What Scales Do I Use For Bluegrass?

Scales. Scales. Scales.
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[@andrewjones_fitness]

"I got a tattoo on my calf, but I only ever wear pants" Marcel I

[@LessonsWithMarcel]

Andrew Jones In the past I've had friends that work at tattoo shops design album covers. They're always incredible but I'll always remember when my friend Jerry told me about the "starter pack". Basically tattoos that only exist between the wrist and short sleeve or ankle and shorts length. The "starter pack" for dangerous soloing applies as well! Get started and when you're ready get a tattoo on your back and pop that shirt off, haha.

[@andrewjones_fitness]

Fine, I'll get a tat on my lower back that says "Marcel".

[@LessonsWithMarcel]

Not to mention all the times I say "two" and flash the V sign...

[@tydouglas3013]

Adrian Roberts sounds odd in every country man.

[@pluckerpick]

Possibly one of the best guitar teachers on the Net

[@Steve-si8hx]

That is crazy using the chromatic scale for the bluegrass break at the end sounds perfect. So if the chromatic scale sounds good, it is simply just knowing which notes to use when,. Which seems to be the issue for most players.

[@davidbitter3566]

Watching this video provided concrete explanation for abstract thoughts that I couldn't quite articulate when it comes to bluegrass soloing. Thanks for breaking it all down into understandable pieces, great video.

[@rickshepherd4156]

Bloody excellent. Thank you for your efforts!

[@CamsCampbell]

Love this. I'm learning a lot from your channel.

[@steveloree]

Thanks for all you do.

[@user-xc3kr9fj8u]

you are awesome! nobody else, no other books explained this better than you! Thank you!!!!

[@miller323334]

One of the best instructional videos I’ve seen. Nice work!

[@jordankolb5871]

This is such a well made lesson thank you Marcel!

[@idahoduckhunter]

This is the lesson I needed. Going to work on these licks and understanding why they work

[@bflo5210]

Man I'm late to this channel but your style of explaining scales & music in general is awesome

[@arkopalchakraborty6154]

Best instructional video about bluegrass solo i have ever come over with.Thanks a ton man !

[@mabrown5000]

Clear, concise.

[@VictoryCBGs]

Excellent lesson!!!

[@brunonjezic6208]

you make good and clean lectures Thanks :)

[@RJMitchellComposer]

Great lesson! Thanks!

[@oldmanofcotati]

This is one very smart man. Thanks so much.

[@ChrisWoodGuitarist]

Great work. I'm looking for more bluegrassy sounds in my playing, and your explanations were excellent, thank you.

[@DVMathheap]

Fantastic - thanks so much!

[@thatoldmat91]

Marcel you are awesome man, thank you for sharing, great advice

[@AKIHIMSELFSCHOOLOFMUSIC]

Subscribed!

[@BigTrout420]

I love how you gave me the theory in this video! I love it, thanks!!

[@dinkelhacker3235]

Great Videos! I Hope your channel will grow fast. You deserve it! Cheers from Germany :)

[@alward5678]

Excellent Lesson

[@joelbennett5374]

You're a good teacher

[@chrismooremusic4383]

G major is my go to for bluegrass guitar but it's not enough I need more so here I am

[@joeycovington4681]

Thanks!

[@bobfurlani3314]

Very good lesson. Thanks

[@TMoody]

Awesome lesson.

[@bkingprca]

DUDE!! your the Bomb,

[@danbernstein4694]

Love that shirt!

[@ejtonefan]

Tony and Norm play a lot of Maj(#9) scales.

[@jackadelman6976]

Billy strings got me wanting to play bluegrass..I will now be watching all of your videos

[@Born2RiffRock]

Incredible

[@ericmoon982]

thank you

[@dannystumpf321]

your channel is about to blow up, i feel it.

[@alan4sure]

Nope, still intact😄

[@rolandjgutierrez5839]

this was the best now I understand.

[@chazmichael7967]

Goldmine of a channel!

[@LessonsWithMarcel]

Tell your bluegrass friends!

