Creating Effective Bluegrass Solos | 3 Concepts - Beginner/Intermediate Guitar Lesson with TAB

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Creating effective solos over a I-IV-V chord progression in the key of G using 3 concepts: G major scale, chord tones and chromatic passing tones. I explain how to combine these 3 concepts to create solos over almost any chord progression. When you are playing live, often you will be thrown a solo and you have to think quickly about how to create a solo on the spot. In my experience, these 3 concepts together can give you an approach to soloing and a way to create effective solos on the spot.
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[@cynbillings]

This is brilliant. You’re the 1st teacher who could explain this concept so I could understand solo basics. No one else has been able to break it down to this elemental level so that I could understand HOW to create a solo, ie: using the scale in the key, then starting phrases with the note of the chord. Thanks SOO very much!!

[@Chris45332]

I know right. I actually thought you had to switch the entire scale to match the chord... so I never even tried. After watching this, I just make sure to change the starting note to match the chord but staying in the G major Scale. The genius in this, is how simple it is. And how incredibly complicated it is usually made out to be.

[@pyannaguy4361]

Well-presented! As an old musician, this lesson reminds me how utterly amazing it is that SO many otherwise very bright people just DON'T grasp the fact that learning your way around the ground floor of Music Theory is NOT "rocket surgery." It's just the alphabet from A to G; there's no H. And it's just the numbers 1 thru 8. A 9th (Ooh! Scary! is really a 2 & a 13th is a 6, one floor up). They spend their whole lives talking about how you have to be "gifted" or how it's just too "complicated." One tip? Even guitar players benefit from having a picture of an octave or two of a piano in their mind's eye. It can help!

[@user-gj6rl7po9q]

Don’t get me started on “small fingers” and like u say natural talent. To those people I say grow some balls

[@pyannaguy4361]

Right? Sometimes I imagine how many people would be completely illiterate or would at least spell worse than they do now if people weren't required to have their kids schooled. "Oh, that 'spelling stuff!? It's a gift! I don't have it! But I'm great with GUNS!!!" LOL @@user-gj6rl7po9q

[@jeffanderson8384]

First time I've seen someone explain it this way. NOW! It all makes sense. Thanks!

[@queencitybuzz6394]

You just answered so many of the questions I've had for so long. Thanks, man!

[@gortagnan]

Wish’In I had seen this way back...! Lovely and clear and now to practise !

[@RFD510]

Rarely have I seen more handsome winds on tuning pegs.

[@alan4sure]

That many winds is of no advantage though. It detunes easier.

[@GDACPA]

Been looking for something like this for a long time. Great stuff, thanks.

[@nickcirillo6191]

great lesson, Thank You!!

[@hollydoodle]

I learned so much from this video! You simplify everything. Thank you so much

[@theeaskey]

The best explanation I've see on u tube, on how to play within the 1 4 5 progression.

[@fknez7591]

Thank you for the informative video!

[@asansone57]

Excellent lesson, so very useful!!!

[@kevinmccormick6434]

Explained these concepts better than anyone else has...simple and not complicating theory with too much talking. Right to the point in a nice to take in, small increment pace! Gives a lot to build on based with so little! Some instructors seem to over complicate things so you have to keep coming back to them to understand or move ahead.....Brandon does the opposite!

[@johnmitchelljr]

Great lesson. Thank you.

[@freeinhabitant2422]

I have never heard such clear and understandable instruction. I dont read a lick of music or understand scales - but after watching this, I think I could actually get a handle on it.

[@LorentzHaugen]

Really helpful, thank you.

[@SjaakShirly6559]

Great lesson Brandon. Thanks. Very well explained.

[@BrandonJohnsonGuitar]

Thanks Sjaak. Wanted to try something different with this one so I appreciate it!

[@jcbbe]

-Awesome, thanks a million

[@telsonater]

Wow, that is a great video. Perfect explanation

[@coltonpenn]

I’d say bluegrass or not, if your trying to learn guitar I’d say this is crucial and will speed you along tenfold to watch this.

[@anitabonghit2758]

This is dangerously close metal eoth that Bb

[@alward5678]

Really helpful. Thank you

[@ADAMSIVES]

Love this! Greetings from Australia

[@FordyHunt]

You are an excellent teacher!

[@x5-acousticguitarstuff.2]

Great Lesson, Wonderful Playing and a Beautiful Martin Guitar. I subbed and rang the bell.

[@OLDROCKER123]

A great lesson. Thank you.

[@renknutsen4270]

Great lesson Brandon. Thankds.

[@StokesMusicStudiosOnline]

Great video! Liked and subbed! You inspire us to create better tutorials!

