Simple Scale Trick! JUST 3 MINUTES to Sound Like Your Guitar Heroes

[@MarkZabel]

More Lessons:kzbin.info/aero/PLSVfUQKkNUqZpmDOdiyuUDW-qklJdM2fW Mark Z’s Guitar School: mark-z-guitar-school.teachable.com/courses Please help support my lessons by donating here: paypal.me/MZabel335 Get free TABs here: tinyurl.com/ybpzjuwm

[@b00ts4ndc4ts]

I love that you play an epiphone 👍

[@jaelge]

Just started watching some of your vids. So far, they're short, sweet, and to the point without a bunch of technical gibberish. Just the way we ¨play-by-ear¨ guitar players need to be shown, (taught). Been playing a lot of years but always brushing up and trying to expand on my playing capabilities. Thanx, Mark.

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks George! Glad you're enjoying the channel.

[@hirougaya]

Greeting from Tokyo! I truly appreciate your simple but highly educative blues play instructions!

[@MarkZabel]

Greetings from NY, USA! So glad you found my channel!

Even after 50 years of playing there is always something new to learn and your videos are great for adding something to my playing, thanks!

[@MarkZabel]

Glad to help!

[@tiktakker1239]

Great content Mark, it's really almost impossible to find a channel on youtube that provides truly simplistic yet extremely efficient tutorials like yours. You just got a new subscriber from Denmark, keep it up!

[@MarkZabel]

Welcome aboard!

[@slingasixstring]

As always, thank you so much. I am going to play around with that today at practice. I enjoy the information you share every time. Again I want to thank you for Leading me on my journey of guitar playing!

[@MarkZabel]

You're welcome Dennis! Glad to help!

[@michaelmendillo7513]

You know, with all the bending, hammer ons, slides etc,,, and all the other things we do as guitarists,,it almost seems like there are no wrong notes to play. !!!! It's only a matter of how they are used,,,, lol. !!!! TY Mark,,,, Awesome Channel, 😎✌

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks Mike!!

[@dantwomey4215]

Ok, you caught my eye . Watched a couple of nice little lessons. Excellent. I remember taking lessons in the 80's ($13/hr I believe😂) and maybe one in three lessons might show me one of the three or four tricks you supply in a three minute video. Bravo! 👌 That "fake open G" Billy Gibbons lesson is a beaut! Excellent 👍!

[@MarkZabel]

Rock on!

[@gibhopkins6919]

Merry Christmas Mark Z And gang

[@MarkZabel]

Merry Christmas to you too Gib!

[@frankortega4280]

Mark, you always provide us with such useful and practical tools to improve our playing. Thank you as always for sharing your work.

[@MarkZabel]

My pleasure Frank!

[@KevinCookeVO]

MARKKKK!!! This is a trip. So i watched your vid on using the pentatonic scale and starting high and just playing like 8 notes down the scale. Then watched the rest of it about finding where to play it on the neck. (I know this stuff but watched anyway cause I like how you present) THEN... it broke for an ad after your video finished. It was a National Subaru spot. The first 4 notes were the pentatonic going down from the high note in the root position, mimicking what you just played! It was awesome!

[@MarkZabel]

What??? That's a great coincidence! Awesome!

[@glenkepic3208]

Nice work. Now at 64 and play for fun after some party and bar gigs, i just play. Started at 15. Just a cover player,,,,like Craig Chacquico said in an interview in the late '70s. "If a centipede had to think of walking, it would trip". Cool lessons !

[@MarkZabel]

LOL! That's a good quote!

[@fonagel]

I've to admit I've used the notes for decades through bending but I never really realized which note(s) that were. But it's a whole other thing to play these notes directly without bending and blend them in to the solo... Thanks Mark!

[@MarkZabel]

Excellent!

[@JGrimaldi7723]

Man, what a difference small adjustments can make. Thanks, Mark!

[@MarkZabel]

You bet!

[@michaelmerrullo2043]

Nice lesson Mark! Reminds me of early 70s blues rock. I can't quit you comes to mind where that note is a big part of that feel

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks Mike. It's all over rock, which is a major/dominant music primarily. Pretty much every AC/DC song, Van Halen, stuff like "Do You Feel Like I Do", you name it. Definitely in "I Can't quit You" and many Zep songs. Thanks for watching!