[@deanfeldman2505]

Thanks

[@jjjackson5183]

Love the T shirt.

[@mrdogmoon]

I just heard Kenny Smith say in a guitar seminar in January that he includes thirds and sevenths in his licks. You are right on the money Marcell.

[@acadianflatpicker]

Major, Pentatonic and arpeggios to make it simple.

[@m371514]

Hey Marcel, you may have addressed this in a video already but I’ve looked and didn’t see it. I’ve been playing Bluegrass for a few years but mostly as a rhythm player. I don’t know much at all about music theory and I’ve learned a lot about playing scales from you. Would it be possible for you to do a video someday focused on rhythm and, in particular, alternate chord forms and passing chords that work well in Bluegrass? I tend to play the “cowboy chords” a lot but notice other, more advanced, players will throw in chord variants. Thanks!

[@LessonsWithMarcel]

I haven't done a video on that yet! Rockin' suggestion though, I'll see what I can do.

[@jlane9077]

I’ve heard a man say this before in a private lesson. Dude had a super strong pinky.

[@LessonsWithMarcel]

This is why I can't tell you anything.

[@tydouglas3013]

11:19 you should add these tags in the bio with a note to slow the vid speed down. Extremely useful for steeling that run haha

[@ronhassidov9015]

Thank you!!! Im looking for standards.. any ideas?

[@brical1176]

The cool stuff you find when you go down the KZbin Rabbit Hole. Got a new fan here!

[@rico879]

Hey Marcel, what's with the car dashboard lol! Love your vids man thanks!!

[@LessonsWithMarcel]

I can't defend the editing choices in these old videos man. It was a lifetime ago haha.

[@woodsballmlz]

So I’m having trouble finding out what key a song is in especially in relation when the rhythm guitarist is using a capo

[@kevinmills7067]

So are you playing a dominate scale over the 5 chord "every time" or just when the band is playing a 7th chord for the 5?

[@georgedickson1410]

Do you have any jazz guitar video lessons?

[@SjaakShirly6559]

There should be a law for solo guitarist which tells them they must watch this lesson before pick up the solo guitar! GREAT LESSON. Thanks!

[@dannyprasetya2496]

Thank you for linking the dots. Sometimes I forgot to step back and see the bigger picture. Again, thank you.

[@kellygotell1179]

Another observation, this is awesome Marcel. I’m trying to solo over Folsom Prison Blues and after watching this video again, I just tried the famous main lead solo start and noticed the minor 3rd is thrown in to the E major pentatonic scale. Also, adding the dominant 7th in that lick sounds great as well. G-Ab-B-Db-D-B….G-Ab-B-Db-D. (f3-3-5-6-f7-5, f3-3-5-6-f7). I wonder how this would sound using the minor 3rd and dominant 7th with appropriate major pentatonic scale for each chord. Soloing over the whole progression. I will try thanks .

[@kellygotell1179]

Just to add to this, I don’t know how well the dominant 7th works for this whole solo, I think you have to use it wisely. Time for more lessons with Marcel lol, It would make sense to use it in the fifth or dominant chord which would be B in B major pentatonic, but it seems to go well with the opening riff of the solo, which is in E chord hmm 🤔 we are getting a little mixolydian-ish also which is cool .

[@rogers3142]

bestest shirt I'd ever sawn.

[@gcong2]

wherd ya git that shurt? I wont one.

[@bigtsshackfestival9563]

Hey man what kind of strings u use ?

[@spanishflyevh9606]

Is minor pentatonic the same as blues scale?

[@midnighttoker8663]

Why do we have the G dominant pentatonic and not the regular one? 5:43

[@oneamongall8861]

Are you suggesting that while improvising at 140 +BPM you can pick and choose the above mentioned notes for each passing chords?...and playing those licks over again?

