I Don't Like this Approach to Soloing (but you might)

[@tunguy]

I love the way you repeat yourself … helps simpletons like me. Love how you constantly reinforce the concepts! You are amazing!

[@zombieguitar]

@@tunguy thank you! I really appreciate the words 🙏

[@stephencindrich135]

Been with you for years Brian. You continue to absolutely deliver. Thanks!

[@scotttalley1274]

you're like the big brother that brings the truth to what the little brother is trying to work out....thank you

[@airheads24]

Good video. What really helped me out was what you said in another video that the correct notes in the scale for the chord are the CAGED shapes. And you can see them in the green notes here too.

[@garagemasterguitars]

Yes indeed, that ties up any lose ends there.

[@smoothpicker]

Im with you on keep it simple, too much thinking equals too much pressure for me. Awesome video as usual.

[@johnmacmillan627]

Thanks, Brian. Beautifully explained. Tied it all up. Gonna pass this on to my son who is now interested in soloing.

[@zombieguitar]

Thank you!

[@zombieguitar]

This video may be helpful for him as well 😁 kzbin.info/www/bejne/jWPNemeLeZ6grtUsi=_ENVKnTmQupQKWsM

[@JonseyWales]

As always expertly explained with crystal clarity👍👏

[@mukundlagu1785]

Hello Brian, Thanks for this uncomplicated and concise approach. Made life a lot easier. Also cleared concepts on the pitfalls of the pentatonic scale method. 😊

[@punkmusiclessons]

Brian, you've completely changed how I conceive music. you make it all so easy and clear, and concepts I struggled with for literal decades suddenly clicked into place. Can't thank you enough. Youre like the Hermit tarot archetype for guitarists who want to transcend to the next level. Bless you

[@thomasrogers4534]

What a gentleman and dedicated teacher you are Brian, a three week old video, 7.2k views, 80 comments before mine and you replied? Many thanks from this 73 yr old man in Wales/UK

[@zombieguitar]

No prob! I try to read all my comments, and I respond to a lot of them as well. Thanks for watching 😀

[@edwardeller4579]

I recently discovered your channel. Your teaching method is awesome! Very direct, practical and clear! Very well done!!

[@zombieguitar]

Thank you!

[@galelongputt]

Always straightforward and to the point 👉 Never more complicated than it needs to be. I am a happy lifetime member 😊 🎸🎸🎸 As always, thank you, Brian!

[@zombieguitar]

Thank you! I appreciate you using my site to learn from 🙏

[@teleplayer7081]

You never fail us with useless information. Your always indepth with your explanations and giving us different ways to approach things which in turn your giving us knowledge about stuff we may not use but it's great to know what can exist, especially when playing with other musicians because now that you know different approaches you can switch it up to something different ❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@hughmoore4117]

Thanks. You're very real and honest.

[@JawnCoffee]

Nice lesson. This is what's cool about guitar. There's rules and there's different ways to follow them and even break them from time to time. It's like every technique should be learned so you can switch and be creative in different ways just by Changing your perspective. People argue over caged or 3nps...caged is better but knowing both is the magic. You target chord tones by with caged approach but 3nps gives you the ability to connect the chord tones. You kinda need both. I think guitar is really 3 things to really grasp to make you a legit player..scales, chords and intervals. Intervals make up scales which is also what chords are made out of by playing every other note of said scale..which is essentially gonna be major and minor 3rds if you're playing diatonically. That's why in western music it's called tirsion harmony. It's all 3rds. A minor triad is a minor third then a major 3rd from that to the 5th. A major triad is a major 3rd then a minor third from that to the 5th. If you add another 3rd on top of those staying true to the diatonic or major scale your making the chords from, you get 7th chords. If you stack a major 3rd 3 times it completes an octave it will have a sharp or augmented 5th. Thats called an augmented triad. If you stack minor thirds 4times you get 4 notes in an octave. This is a diminished 7 chord or arpeggio depending how you play it. 9, 11, and 13 chords are made when you add the 2, 4. And or 6th intervals on top of your 7th chord which is continuing that pattern of stacking major and minor 3rds staying true to the scale. It's all about stacking 3rds. The major scale is what defines everything. If something has a flat 7 it means it's flat compared to the major scales 7th degree... major and minor are equally important and are modes of each other along with the other 5 modes but the major scale is how we define all of them. A minor scale is by definition a major scale with a flattened 3rd,6th,and 7th. Now you can define the other 5 modes by these two so you can say phrygian is a the minor scale with flat 2 for brevitys sake, but the true definition of the phrygian scale is a MAJOR scale with a flat 3,6,7(minor scale) with a flat 2. Dorian is a minor scale with a natural 6th. Natural meaning it's the 6th degree of the major scale as opposed the the minor scale I'm using to define the Dorian mode since it's relatively minor as it has a minor or flat 3rd. But really the definition of a Dorian scale is a major scale with a flat 3 and 7. I know it sounds confusing but if you know and understand all of what I just said, I think you might just be a true legit musician. Not somebody who can play music but somebody who can talk about it with other musicians who speak the languag regardless of their choice of instrument. Music theory, makes you a musician. Thanks Brian for the lessons. I already know just about everything you teach but I still watch and comment and try to help and I vouch that your lessons are 100 percent legit. Also I like that guitar. What make and model?