[@Chilajuana]

Awesome tutorial Mark!!!

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks Jeff!

[@noonster55]

Thanks for making it NOT so difficult for old learning challenged people like me...

[@MarkZabel]

My pleasure 😊

[@lesvogiatzakis3313]

😂 great point. An easy way to empty the lamenting sorrow space 🤣

[@bernietmusic]

Thanks Mark! Excellent lesson and concepts! The double stop sixths are so tasty!

[@MarkZabel]

Glad you liked it!

[@oldmanandguitar]

That was fun, took me out of a blues rut and added freshness, I even managed to add a note on the b string which worked well. Thanks.

[@MarkZabel]

Nice work!

[@straight8ight]

Well done Mark...thanks for what you do bud. Talk soon.🎸

[@MarkZabel]

Any time! Thanks for listening!

[@spleantrampoline]

I just stumbled across your channel. Very cool stuff! Easy to understand.

[@MarkZabel]

Awesome, thank you!

[@slowfinger2]

What a great way to introduce major by taking that third string hammered min to maj 3'rd that most players know , and introducing mindfulness of where else that note occurs. Thanks Mark. It goes back to the old adage. "Keep it simple." Split up a complex task. Work it in a piece at a time. This just hit me.>Interesting number progression. As we progress we learn our 3'rds, then 6'ths, then 9'ths. He he he!

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks! Glad you liked the approach.

[@CDOGG500]

thank you very much pal, I love your videos they connect with my playing

[@gergemall]

Thank you Mark . Good stuff. Your guitar sounds great !

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks!

[@blayneb7290]

Great stuff Mark! Now please a Dickie Betts piece/tribute? I know he's one of your faves (and mine). So sad to see he passed.

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks. Yes, it was sad to hear about Dickey, though I think he had been quite sick for a while. RIP Dickey.

[@Dave-Rough-Diamond-Dunn]

Just the type of tips I need! Little bites at a time aee easier to digest. 🙂👍

[@MarkZabel]

Great! I keep all my videos pretty darn short. I rarely go over 7 minutes. It's a lot easier to make long videos IMHO.

[@krisstieghorst7415]

Thanks Mark 🎸 💯 you always make things reachable!! Love ❤ Kris IL

[@MarkZabel]

My pleasure Kris! I enjoyed making this simple video. Something that I missed for years.

[@markcummings1319]

This guy is terrific.

[@MrAndyRussell79]

Very informative man! I really dig that tone!

[@MarkZabel]

Glad you like it!

[@timmiller8173]

Great tip! You always inspire me to pick up my guitar!

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks Tim! That's high praise ... totally made my day!

[@timmiller8173]

@@MarkZabel I'm glad of that - just speaking truth!

[@ThaWolfe1]

Bravo on your excellent tone, add a KZbin show us how to get that bite that great tone you’re using you may have already done that direct me to it

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks! I'll do that. Thanks for watching!

[@homeagent]

This is a good video on an important step up in blues jamming!! Try not to play the major over the 4 chord. watch out for a short 4. When you get good at it, you can exsagerate the minor at the short 4 to impress but don't do it unless confident ;-]

[@mraggrovator]

Good lesson.

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks! 😃

[@Robert-bz2en]

SO COOL😊

[@jakefall9838]

I am a little late but I really enjoy your lessons and your playing. Sounds very good sir I really liked the riffs

[@MarkZabel]

Glad you like them!

[@johnsee7269]

💡 Kinda says it all about that... enLIGHTening (i bought a damn mug - woo hoo - light grey - far more preferable than the light gray - I know you're thrilled - lol)

[@MarkZabel]

LOL! Thanks John!!

[@josephwalker138]

Mark, I'm experiencing a theory conundrum with this lesson. "Don't try this over a minor key...." So is this demonstration in the key of D major, and we're incorporating the 3rd of the D minor to make this work? Conversely, if we were to play over a D minor key would, we choose the D major pentatonic scale and add the minor 3rd to make this exercise work?