[@beardedrancher]

That was helpful. Thank you

[@jamesmccarty8988]

Nice lesson! Effective

[@googlemustdie]

Thank you so much for this. I’ve never understood this until now.

[@johnmacmillan627]

Damn good lesson. Thank you

[@indirimbonshyatv5990]

I like this keep it up man

[@didiganster9058]

You are a very good teacher! Greetings from Weigelsdorf AUSTRIA

[@wilforce4190]

Awesome lesson

[@williamstuff]

Thank you so much for your time! you are really helping! and you help musicians to spread the genre

[@BrandonJohnsonGuitar]

Thank you William... that means a ton! :)

[@MrJasdog107]

You have just exlained something that i never thought i would ever understand.

[@teddyboy252]

Good job

[@circleback8874]

way to set up the tutorial bro. Very clear. Professional man. Have some ideas on how can pop the intros, but based on instruction set up, all the necc pro boxes seem were xhecked. Thank you. Good luck to the growth of your channel and overall success. Aloha

[@ArleenEngvall]

Thank you!!

[@willwillis1444]

Excellent lesson Brandon. Do you have more lessons that expand on this approach. Very valuable

[@DannyGatton94]

Such a nice channel.

[@GStone]

Like others mentioned here, you managed to explain something that made no sense to me before! In a pretty short amount of time!

[@whydoineedahandle269]

I lit out from Reno, I was chased by twenty hounds. Didn’t get to sleep that night til the morning came around.

[@user-gj6rl7po9q]

I just busted a nut

[@pointman6778]

Thank you so much for this. I’ve been self teaching guitar for 2 years and this really help me understand how to implement scales!

[@BrandonJohnsonGuitar]

Awesome... I'm glad to hear that! :)

[@barrya.6212]

@@BrandonJohnsonGuitar Hey Brandon...do you have the PDF tab for section starting at 2:58 .... picking / strumming mix....I know it's not rocket science and I partially have it down but tab for that would be great.

[@harishreddy4034]

Wow! That clears a ton of ambiguity for me. Feels like putting the last piece of the jigsaw in place. Can't thank you enough.

[@harishreddy4034]

Do you try to end each run over a chord on the chord note? For e.g, start and end on C when soloing over the C chord.

[@pascaldupont3796]

Excellente vidéo, très enrichissante !!

[@sobeit1927]

I have sort of played my guitar all my life and been so drawn bluegrass but always considered it to be a bitout of my reach . Not any more . I find can actually play this stuff . Many thanks . You have a subscriber .

[@mattdejustice]

Nice sound

[@flouisbailey]

Found this lesson “late at night” I am super impressed at the true content of this video. A massive amount little simpler to a beginner. Old beginners take note! HAVE FUN! Yea my hands likely don’t feel like these guys, no, they hurt! CBD cream helps with pain in joints and tendons. As they heal study theory, fretboard, keys, scales and blue notes. It’s all here.

[@babasingh6606]

Awesome

[@coltonpenn]

Ohhhh my god that’s what 1/4/5 is man your a great teacher thank you for being logical.

[@garybarney5383]

Colton Penn You said somebody was calling me to phone calls Gary Dr gave me sometimes too you know

[@alan4sure]

@@garybarney5383 don't do drugs.

[@scottsmith4145]

Good lesson. Not to confuse things too much, but really in your first solo example you are simply playing modes. G major scale(Ionian mode) then C Lydian followed by the D Mixolydian modes.

[@nowherefast-]

What is the significance of the up and down strokes? is it just for ease of moving between notes or is there some general formula flat pickers follow? down strokes on the beat and ups on the off beat?

[@Stray1One]

Cheers man, really good, I’m ashamed of myself,I should know this,?

[@vvgmhod4]

Have watched a lot of instructional guitar videos and happened onto this one this morning and am impressed. Beautifully rendered, graphically, and the instruction is clear and concise. Brandon will be my go-to guy now when I am looking for instruction. As long as I'm writing, let me mention this: for some time, I have wondered if guitar instructors could record the video from the vantage point of their own head, i.e., looking down on the fretboard, perhaps from the front a bit. I've always had difficulty looking at a screen, with the guitarist facing me, and then, in my mind, inverting what I'm seeing before trying to replicate the teacher's instructions. There is probably a better way to describe this, but hopefully I'm getting my point across. I only bring this up here because Brandon is obviously intent on maximizing his teaching effectiveness, as is evident by the quality of his videos. They are greatly appreciated, Brandon!

[@circleback8874]

I know exactly what you're saying, sure most will. Makes great sense before detailing even. I know one cool guy on YT think does that combined with 'phantom hand' effect.

[@alan4sure]

I know what you mean too.

