Kenny Burrell’s Blues Secrets: What They Don’t Teach You

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Here is link to Patreon, where you can find Guitar Pro, PDF's, music xml of everything from the lesson! patreon.com/NathanBortonMusicPatreon?Link&

[@Ikaros4-10]

Excellent. Kenny is one of my favorites, so I thank you for the examples. Bravo, Nathan !

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Thank you so much!

[@doncleary5531]

The Kansas City blues scale filled in a gap I was missing. Quite naturally, I added the parallel blues scale, but I wasn't thinking of it as the Kansas City blues scale starting on the b7th. I frequently play a double stop of the root with other blues scale notes, but you gave me some other double stop options I had played in different contexts (4ths and 3rds). Well presented!!!

[@wasteyelo1]

I'm sure it's common but Kenny Burrell and Grant Green were my way in with Jazz Guitar. His lines seemed accessible to me.

[@NathanBortonMusic]

My intro was actually Kurt funny enough! But I really feel in love with jazz when I heard Grant, Wes, and Kenny :)

[@Woolbury2]

I totally agree. I feel like I’m a blues player that loves a jazzy feel, while Kenny and Grant are jazz players with a great blues feel. They add so much to my more straight ahead blues playing. I’ll be digging into Mule a bit more now

[@ledaswan5990]

@@NathanBortonMusic Kurt who?

[@NathanBortonMusic]

@@ledaswan5990 Rosenwinkel

[@drummermomcjs]

I really like your format with the notation that includes the tabs for the guitar. I find it easier to follow and understand what is actually happening. Thank you, I am glad that I discovered your channel.

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Great! So happy the video is helping you! Hope you find more on the channel that you like :)

[@PedroSilvaMusic]

Fantastic lesson 🤟🤠🤟

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Thanks Pedro, appreciate you!

[@xxczerxx]

You are my favourite guitar-related KZbin channel, I love how you just get straight into it! So many golden nuggets here

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Really appreciate that! Glad the video formatting is working!

[@JimiWinfield]

One of the greats Kenny Burrell ,fantastic in depth breakdown ,Thankyou..........

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Appreciate that Jimi! Yes, Kenny is amazing. So soulful and tasteful. Very T-Bone Walker inspired I believe!

[@rosspenney2746]

Thank you Nathan that was brilliant. Kenny is my favourite jazz guitarist. I was lucky to see him in a trio at Ronnie Scott's in the mid 1980s. Unbelievable. What tone, taste and time. Swing for days!

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Wow! How great that must been! I’m jealous 😮

[@jazz40guitar]

Thank you very much. I found it one of the best ways to start with jazz-blues, especially since this minor scale is the first thing I learned in the guitar amoust 30 years ago.

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Definitely! Combine that with the KC blues scales and your set!

[@SzabacsiNandor]

Very good! Midnight Blue led me to jazz from my old rock times :)

[@NathanBortonMusic]

It’s such a great record! Kenny sounds amazing

[@SzabacsiNandor]

@@NathanBortonMusic Absolutely! Altough he has never been one of my favourite guitarists, that album is a legendary classic!

[@LarrySiden]

Oh man! You hit it out of the park again.

[@fredfloyd68]

Great stuff...the guitar tab makes it so easy to follow...

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Glad it helped!

[@snogglemonkey]

The pentatonic major and minor being mixed together is really nothing new , but Nathan's phrasing and dynamics are (to me) is what breathes life into their use.

[@АйратСитдиков-н3я]

Very cool!

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Thanks for watching!

[@khodion]

Mule is absolutely gorgeous. One underrated Burrell blues gem. I always wanted to transcribe it.

[@NathanBortonMusic]

It’s so great! I learned so much from his solo!

[@jakelee7639]

Your videos are the best!!!…..great content, well explained, demos & tabs,..awesome…..big thanks

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Hey Jake, really appreciate that! Hope they help you on your jazz journey!

[@BrandochGarage]

Sounds really nice. Good for the soul.

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Thanks so much!

[@patrickcaron5929]

Thanks a lot Nathan for all your very good stuff . Continue like that

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Thanks Patrick, appreciate your support :)

[@marcwhy]

Cool lesson - great ideas, thanks!

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Appreciate you watching!

[@zackorr421]

Nice vid!

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Thank you!

[@freddecker2407]

I have never heard of the Kansas City Blues Scale. It is a cool name. I will have to try it out!

[@alainkempa2139]

One extra Patreon for you.Thanks super nice content.

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Hey appreciate that! Thanks 😊

[@edchicoman]

Well explain, Kenny is the best ,,, Thanks.

[@numbersabcdefg]

Man, this is so cool have a heart-on! 😂 I love it 🎉

[@jimlarkin4669]

Great video! Is that a Trenier guitar you're playing?

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Thanks! No, this is a Benedetto bravo deluxe, great guitars! 🎸

[@jimlarkin4669]

Thanks. Sounds great. Of course, your playing has something to do with it. :)

[@jimlarkin4669]

What kind of strings do you have on it? Sounds great.