[@MarkZabel]

Hey Joseph. Don't overthink it. This is a D-blues. D7, G7, A7. (or simply D, G, A). You can pick a number of different scales to play. But what *most* people who play rock/blues do is pick the D "Blues Box", which is the D-minor Pentatonic. It doesn't mean the key is D-minor. It doesn't mean Dm-pentatonic is "the correct scale" to play over the progression. It just means many people pick it and are used to it. Anyone who learned on Clapton, Page, Hendrix, and the like knows the Dm-Pentatonic box. Why does it work? Because you're used to hearing it and you probably like the music that it produced in the past. Many people like the sort of "raunchy" or "edgy" sound. But the Dm-pentatonic does NOT have the major 3rd of the D or D7 chord (F#). It has the minor 3rd (F). In fact, it's missing a bunch of notes we could add, but let's keep it simple. So that's all that this lesson is - you can add that major 3rd of the D (or D7) ... or not. It's just something you can do. But let's suppose we were playing a blues in D minor. (Dm, Gm, Am). Now adding that F# doesn't fit the Dm. Most people find the sound of that F# against the Dm (D, F, A) harsh in a bad way. Nothing deep. Just most people don't like the sound of a major 3rd over a minor chord.

[@panlan1]

good question @joseph walker

[@panlan1]

@@MarkZabel i'm glad joseph asked that question and i'm glad you answered in a manner that was comprehensible to me..thanks~!:

[@marshallstack8570]

Use alright 🤠🎶

[@Six-6-strings]

Hey Mark, nice tip. Curious on your last comment about not using it in a minor key considering you're using it in Dm?

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks!. The key here is D, not Dm. Standard blues in D has the chords D, G, and A (or D7,G7,A7). Each of those chords has a major 3rd. In D that's F#. If this were a minor blues (Dm, Gm, Am ... sometimes A7), then F# will clash, particularly on the 1 chord, the Dm. So it may be also interesting to you that the Dm pentatonic works even with major chords/keys in the blues. In other words, the scale you use doesn't have to exactly match the key.

[@jeffreybabino8161]

Hi the pentatonic scale is basic it's what you do with it these riffs I have been playing guitar for about 35 years you sound good thanks

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks Jeffrey!

[@johnriley8314]

COOL MAN....LIKE IT !!!!!!!!!

[@MarkZabel]

Awesome. Rock on brother!

[@AdaptivePhenix]

First thought: Hey this is cool Second thought: Wait, I've been doing this for years 😁 Always seems better when someone else is playing 😂🤣👍

[@MarkZabel]

Ha! Thanks!

[@MovingBlanketStudio]

Kinda like cooking. It's always better when someone else makes the same thing.

[@nicknixdorf]

Confused. Why does example of d minor pentatonic look like d Major or b # minor

[@MarkZabel]

Hi Nick. I responded to another comment you made. Please see that response, but note there is no B#. That is called a "C".

[@By-Fun-Jokes-Guitars]

Hi Mark I come form the zz top video smile 😁 the cool trick tune A to G 😁thx

[@MarkZabel]

Awesome!

[@andrewlaw188]

Nice one, Mark. Gotta try that. Is it, by any chance, what we call the Major 3rd? Seems vaguely familiar - but better when you play it!! 😎👍🎸

[@andrewlaw188]

Or Major 5th should I say!! Doh!!!

[@MarkZabel]

It's the major 3rd. But I wanted this to be theory-free. So many people know "the box", so it's just adding one note.

[@michaelchua6521]

nice! very simple but very straight to the point! new subs here :)

[@MarkZabel]

Great, thank you!!

[@chriswitte3847]

How is that the Dm pentatonic?? It looks like the Cm pentatonic to me???

[@chriswitte3847]

nevermind,...

[@MarkZabel]

Ok.

[@larryhall2805]

Adding a major 3rd in a minor scale! If it sounds like I can play, I got you fooled. People cringe when I take a solo.

[@panlan1]

i think i heard you play b4

[@bushcry1]

That guitar is an Epiphone Les Paul Studio?

[@MarkZabel]

Yep. 2002, MIK. Replaced the pickups with Alnico II.

[@nicknixdorf]

I may be crazy. why does the example of d minor pentatonic look like d major or b sharp minor? What am I not seeing?

[@MarkZabel]

Nick. Yes, you're confusing it. (NOTE: There is no B#. That is called "C".) If you take the same pattern shown in the video down 3 frets you get Bm Pentatonic/D-major Pentatonic. (Bm pentatonic and D major pentatonic share the same notes) Play a Dm chord with the root on the E-string 10th fret. If you examine that chord it should be clear that the pattern shown in the video is indeed Dm Pentatonic, as it fits the chord completely. Hope that helps. You could even Google Dm Pentatonic and Dm chord to double-check yourself.