[@holywell5649]

Thanks for video, just wondering why you use finger 2 on the low g string, then switch to finger 3 for the c chord? How do you hold down the G7?

[@alan4sure]

A bluegrass G chord sounds better if you mute the A string with your 2nd finger.

[@danielparra5007]

Wow, this is great, Thank you for the lesson! I have a question for you, What strings gauge do you recommend for this style of playing?

[@BrandonJohnsonGuitar]

Thanks Daniel, I use Elixir HD-Lights.

[@DPovey]

13's

[@kdtjones]

Love these strings... and the ultralight

[@alan4sure]

13-56 medium gauge.

[@TheOdditee]

This is a simple way of describing modal playing without even mentioning that's what's actually happening. Switching to the 4th and 5th modes of G Major (C Lydian and D Mixolydian) when the chord changes. Technically aren't still playing G Major, the major sound goes away when the intervals off the root of your 'solo scale' change, which they do, when changing modes. Eg C Lydian over C has a non-major tonality. It's pretty cool. Modes are the key to unlocking the fretboard ImO.

[@alan4sure]

If you have a decent ear, you can do surprisingly well playing and improvising at jams while knowing nothing about modes.

[@BrandochGarage]

Fun!

[@storageracksolutions7727]

This might be stupid question but here goes. When you get to the C chord in the progression can you play elements of a C scale and the same when you get to th e D chord or must you always use a G scale in the key of G ?

[@jensjenson1505]

How do you get your guizar to have that metallic wezsern banjo like sound? Is itbthe guitar ? Or the strings, or the way you prep them? Love it

[@russellamy7366]

that's because he's playing closer to the bride

[@robertahli3738]

What about high g and higher notes where they make tasty bluegrass licks they arent part of key of g scale?

[@beyenebeyashe1046]

Hi how we play solo bluegrass on pentatonic scales

[@bcp5296d]

I don't think that is part of the relaive minor pentatonic scale, but I wish I had this video in the late 90s.

[@pauldebruyn4389]

What tuning are you using.

[@yusufarif.r]

Mantap

[@1jenland]

Have any great suggestions for backing tracks to practice these ideas with?

[@jazzdog49]

Brandon thanks but...no matter what I do if that F# is played with C chord it doesn't sound right since it isn't in the C scale. Thus the popularity of maj pentatonic as it avoids that type of clash I suppose. That said, in your video when you played the F# on the C Chord is sounded - okay. I tried in other keys ...of course, same issue. How is it you play the 7th of G scale on the 4 chord and it works but not when I do it. Ugg...I don't get it..ha. :)

[@moreme40]

Blue Chip flatpick ?

[@requiem156]

The b flat is from the major blues scale, but it’s not part of the major pentatonic. Also when you say that you can play G major over G, C and D because your ear remembers the G sound, that might be true but a more useful description would be to say that all of those chords can be derived from the G major scale. Just saying - probably worth locking down those theoretical concepts

[@sobeit1927]

On a practical level it’s all about how it sounds . I don’t know any theory .

[@aaronniehaus2224]

@@sobeit1927 I don't mean to sound snobby, just expressing my experience. For me music theory has helped me to figure out a few general ideas for playing solos. I play fiddle. So for example, on a song I may hear G-Bm. If in my head I can instantly recall that D is the relative major of Bm, and that D is a fifth above G, that means I can take any lick I want and play it on one string, then move that same lick up a string and it will always sound great. And that gives me a more solid foundation for the solo so that I can think less about notes, and more about music

[@alan4sure]

@@sobeit1927 I'm totally with you. It's what your ear hears and your mind remembers. Not about remembering theory on the fly😄😄

[@PexoGames]

You have a lot of winds on those pegs Brandon, how do you change your strings? Looks to me that you've got 20+ winds on the High E String.

[@motomc6962]

And a lot of string buzz

[@christianbrobst3486]

I noticed the same. I typically try and stick to around 3 turned max on my electric

[@tylerhaas4922]

He just doesn’t want to run out of string!

[@petitcoquinou7180]

I would add that you also need to finish your lick on the root of the chord you are in, what do you think? Not only start, you need to finish on the chord tone

[@alan4sure]

It sounds much more complete when you do.

[@mrs.barefoot6706]

What Pentatonic scale are you borrowing the Bb from?

[@daviddavis2648]

That’s the g pentatonic.

[@paulmoquin461]

Pentatonic scale is just the same as the major scale without the 4 or the 7 scale degrees - it does not include the flat 3.

[@TheRealSandleford]

I think since it's a Bb it would make it the blue note for the blues pentatonic. Relative minor E makes it a flat 5th instead of a flat third. The G maj pentatonic is the same scale.