[@raysmusicgamesgearreviews4336]

Mind blowing! You and I think the same, this is the way I like to approach soloing also it allows for more creative phrases! Awesome Brian, awesome teacher!!!

[@zombieguitar]

Thanks man! I appreciate you watching 😀

[@joewilliams5396]

I've been learning from you for years now, and it's been great. Sometimes you need a person like yourself to physically show the difference. I tried all these methods & agree with you too. I'm never satisfied with pentatonic for each chord approach, it's too cumbersome.

[@tonyjones1560]

This is very interesting and informative for me. I always soloed off the key (or tried to) and if I wanted to “get fancy” I’d throw something in based on one of the chords in the progression. The problem (?) with this was (is) that I’m not always sure what the key is, so I’d end up starting from a chord. I guess it worked okay. Of all the reasons band mates ever threw stuff (shoes, mic stands, cymbals, etc), no one ever said that I was wildly “atonal” or anything…but I fell back to playing rhythm almost exclusively because I was simply better at it. It’d be nice to be able to play lead more comfortably. This video is a big help. Thanks! Wish I’d seen it sooner!

[@KeganStucki]

Every topic you do a video on is something I've been struggling with, and you explain the topic in a way that resonates with me... like, shit... I think I'm getting it. Thank you, good sir!

[@baron138q]

Great stuff. I really like your approach.

[@christophergriffith3420]

This is totally how I learned to solo, good video.

[@ryanlee2546]

Your lessons rock, dude! Thank you so much for all you do 🫡. Rock on!

[@billallengo]

Thank you for putting out these videos. I’m actually learning.

[@thehappyheretic2136]

I'm trying to learn jazz and have been getting lessons from a couple different local guys who are supposed to teach jazz but when it comes to playing and learning my instrument or understanding tough concepts in theory I come to you for no-nonsense instruction that I can understand.I wish my jazz teachers were half as decent, but I have guitar teacher Mike Theory. I hope you start incorporating more jazz concepts and teach Pat Martino minor conversation theory. I'm going to start taking lessons from your website. it may not be jazz but maybe I can still learn enough to become at least a decent jazz player with it

[@zombieguitar]

Hey thanks for checking out my website! You definitely want to have the fundamentals down fully prior to diving into jazz. It's similar to making sure you fully understand arithmetic before attempting o learn calculus 😁

[@ChristofferKeizer]

I was just going over this very concept with a friend semi recently. For my own playing I tend to solo using a single key scale but I do use the 1 pentatonic per chord thing more for playing licks connecting chords in chord progressions which can really come in handy when encountering out of key chords. As always, a great video presentation. Thank you.

[@edburl3516]

Fantastic--Brilliantly explained

[@billallengo]

I watch your videos constantly as much as I can how to play. Then I just watched an old Marty Friedman video with Sweetwater and he just improvises out of the normal scales or patterns. My mind is blown in a good way!

[@zombieguitar]

Marty is definitely in my top 3 favorites of all time. His style is so unique and original! 🤘

[@stealthbum34]

Bro, thank you. 46, been playing since I was 12. Learned by ear with tab books so never learned theory until recently. I was trying to figure out how the hell all this complicated info can be focused in a way that would allow me to play without having to think too much and this is it. Caged > one scale > triads to target chord tones.

[@zombieguitar]

@@stealthbum34 yessir, and CAGED is a great way to identify those triad shapes 😁

[@Ahmed-kv4up]

Hello, Brian. En every key, we have 6 pentatonic scales, three minor and three major. When we play C and G pentatonic major and A and D pentatonic minor, we remain in the same diatonic scale: C.