[@deepblueseeds5563]

If I start a song no capo strumming a G chord and it goes C then D and comes back to G, does that mean those chords are in a certain key cause they fit together nicely or does key all depend on capo or tuning of my guitar? Only recently did I realize people are moving their capo and then saying what key they’re in so the band can follow. I have been learning songs alone for like a decade and still don’t know a scale, I am gonna force myself to know these finally and see what it opens up for me in my playing. But I feel like that alone might not change much.

[@deandugas1591]

When I look at 4:30 and check the 3 scales consonant notes why would the G scale not include the E rather than the F (you listed) as the E is a full step up from the D which is consonant in the F scale?

[@LessonsWithMarcel]

Great question! I really didn't mention this but frequently V chords can be turned into dominant seventh chords. So instead of thinking of what's consonant to a G chord, I'm actually thinking "what's consonant to a G7 chord!" That info was in the original script but it was honestly confusing so I left it out. Hope that helps!

[@JohnnyPowerhead]

At 4:25, why is the G chord different? I think you said "G Dominant". I don't get it. It uses F instead of E. Is that because it's the V chord in the key and so it follows different rules than the I and IV chords?

[@JosephEaorle]

you are using F natural against a G Major chord but not a Bb against a C Majorchord?

[@Bill-gb9kf]

Marcel... Great Lesson. I watched it several times and I keep getting stuck on your list of consonant notes for G. For C and F you (predictably) pick the 1, 2, 3, 5 & 6 notes from their respective major scales...i.e. the pentatonic scale notes. But for G you pick the dominant 7 instead of the 6. Doesn't the 6 of the G scale sound relatively as "good" as the 6s for C or F? The decision up front to exclude the 6 (E) from the G list is apparently what led to the decision to use a G Dominant Pentatonic, which just excludes the 6 as compared the C & F which adds the dominant 7 (and flat 3rd)... Is there a "gold nugget" of information that I am missing here? Why did you treat the G differently? Sorry if this is a dumb question... I have been known to get hung up on small details like this that may ultimately not be that important. Thanks for some great lessons!

[@LessonsWithMarcel]

You're absolutely right! I treated the G chord differently and I glossed over it thinking the video was getting too long and boring as is. Obviously not! The reason I picked the dominant 7th (F) instead of the 6th (E), has to do with how the G chord is frequently treated and used. G has a dominant relationship to C. So in many bluegrass songs we see G moving to C. To heighten that tension and resolution G frequently becomes G7. That means depending on the chord after our G chord we're looking for consonant notes for normal G major or G7. Recap, G7->C. F(dominant 7th) feels consonant over G chord. G->F. E(6th) feels consonant over G chord. Can you break and bend these rules? Yeah. Are there a million counter examples? Oh yeah. Use this as a jumping off point.

[@Bill-gb9kf]

Ah.... Got it. Thanks.

[@guntotinmamaintn]

I"m picking up stuff by leaps and bounds Marcel. This computer we have is in my wife's name so when it shows who is taking your lessons it's me ,David Lee who's your student, I'm interested in Skype lessons but my wife sits we don't have Skype. I'm going to ask her again to find out about the Skype thing, I'm working hard on my flat picking and I am advancing more than I ever have. So when you see the name Kina Lee it is acctually me. I would like to contact you but don't know how , I'm not a computer guru by any means. Thank your these videos and keep them coming . We will Skype.

[@LessonsWithMarcel]

Shoot me an email: [e-mail]

[@Deb526]

Marcel, what is the name of the song you began this video with.....Now I lay me down.... is all I heard? BTW I really appreciate your channel.!

[@LessonsWithMarcel]

Song I wrote called Beggar Boy: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXbNo3SKerWVr9k

[@stuartkinloch8057]

From jazz manouche, rag, swing, bluegrass. Any more genres I can be mediocre at?

[@jordanchiaruttiniREALTOR]

ahahhahaha......same.