[@NathanBortonMusic]

@@jimlarkin4669 I use the string joy broadways 12 gauge :)

[@jimlarkin4669]

Thanks!

[@thecurlymusicologist]

THE GOAT!!

[@NathanBortonMusic]

GOATS!!!!

[@123jkjk123]

Great lesson as usual! Like your guitar & tone, but I wish there were fretboard markers to make it easier to see what you're doing.

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Yes I apologize about that :/ as of right now that is the only guitar I own and I don’t want to buy fret stickers. I do provide tab and notation for most examples though so hopefully that helps! If I could find a way to digitally add them?

[@АйратСитдиков-н3я]

Very nice sound,what size and what strings do you use?

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Thanks! I use string joy broadways 12 gauge. You can find a link in the video description!

[@DadPhone-vr7oq]

I loved the Kansas City blues scale. I believe you called it a "guitar form". I am curious. Are there other guitar forms? I apologize if I am asking a dumb question.

[@johnmcminn9455]

At 1:00 "music theory says it's wrong to play minor 3ed " Actually "Functional Harmony" says it's wrong Music Theory is ALL the possibilities. Where as Harmony is the blend of scales modes and keys used as options to get a sound to style a progression . Non Functional Harmony used to be called Modal Harmony but the word Modal had some confusion .The old Latin term mode means mesurement . So approaching a V7 chord in different mesurments in the blues ...makes sense

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Cool! Thanks for the info

[@capurera2]

Thank you so much. This series is absolutely incredible for my playing. Would love to see these types mixed in with other content if you get tired of doing these. Again though, thank you

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Thanks so much! I have a couple of ideas for video series that are not player focused, but seems like people like these! I’ll try some new stuff this year though, hope you enjoy this lesson :)

[@markslist1542]

Thank you, especially for listing your gear. I don't have to ask you what you're using.

[@NathanBortonMusic]

No problem! Let me know if you have any other questions on gear and I'd be happy to answer

[@gtrdoc911]

Wow, that was a real gem of a lesson! Learned so much. And I’ve been playing for 40 years. Subscribed. Interesting that there is no bending in his style but lots of hammer ons and slides. I was wondering why some of the passages ended in an A note then I realized it ends on a C13 chord. Interesting you play g, a, c, e flat, a, c over G7. I would never think to do that (landing on a sus4 of a dominant chord) but it seems to work.

[@NathanBortonMusic]

So glad to hear that! Thanks for watching :)

[@lesliethomas2081]

Just a word, the term wrong notes are none existent in this context because the A7 to the C7 are related the C is a #9th of the A7 and Eb Is the #4th of the A7 etc etc... but I think you're already aware of that so its just a word for the modern guitarist so 2 speak... Thanks for bringing this up Keep it coming. ..

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Appreciate you watching! Thanks for the comment! Yes, no wrong notes really, it was more to make a point about "If it sounds good, it is good"

[@davidtropp6232]

The KC Blues scale is also known as the Major Blues scale

[@siglo2155]

Fabuloso ❤

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Thank you!!🙏

[@stevenmeger3798]

Django and Charlie Christian are the pioneers to this scale approach

[@Calbertone]

Hi Nathan I would gladly occasionally buy you a coffe. Please add a link. All the best

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Hello! Thanks so much for your comment, I appreciate the kindness :) That's a great idea for people who don't want to sign up for the Patreon (which I very highly appreciate) but want to leave a tip. I'll put a link in the video descriptions for my paypal in the meantime, thanks and hope the lesson helps you: paypal.me/nborton1

[@mikegeld1280]

I really do not know where that came from,but I've always used the minor scale over 7 chords, actually I've used both including both pentatonic, its funny how some over analyze so called "rules " if jazz/blues, Its about hearing what you know works for you, full stop

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Definitely! If it sounds good it is good 👍

[@peppers776]

whew 🔥 🍀🙏🍀

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Appreciate you!

[@peppers776]

@@NathanBortonMusic wow! You opened it up for me. Appreciate ya back! 🎸🏆

[@crespo1965]

Nice video and well explained. Also class act giving credit to your guitar teacher and mentor.

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Thank you so much! I would be nothing without my teachers

[@markdeffebach8112]

In my 48 years of playing guitar this is the first time I've heard the blues scale referred to as the Kansas City blue scale. 😆

[@NathanBortonMusic]

It’s more the shape on the guitar than the notes. Also for me boiling it down to 5 notes and allow for nice melodic content! Plus playing the same shape in multiple octaves is a great soloing tool (as well as mixing it with the one octave blues scale boxes like at the end of the lesson). Thanks for your comment!