[@AwesomeBeatles]

I like

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks.

[@fredfloyd68]

Hell i would pay to see you on stage...jam on please...

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks brother!!

[@650thunderbird]

👍🏻👍🏻

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks!!

[@mightiii]

we gang gang🤟, but seriously you're like a such a charismatic person, kinda reminds me my grandpa, i appreciate you so much all the love for music❤️

[@hisoverlorduponhigh90]

There's a red house ...

[@victorgarbarini186]

S - l- o- W-e-r

[@MarkZabel]

Click the gear icon. Select playing speed. Select 75%, 50%, or 25%. Or you can click the pause button if you'd like.

[@Dr.Nightmayor]

Works on Dm, but don't play this in minor? ??? ?? ??? ? \???\?

[@MarkZabel]

Ooh, you're getting something mixed up. Playing the D Minor Pentatonic over D, G, and A *does not* make it a D minor song. The chord progression dictates minor/major. General advice is that playing minor pentatonic over major chords is okay, but the reverse is not true. Don't play major over minor. Since this video is about playing a major note over the D, don't do it if the chord is Dm. Make sense?

[@Dr.Nightmayor]

@@MarkZabel Thank you! for clearing that for me! I'm afraid i probably was the only one to get confused by that?!

[@Dr.Nightmayor]

And Yes that makes much more sense

[@alexhuevera939]

you taught in Dm, then say not to use in a minor key? i dont understand.

[@MarkZabel]

This is important to grasp: I did not teach "it" in Dm. I showed using the D-minor pentatonic scale. That's a scale, not a key. Scales and keys are not the same thing. Most of the time in rock, players use the minor pentatonic scale over MAJOR chords. For example, "Badge" by Cream. The main sequence is D, C, G - all major chords. Another example would be a standard blues in D: D7, G7, A7. The Dm Pentatonic the rock player's usual scale of choice is the Dm pentatonic in those cases. And the idea here works, because when you play the F# note (the major 3rd of D) it doesn't clash with a D-major chord. But an example of a minor KEY would be something like a minor blues in D: Dm, Gm, A7#9. If you use Dm Pentatonic it's great, but if you play the F# over the Dm chord it's going to sound very bad to most people.

[@alexhuevera939]

@@MarkZabel Thanks Mark i understand, you are a great teacher

[@johnp.johnson1541]

But why would anyone wish to sound like crappy guitarists like Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Angus Young?

[@MarkZabel]

.

[@bullcrap9409]

Arghh. Great stuff. But you’ve fallen into the Mistake No. 1 favoured by almost every guitar KZbinr. Too. Fast. If someone is at the level where the focus of this lesson is of use? They are not at the stage where the examples you play super fast are of any use. In other words? If you’re teaching a specific technique at a slow speed, it makes no sense to then say “And here’s how you can put it into use” followed by a high speed phrase or passage. If anything. the application ex should be played ata slower speed. (Sorry for the rant, but it’s such a common failing, and I’m not sure why guitar instructors fail to grasp such a fundamental truism for instruction of any kind. )

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks, sort of. I'm very well aware this isn't a "hey, learn these licks" video. Hope that wasn't lost on you. This is simply an idea video (add the major 3rd of the 1-chord to your solos) and a video that is supposed to make the listener say, "Why doesn't it work over minor?". And with that, potentially click on the next video served. I don't usually say this to folks, but if you realized how much more poorly slow-paced videos do on KZbin, you probably wouldn't bother ranting. The point is that no matter how much any KZbinr says they don't care whether their videos get widely viewed or not, we all care about it - especially given the amount of time it takes to make the videos. Longer, slower videos don't get supported by viewers, and KZbin's algorithm isn't picking up good signals (I.e., long watch times), so they end up in the "never shown to anyone" category. Anyway, hopefully this helps clear up being perplexed as to why guitar instructors "fail to grasp ..." We don't fail to grasp it.

[@shinji391]

Your example playing has an early 2000's Anime vibe.

[@MarkZabel]

Interesting!

[@shinji391]

@Mark Zabel watch FLCL and compare the guitar in that anime to your example playing in this video and it's a total vibe!