[@kellygotell1179]

I wish you could do that breakdown with G,C,and D. I’m learning lonesome onry and mean by Waylon and it seems to follow a bluegrass approach. It seems like the scales may be d minor pentatonic over D, and then G major pentatonic and C major pentatonic over G and C respectively. I know you probably don’t have time to answer but it sure would be nice I’m kinda confused

[@LessonsWithMarcel]

Yeah, that would be a great way to play that tune! So D minor pentatonic: DFGAC, we're making bluesy sounds here so I might include the flat five (Ab) and the major third (F#) just to lighten things up a little. C is CDEGA, blue notes would be Bb and Eb. G is GABDE, blue notes would be Bb and F. If you send me an email to [e-mail] I'll write you up a tab with some scale patterns!

[@kellygotell1179]

Lessons With Marcel ok that would be great, so I will send you an email at that address shortly . Kelly

[@kellygotell1179]

Lessons With Marcel this is great info also, thanks , email on the way ! I just noticed I think on the major pentatonic scales you are adding a minor 3rd and a flattened 7th

[@senorjuan2479]

can you use the major pentatonic of the V chord instead of the dominant pentatonic?

[@LessonsWithMarcel]

Good question dude, the answer is yes and no. You can get away with doing whatever you want if it's phrased well and musical. From a technical perspective it matters more what chord is coming after the V. Let's imagine we're in the key of G. D->G means D dominant pentatonic is going to be a very strong sounding choice. D->C means D major pentatonic would work fine. Because we're not really set up to exploit the V chords dominant function. The dominant sound intensifies the transition from D->G. So when the D chord isn't going to G the dominant sound might not make sense. The major pentatonic will do just fine. Once again, this is something that doesn't have one right answer. You'll find tons of musicians doing tons of different things. This is just one way to think about it.

[@senorjuan2479]

Lessons With Marcel thanks, that makes sense. This is a great lesson, very helpful.

[@guitardoctordon]

Why no E in the G scale?

[@LessonsWithMarcel]

Depends if it's a G chord or G7. I brushed over that because the video was getting real dense as is!

[@jeffloewi5632]

I watched, I paid attention, you explained everything clearly, I'm not lost, I just don't know where to start. Edit: Third time I've watch and I still don't understand, but, I still don't understand just a little bit less each time.

[@LessonsWithMarcel]

This will probably help!: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoW3gqugg8hoeM0

[@alan4sure]

Just listen to lots of bluegrass song solos and that should train your ear to recognize what notes "fit." You don't even need to know the name of scales.

[@alan4sure]

Wow, complicated when explained! I'm so glad my ear just hears and decides what sounds acceptable, without any analysis required. Otherwise I may have lost interest 35 yrs ago LOL. Oddly enough, I thought everyone heard music that way and didn't need it analyzed and explained...

[@petergeen3891]

Sorry but didn't understand anything of that, gone watch some of your earlier video,s of you before i come back to this one XD

[@Ravenscaller]

With the G C and D scales and a capo I can play 90% of Bluegrass songs. Yes it's not comprehensive music theory but it's where Bluegrass lives and where you begin unless maybe you are moving over from a keyboard. Yes there are exceptions but there is plenty of learning to be had just from the basics. Your video would make more sense to me if you had begun with the key of G instead of C. I know how to transpose from C to G but it just adds unnecessary confusion to begin with.

[@amorfati9861]

Soooooooooo ....... Pentatonic with spice :-) ?

[@papajay111]

I was just fine UNTIL THE LAST 2 NOTES!!!

[@freezerfreezer9097]

This is what you get from someone who pays attention to notes.... just practice one runs and don't think about any notes... erase that crap out of your head... just learn some runs for each chord and as long as you know how chord progressions work you'll get there a lot faster...tjat this egghead stuff because one you have to learn notes, you can't erase them out of your head later... that means you have to think about notes while our playing... if you have to think about them, your already behind..

[@rodneyeftink4864]

So let me get this straight..there are no wrong notes...only wrong times to play them?!!!

[@KingcobraJrr]

I would be more interested if you did less talking for God's sake.

[@jasonkeith9317]

Hard to teach without talking dude.

[@guitarman1477]

You need get rid of that cutaway guitar son

[@chrismooremusic4383]

G major is my go to for bluegrass guitar but it's not enough I need more so here I am