[@dukeofearlbanjo]

Wanna learn how to play an effective bluegrass solo? Learn the MELODY and build on that! Easy as that.

[@alan4sure]

Exactly! If you develop a decent musical ear, you can quickly pick up a melody at a jam or from hearing it on yt and work at improvising from there. No need for tabs, like so many people request.

[@Squintintaratino]

Your voice sounds like Charlie Sheen

[@barrya.6212]

>> 2:58

[@thecelebrationdj]

You got to the actual solo at the end but didn't break down what you actually did when playing it. I knew everything about the theory here but feel little closer to being able to play that solo

[@beauhayes7679]

Who strung up that E string?🧐

[@pm8278]

early early beginners is more appropriated ! LOL

[@crazycat1345]

He needs to raise his bridge a little bit. The constant buzzing especially on the low strings is pretty bad.

[@C-gt42069]

“Friend of the Devil Tutorial”

[@musicproductioncentral4540]

That F sharp doesnt sound good over the C chord doe.

[@barrya.6212]

COOL LICK PART >> 11:08

[@ochomarvo7189]

You left out top 2 strings

[@skaybaltimore]

@7:10 you say you're playing the G scale starting with the "C" note but it's not the same G scale at all compared to the first G scale you played starting on G. Notewise, it's C D E F# G A G F#. That's where you lost me.

[@derickg1488]

It's still the G major scale. It doesn't matter what note you start on. The notes are still the same just played in a different order which creates a different sound starting on the C you would be playing C Lydian. CDEF#GAB still has all the notes of the G major scale. When you change to the C chord you want to emphasize that chord by playing the notes of the C chord, which are CEG , all of which are in the G Major Scale. Same when you switch to the V chord which is D you want to emphasize the notes that make up that chord which we DF#A, all of which are also in G. Look up some videos or articles about Modes. Idk if that helped you a bit or not, without getting into too much theory

[@fredericoferreira9438]

truckin by greatfull dead 4:05

[@TheOdditee]

frederico ferreira friend of the devil

[@benmoor2727]

Please play the riff first my brother, then I know what to aim for, full respect!!!!!!! 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍

[@mt-nv4jd]

Play a scale. Pretend it's improvising. Got it.

[@dankhill6851]

That could be multiple genres, the solo isn't even in a bluegrass rhythm, I was looking for something like hog bitch stomp by buckethead, this is bluegrass your chords could be folk too its not definitively bluegrass

[@dankhill6851]

But then again, why would I be able to get this information for free anyway when it costs money?

[@CMAenergy]

Your guitar is out of tune !

[@russellamy7366]

and the fret buzz!

[@landongordy4826]

So as you use the g major scale you are timing the c note to land when the chord changes to c

[@julietissue8528]

Another way to look at soloing that has really helped me is when you play over G, play G major pentatonic notes, when the chord changes to C, play C pentatonic notes and when it changes to the D chord, play D pentatonic notes. For me, I can learn scales, but struggle applying them to make music. A guitarist named Guthrie Trapp opened my eyes to playing the chord changes by playing the notes of the chord that you are on. Hello! Why didn't I think of that! You have to be able to visualize the fretboard in your mind's eye using the CAGED system. I really great book by Joe Negri goes over learning triads which really helped me see the fretboard. I can't recommend that book enough. Hope this helps. We all learn differently and this way of thinking has really helped me. Probably the best is a combination of chord tone and scales for soloing.

[@landongordy4826]

I agree totally.I have watched a few of Guthries videos about chord tones.There really is alot of thinking involved in great guitar playing.I enjoy watching stich method myself alot he has a "in the mind of series in which he breaks down guitar solos and explains what the guitarist is doing and why he doing as well as the theory behind it.It made me respect the art much more as well as inspired me to challenged myself to learn the major scale all positions minor pent all post as well as the caged system plus Putting all that together over a chord progression.Humbling to say the least

[@lynnglidewell7367]

I've learned more in this video in 20 minutes about soloing then I've learned in fifty years of playing guitar! You are a great instructor! Clear directions and understandable guitar theory. No one else is doing understandable theory!

[@kazkylheku1221]

What has your approach been in fifty years that you're here learning that you can noodle over a G major scale over a G chord? My impression is that there is a glut of excellent resources out there and has been for decades. No shortage of books and instructional videos, going back long before the Internet age. Not to mention good local teachers in just about any city anywhere.

[@lynnglidewell7367]

@@kazkylheku1221 up yours shithead. Where did learn your fine skills of diplomacy with other people?

[@beyenebeyashe1046]

Hi how we play solo bluegrass on pentatonic scales