[@zombieguitar]

@@Ahmed-kv4up exactly 😁

[@SudipRijal-q4d]

You are very good instructor and l like your teaching methods

[@NancyParsons-y3g]

Thanks Brian!

[@andrewlaw188]

Nice one, Brian. I'm with you in keeping it simple. Too many scale patterns equals potential for screwing up big time!! 😅

[@MrPapaUltra]

Very nice video and informative. Brian, what kind of guitar are you using. It looks great.

[@kagenotatsumaki]

I'm not good at soloing (or guitar in general imo lol) but I too use the 3rd method, I just can't make anything good like you did in this video. YET. Lol

[@bladezstudio666]

Wicked as always. We have the same guitar 🎸

[@tgmurph8511]

Thanks!

[@zombieguitar]

Thank you! 🙏

[@josephgonzalez9522]

Agreed 100%!!

[@mcquinn01]

Thanks, I tried this approach of using the specific pentatonic scale of the chord and like you I'm not that keen on it. It always sounds like I'm just applying the same intervals to the chord and it feels like a transposition within the same key if that makes sense. It can however be an ok fretboard knowledge exercise if you try doing it in one position as you covered.

[@zombieguitar]

Yup it makes perfect sense what you said. I feel the same way!

[@thomasrogers4534]

Now when I write songs on piano being a guitar first, piano second player. I play chords, I can't see a scale (lazy self taught) on piano. I've written a song on piano (cigarettes and medication) in Am with inversion right hand C.E.F#.A and as I'm limited with left hand it's A octave (mostly). The F# absolutely transforms the feel and the mood dictates the following chord progression.

[@zombieguitar]

@@thomasrogers4534 it sounds like you're getting a hint of A Dorian in there because of the F# note. A Dorian is A B C D E F# G

[@FlatpickJohn]

This video is really good, and I do like your approach of working off of an underlying seven-note scale. But ... I'm struggling with how to solo over songs with chord progressions that don't stay in one key. And many of these songs aren't jazz songs: Lay, Lady, Lay (Bob Dylan); Ride Captain Ride (Blues Image--both the verse and chorus have neat out-of-key progressions); Eight Days a Week (Beatles); the "la la la" part near the end of Sweet Jane (cover by Cowboy Junkies); the KZbin track "Soul Blues Backing Track in G," Sebastien Zunino; ... there's more. When I encounter these songs, which can be especially catchy pop and rock songs (and don't just occur in jazz), I resort to the "one pentatonic scale per chord" strategy that you critique here. And, as you seem to suggest, I'm then excluding any licks with tasty half-step/chromatic movement. Is there a better way? Help! (By the way, I love your channel.)

[@zombieguitar]

@@FlatpickJohn great point, and I'll definitely do a video on this soon. I have found that the easiest way to approach this is to simply play the key-scale the entire time, and just target the out-of-key notes that are contained within any of the outside chords. Either that, or if you are going to throw a new scale in there, then only do it over the outside chord(s). For all of the chords that are in-key, just stick with the main key-scale for those. Video coming soon 😁

[@francasfran]

great video

[@Ahmed-kv4up]

C, G, Dm, Am seems a progression in the Am minor ( tonal center is the chord Am) but in your demo you end in the note C, the third of the Am. When we analyse a song, we must focus in the harmony or in the melody for the correct perception of the tonal center? Thank you for the lesson.

[@zombieguitar]

@@Ahmed-kv4up the Am chord is A C E, so C is a chord tone of the Am chord. That's why it works!

[@adrianheazlewood5002]

Great video Brian...combining the two 7 note scales together. A question...over the G Maj we miss out on the F#.. and over the D minor we miss ion the Bb...or can we just add them in if we choose...??

[@zombieguitar]

@@adrianheazlewood5002 hey keep in mind that there is only ONE 7-note scale at play here....the key-scale, aka. the diatonic scale. You can throw in any additional notes you want, but they would be considered "out of key".

[@LoLoBits]

In all fairness, you didn’t add any phrasing to the first approach. You kinda just played through the scales so of course it will sound mechanical. But to comment on your video, I use both approaches depending on my mood and the how the chords are moving behind me. Good video for sharing both ways of thinking

[@mykneeshurt8393]

I prefer your preferred way.

