheppard395]

Excellent!

[@andrewboore3899]

That Tele/strat hybrid is slick & sleek AF mate! Very classy and sounds great.

[@stevetharms]

Thanks man!

[@aaronpeterson392]

You have helped me a ton man thank you!

[@alhoenstok9482]

Fantastic lesson. Wowww

[@georgenourse2328]

Good job Steve it is all about having knowledge it all helps Thanks !

[@LostMountainRestoration]

Another great job, thanks Steve.

[@DannyGatton94]

Perfect!

[@harleyosterlund5796]

That was sick. I can use that. Thanks!

[@TheRycooder]

Best country vid I’ve seen!!!

[@mikevanhook2672]

Thanks Steve, very helpful and easy to understand. I’m an old guy that just played rhythm all my life and wants to spice it up a bit.

[@stevetharms]

Rock on, glad you found it useful!

[@scandalinbohemia]

Awesome lesson. Thanks so much

[@stevetharms]

Glad you liked it!

[@indigo2009]

Great YT channel. I like his teaching approach.

[@renejensen6424]

Great sound and touch. Really helpful to watch. I find it difficult to hybrid pick though. But I guess it’s just keep practicing.

[@stevetharms]

yeah it can take a bit of time before it starts to click, we get used to picking with just the pick and forget how long it took before we felt "comfortable" doing that, you kinda have to relearn how you play a little bit.

[@cpchris2]

Great lesson thanks 🙏and great playing too

[@stevetharms]

Thank You!

[@ck2music712]

Great lesson, but MAN, is that a sharp guitar! I normally don't dig block inlays, but that's pretty sharp, hoss!

[@zoomankat]

Fab!

[@weswilson9781]

Just stumbled across your channel, absolutely love it!

[@stevetharms]

Welcome aboard!

[@lawsonlawson9806]

Good stuff ..move towards this when I finish the line in front this one 👍

[@stevetharms]

I know the feeling, have quite the KZbin playlist saved of things I want to learn!

[@illshowyougames3605]

Yes! Good stuff. Please do more country guitar lessons with the theory and not just the how,but the why well. Like u did in this video. Also a video on country riffs would be cool too, but definitely more soloing. Maybe a video on how to sound like alan jacksons song im in love with you baby and I dont even know your name. Or what ever its called.

[@normanddaviau8787]

Good teacher like pilgrim

[@vitalsound1727]

Great video but really the part I struggle is when you move to the 4 and to the 5…. That’s where I really feel the breakdown with these videos are

[@stevetharms]

I’m working on a video now that covers that exact topic. Most of these ideas are all around soloing over a single chord, you have to move the entire shape to the new root note when you go to the 4 and 5. The video I’m working up covers playing over the changes without having to move shapes!

[@robnic52]

Great video, these beefed up pentatonics are swappable, country to blues but in either style I have been struggling with sounding hesitant and clunky so this is golden. You didn't mention that major to minor licks don't work well over a minor song, only works in a major key, if that's wrong please set the record straight? I guess country is almost always in major keys, blues can be either.

[@stevetharms]

Correct, playing major scales over the minor keys isn’t going to sound right. For some reason though our ears don’t mind hearing notes from the minor over major keys. 🤷‍♂️

[@Krullmatic]

Wow! Is that a partscaster? I dig it!

[@chazmichael7967]

I would just add the "why" this bend works is basically in the major pentatonic shape you're bending a 2 into a 3rd and in the minor pentatonic shape you're bending a 4th into a 5th....basically you are bending into chord tones. You can tell by not bending and just playing the 3rd in the major shape a whole step below the 2 instead and your ears will hear it.

[@benbush1227]

Great lesson, I need a guitar like that one, where can I get one?

[@bryandean5563]

Curious if you'd be interested in doing personal video lessons (Skype, FaceTime, Zoom, etc.) for an old hack like myself?

[@stevetharms]

Hey Brian, honored that you’d ask! Unfortunately at this point I don’t have the time to add anything else teaching-wise. If I ever start online lessons I’ll make sure to reach out!

[@drewgilbert6]

Off topic, but do you do Juijitsu? My guess is you do.

[@stevetharms]

😂🤙🤙

[@normanddaviau8787]

Gold trancher l'île pilgrim

[@BB-rk7ub]

Did you retire from hockey Sydney....... to become a country picker?

[@blastsucarta1068]

It's crazy that people don't know minor 3rd and Major 3rd or flat 5 which is the same as # 4 or dont know chord tones or the modes.....man what a waste of time not learning that stuff in the first 5 years of playing the guitar

[@johnwarren5492]

I played for over 30 years and didn't know that. And guess what, I play pretty damn good.

[@johnwarren5492]

Very useful. Thanks abunch!

[@stevetharms]

Glad it was helpful!