essential scales
Gary Moore Quick Licks Lesson #3
Gary Moore Lick 3
Watch this Gary Moore Lick lesson to learn a classic Gary Moore lick from ‘Walking By Myself’.
Gary Moore Quick Lick lesson #3
This powerful lick is typical of the Gary Moore guitar style. The lick shows Gary using the sliding C# minor pentatonic scale at the 9th fret. Like many Gary’s licks, this one is basically a blues lick. It’s similar to the kind of thing Albert King might have played. No surprise really…Albert was a big influence on Gary Moore.
Once you can play this lick borrow the bits that make it up and see how you can recycle them to get some Gary Moore style licks of your own.
Enjoy these Gary Moore guitar licks and see you next time!
Watch this Gary Moore Lick lesson to learn a classic Gary Moore lick from ‘Walking By Myself’.
Read More
Gary Moore Quick Licks Lesson #2
Gary Moore Lick 2
Watch this Gary Moore Lick lesson to learn a classic Gary Moore lick from ‘Walking By Myself’.
Gary Moore Quick Lick lesson #2
This Gary Moore lick shows him playing in the key of E using shape 1 E blues scale at the 12th fret. This blues scale based playing is typical of Gary Moore’s guitar style with his blues influences from players like Clapton and Peter Green.
This lick is found at the end of his ‘Walking BY Myself’ solo and is a powerful turnaround lick to borrow and use in your own solos. Of course you should take what you see in this and other Gary Moore guitar licks and use it to create similar guitar licks of your own.
Enjoy these Gary Moore guitar licks and see you next time!
Watch this Gary Moore Lick lesson to learn a classic Gary Moore lick from ‘Walking By Myself’.
Read More
Gary Moore Quick Licks Lesson #1
Gary Moore Lick 1
Watch this Gary Moore Lick lesson to learn a classic Gary Moore lick from ‘Walking By Myself’.
Gary Moore Licks lesson # 1
This Gary Moore lick shows Gary playing in the key of E using shape 4 E blues scale at the 7th fret. After some tasty B string bends Gary launches into a repeating picking lick using the chromatic passage from the blues scale on the D string. Use alternate picking for this and a healthy dose of palm muting for a fat and chunky sound. This is a trick you’ll hear in many Gary Moore style licks and on many of Gary’s greatest solos like ‘Out In the Fields’ and ‘White Knuckles’.
Make sure to check out all the cool shape 4 moves used in this lick . You can use them to come up with some Gary Moore style licks of your own!
Watch this Gary Moore Lick lesson to learn a classic Gary Moore lick from ‘Walking By Myself’.
Read More
Fast Rock Guitar Licks
5 Fast Rock Guitar Licks
Essential fast rock guitar licks you can use over and over again for high energy rock solos. These fast rock guitar licks not only sound great in your solos but will also help you build guitar speed and play guitar faster and show you some essential tricks for expanding your rock soloing. Watch now!
Fast Rock Guitar Licks (You need To Know!)
These speedy pentatonic licks are all using the D minor pentatonic and D blues scale and are a wicked addition to your soloing vocabulary.
Remember, if you want to learn to master licks and scales all over the guitar fretboard to achieve a new level of freedom when you play – then check out my CAGED System for Guitar book and video set. Learn more here!
Let’s jump into the lesson!
0:25 Lick 1 – The Classic Rock Bending Lick
Everyone plays this first one, in fact it’s one of the most common fast rock licks you’ll hear. Watch out for the technique tips to learn how to control the bend and minimise unwanted notes and noises and discover the easiest way to pick the lick for fast execution.
2:43 Lick 2 – Stretch Legato Repeating Lick
This fast rock guitar lick shows you a great way to expand your pentatonic scale to reach some higher notes. Remember this…it’s a handy tool for creating flashy licks which are easier to play than they sound!
4:40 Lick 3 – Rapid Fire Blues
This repeating blues scale lick is a killer and is an awesome lick to use in your solos. Learn how to pick it for maximum speed and discover how to use ‘hammering from nowhere’ to get it as fast as the great players.
6:50 Lick 4 – Blues Sequence Lick
This fast rock guitar lick is just a simple pattern or sequence you can find inside the D blues scale. It’s a little similar to something Slash plays in ‘Sweet Child ‘O’ Mine’ and is easy to slip into your rock solos.
8:14 Lick 5 – Zakk Wylde Pentatonic Picking Lick
Here’s a killer fast rock guitar lick in Zakk Wylde style. Listen to ‘No More Tears’ to hear him play something like this. This lick is also an awesome picking exercises and again shows you how to easily extend the pentatonic and blues scale patterns higher up the fretboard.
Dig in, have fun…and thanks for watching!
If you want to ramp up your soloing by mastering licks and scales all over the fretboard then check out my CAGED System for Guitar book and video set. Learn more here! You can also click on the image below to learn more and read reviews!
Read More
Stevie Ray Vaughan Style Open String Blues Licks – Get Some Blues Twang In Your Solos!
Stevie Ray Vaughan is one of the most iconic blues guitar players ever! In this lesson we’re going to look at one of the key elements of the ‘SRV sound’: open string scales and licks!
Watch this guitar lesson to discover
- How to play the open string E Blues scale (a ‘goldmine’ of awesome open string licks and ideas!)