[@joeurbanowski321]

Well they ain’t secrets anymore…!!🤣👍🏼

[@NathanBortonMusic]

😆

[@m.vonhollen6673]

After 60 years of playing, here’s what I learned. Take the 5 CAGED positions but all Dominant 7 forms and start on E, so think EDCAG-7. Now, in the key of E to start, play that Minor Pentatonic box that we all know and love BUT slide EVERY G NOTE UP TO G# so that you are now playing both the Minor 3rd (G) AND the Major 3rd (G#). - ALWAYS slide or pick the G FIRST and then the G# (the chord tone). - NEVER go from G# to G! That’s sounds so wrong! - Get it so that you can ARPEGGIATE 1-b3/3-5-b7, the E7 chord in all 5 positions on the guitar neck. (Eventually do this in all keys, EADGCB first and then F-Bb-Eb-Ab-Db-Gb.) Now, to this “skeletal framework” of the E7 arpeggio of the “safe” chord tones, start adding 4-b5-6 and 2 (harder to do). So now within every Dominant 7 shape of E7, you can now find and play: 1-2-b3-3-4-b5-5-6-b7 (Mixolydian + b3 and b5 from the Blues scale). The only 3 notes left out of 12 are: b2, b6, and 7. You can also use those but as part of chromatic lines on your way to a “safe” chord tone. So now you can see/name/play all 12 notes within each of the EDCAG-7 shapes. Record an E7 backing chord, and start making up licks always being aware of EXACTLY what note you’re playing AND how that note is functioning against that chord (I’m playing Bb, the flat 5, and I’m resolving it to B, the 5 and a “safe” chord tone.) - Once you can do that in E, then do it in A7 (the IV chord) and B7 (the V chord). Now you can play a 3-chord Blues in all 5 positions (EDCAG-7). - GREAT! Now onto the other keys!

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Thanks for sharing!

[@delphinazizumbo8674]

kenny burrell plays like django at half speed AND if you play notes THAT WORK, they are not "wrong" your MODE doesn't have the ability to EXPRESS "wrong" notes and that is the defect of your method

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Not my method, just showing Kenny’s lines!

[@bryantcochran5065]

Didn't the jazz come before the blues?

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Nope! Blues came from the work songs of the plantation, well before jazz of New Orleans which spawned swing music

[@bryantcochran5065]

Thank you for the response. I really appreciate knowing music roots. My first jazz experience was with French jazz from the 20's in 1958, I heard my first blues in 62 and the two genre are my favorites to listen to and play.

[@jjryan1352]

Did he just say blues is core to jazz?

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Yep! Blues is a core element of jazz improvisation :)

[@jjryan1352]

@@NathanBortonMusic oh guess i missed the word improvisation

[@benkatof5852]

Yeah, blues is a core element of jazz. I've never heard anyone dispute that before.

[@jjryan1352]

@@benkatof5852 they developed on completely different tracks in different places, the harmonies (chord progressions) are different, the scales are different, and the beats are different (swing vs shuffle). Please specify where blues are core to jazz. The channel now saying it's "core" to just improv, which means it's imported, not core. Still not buying it. For sure there is "jazzy blues" and "bluesy jazz", but they are two distinct genres in terms of origin and musical elements.

[@benkatof5852]

@@jjryan1352 read Moving to Higher Ground by Wynton Marsalis, chapter three, Everybody's Music: The Blues. Maybe read the whole book - i really liked it.

[@bridgetgidget1446]

Im gonna go out on a limb here but in those guys days jazz was a language and they just spoke it with eloquence. Im pretty sure when it came to the blues they were not thinking about theory, lol.😮

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Yep you’re right! And when I play/perform I don’t think about much of anything either. That’s the way it should be. However, when you’re practicing and learning things it’s important to understand how to create a certain sound… that could be done through theory or just learning the language. For some people lessons like this really help to understand how that sound happens… Everyone should however transcribe Kenny’s solo, it’s so good!

[@bobmorr2892]

Sounds like Jazz not Blues.

[@NathanBortonMusic]

I'm just playing what Kenny plays!

[@looseunit9180]

Stop zooming please

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Thanks for the feedback, I'll try to use the zoom feature less in future edits

[@BolusInfernalis]

Don’t worry about it. Your edit is fine. Thank you so much for the video.

[@mcvicardotneil]

So if he stops "zooming" then it is just a matter of time for someone else to ask for some "zooming". Maybe you'd get what you want if you were more specific. Also think things through, please, and remember that you probably got this video for free. Nathan your videos are fine - no need to change.

[@billnorswether3720]

Don't change a thing.

[@Gregorypeckory]

This is perfectly good, but I think the 7th mode of the melodic minor scale, otherwise called the "altered scale" is cooler, because it has all the tensions, not just the #9, which is what I think it should be called when you add it to a dominant harmony. The altered scale does provide you with the #9, but it's just getting started; there's also b9, #4 or b5 or #11, and #5 or b13. Lots more flavors (3 of them to be exact) for the price of a powerhouse seven note scale!

[@NathanBortonMusic]

Defiantly a great sound! For this lesson, however, I was just focusing on what Kenny is doing :)