[@martynspooner5822]

I was wondering does it work when you change chords if you play the whole diatonic scale over that chord eg the A minor scale over the A minor the g major scale (not just the maj penta) over the G. etc Not that I would personally just too much thinking on the fly for myself but does it work? Thanks for another video I always thought even if you were playing just the maj and min penta over each chord you were changing scale and just twigged that all the notes are in the parent scale as in this case the C maj or A minor scale. Thanks as always.

I think in tis case G- Mixolanian, D- Dorian and of course A-Aolian (a - minor) will work. If you would play the the G- Major scale oover the G-Cord in this progession the f- sharp would clash, 'cause this ton is not in the C- major scale....

[@martynspooner5822]

Thanks a lot for the reply. That is the reason I try and keep it simple because I just do not know enough about how all that works except when it doesn't and I hear it. Thanks again for replying and the info much appreciated.

[@zombieguitar]

@@martynspooner5822 that's what a lot of beginner players *think* they need to do, but they usually find out quickly that it results in a whole bunch of sour, unwanted notes. If you are able to make it work, then definitely keep doing it...but I much prefer to just stick to the one and only key-scale, and just add in some chromatics if a bit of extra flavor is wanted!

[@martynspooner5822]

@@zombieguitar Same as that which makes sense because you taught me, do love trying to hit the chord tones too as that finally gave me a sound different to what I had where I was in a gigantic rut with everything sounding the same and just couldn't get out of it until I found your great work . Thanks for everything.

[@matrixstar2767]

Excellent demo! Almost too good.

[@tgmurph8511]

Getting closer and closer to understanding this. Let me know if you are interested in getting back into the instrument business. I can make you a deal. All the best.

[@TM-vq1bf]

Jake Mchugh plays the A minor like a boss

[@zombieguitar]

@@TM-vq1bf 🤣🤣🤣

[@willkirby5520]

I really got lost at the end where you were showing how to use just the whole C major scale to solo and pick out the good sounding notes as the chords change. Two things here are especially difficult for at this point. 1. How the heck is that gobbledygook of notes recognizable as just the C major scale? 2. How does one find the "good sounding" notes out of all those quickly enough to keep up with changing chords? I couldn't find each root note of the chords in all those notes before the next chord came along!

[@zombieguitar]

@@willkirby5520 to answer your questions... 1.) those notes are the notes that comprise the underlying chords, which also happen to be found in the C major scale, since the chord progression is 100% in the key of C major. 2.) Lots of practice...It helps to think of this as a I - V - ii - vi progression, because then you only need to learn the "shapes" one time, for one single key.. then you can do it in all keys. Hope that helps to clarify!

[@glenndavid8725]

The major scale is the daddy. 💪

[@KanyeHemiTalkin]

You’re logical and sardonic approach is both practical and immediately useful… to us logical Sardonites, anyway

[@zombieguitar]

I wasn't sure what "sardonic" meant. I looked it up, and I guess I am a bit like that 🤣🤣. I appreciate the words, and thank you for following along with my vids! 😁

[@sheldonclark6947]

Some country players do that.

[@duesenberger]

I am not liking this approach either. Nothing for a starter at all. And Your video makes that crystal clear in my eyes. Maybe a topic for an advanced player and maybe a jazz topic? Don't know what the jazz rules say about it 😆

[@oddshot60]

Maybe I'm confused. You talk about using 1 scale, but then you talk about "chord tones" and "best sounding notes". Throw in the term "target notes" and, to me, now you are taking an arpeggio based approach to your soloing. And ... that's GOOD. If you aren't acknowledging "best sounding notes", "chord tones" and "target notes" ... you're just hoping and poking or noodling. But then, I prefer a more melody, arpeggio and leading notes based style ... so I'm probably all wrong here. Good lesson ... anything that makes you think is good.

[@zombieguitar]

Yup that is exactly the point I am always trying to get across. You are spot on! 😁

[@doyledarby9020]

When you played the three pentatonic scales in the same position, it sounded very mechanical. You didn't even try to be creative or soulful with the concept. I get it, you don't like doing it. Why not sometimes add the extra scale notes or chromatic passing tones to the pentatonics? .

[@zombieguitar]

@@doyledarby9020 these demos were added as a last minute afterthought because I felt the video needed them. I spent less than 10 minutes quickly adding them into this video. I've made a bunch of other vids in the past on this topic before where I tried to make the "multiple pentatonics" approach sound good, but I never had much luck 🤷