- Classic Stevie Ray Vaughan open string licks and runs (including a cool ‘Pride and Joy’ turnaround move)
- Essential open string scale moves you need for awesome licks of your own (learn the bends, slides and and hammers you need to make the scale rock!)
So jump on in and get that ‘Texas twang’ in your blues solos!
Get my FREE Blues Guitar Bundle with full TAB to this lesson and my other most popular blues lessons!
Stevie Ray Vaughan Style Open String Blues Licks
Learn how to create amazing blues guitar solos with the open string blues scale and play open string blues licks in the style of players like SRV, Hendrix, Clapton, Freddie King and others.
I’ll show you how to play E blues scale using the open strings and many cool ways you can use this scale in your guitar solos, using strings bending, slides and more. So let’s get into it!
Here’s a breakdown of what you will learn in this video:
0:46 Let’s take a look at how we play the E scale using the open strings. This scale shape is great for making up lots of ‘twangy’ open string licks…a favorite of players like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix and others.
0:58 Open String Licks – Lick #1
This is a classic open string lick that Stevie Ray Vaughan used a lot in his solos. This one sounds great used as a blues turnaround over a 12 bar blues in the key of E.
2:57 This part of the lick uses a cool double stop sliding move. Notice how it’s outside our sliding shape slightly. We’ll talk about this here and how to use this little trick in your solos.
4:42 Carrying on the lick
Notice how you can hammer the B flat note and make it sound more fluid and smooth.
5:17 Closing the lick with a strumming on the B7 chord and an open E bass note. This B7 leads us back to the start of the 12 bar blues in E.
5:57 Let’s hear the whole phrase…
6:16 Open string lick #2.
Here we are using a cool string bend on the G string and a double stop slide. These are both great resources to use in your own solos.
7:06 Where does this other slide comes from?
This will make a difference to your solos! Playing the same note with 2 different strings instead of just playing open E string, makes it more intense and powerful.
8:32 Let’s hear the whole lick now.
8:39 Summary of lesson and some more tips with demonstrations.
Get my FREE Blues Guitar Bundle with full TAB to this lesson and my other most popular blues lessons!
Read More
Blues Scales: What Scale Do I Play Over a Blues?
If you are just starting out with the Blues and you are wondering where to begin to create your solos, then this lesson is for you. I will be answering here a very common question that is ‘which scale should I use to play over a 12 bars blues?’. I will show you here the most important scale you need to know to play blues and the number one mistake many guitar players make so you can avoid it.
If you want to find out all of this and more, watch this lesson, subscribe to my Youtube channel and Join thousand of other guitar players in my free online community by clicking the yellow box bellow!
JOIN THOUSAND OF OTHER GUITAR PLAYERS IN MY FREE ONLINE COMMUNITY… AND GRAB A POWERPACK OF EXCLUSIVE ‘MEMBERS ONLY’ LESSONS!
Blues Scales Lesson – What Scale Do I Play For Blues?
So what scale can you play over a 12 bar blues if you want to solo? There are lots of possible scales you can use…but there is one that ALL the blues legends use most of the time: the minor pentatonic scale.
In this episode of the Ask James Guitar Show I’ll show you how to play the scale, how to use it over the 12 bar blues and I’ll also tell you the no.1 mistake that many new blues guitarists make with the scale which stops them sounding great when they use it.
Here’s a breakdown of what’s in this guitar lesson:
0:17 What scale should you use to play over a blues? The major scale? The minor scale? Pentatonic scales? This is a question I hear a lot!
0:40 There are lots of scales you can use over a blues but the most common is the minor pentatonic scale. This is the best starting point and definitely where you should begin.
0:50 Here’s exactly how to play a minor pentatonic scale in the key of G.
1:35 Lots of guitar player think you need to move the scale around when the chords change in the 12 bar blues- but you don’t!! You can play the minor pentatonic scale over the entire blues chord sequence…there is no need to move it anywhere.
2:27 Hear the sound of the scale over a 12 bar blues – it works great!
It’s simple and easy to do meaning you can focus on the important things…like playing stuff that sounds good and makes you sound like a blues guitarist!
3:00 You need to play the scale in the right key though!
TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT CHANGING KEYS CLICK HERE!
3:30 Knowing the scale is a great start but you also need to build up a library of great sounding blues licks you can use to make your playing sound musical.
JOIN THOUSAND OF OTHER GUITAR PLAYERS IN MY FREE ONLINE COMMUNITY… AND GRAB A POWERPACK OF EXCLUSIVE ‘MEMBERS ONLY’ LESSONS!
Read More
Major Pentatonic Scale…Easy Guitar Soloing in a Major Key!
JOIN THOUSAND OF OTHER GUITAR PLAYERS IN MY FREE ONLINE COMMUNITY… AND GRAB A POWERPACK OF EXCLUSIVE ‘MEMBERS ONLY’ LESSONS!
Learn to use the major pentatonic scale to play smoking leads in major keys!
The major pentatonic scale is the most commonly used guitar scale when playing a guitar solo in a major key. In this short lesson you’ll learn everything you need to know to get started playing and using the major pentatonic scale in your guitar solos.
Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll learn in this guitar lesson:
0:20 I’ve had lots of guitar players ask about how to play a guitar solo in a major key. In this lesson I’ll show you a simple hack for using your minor pentatonics in a major key as well!
0:55 Major keys and minor keys – what’s the difference? In a minor key it’s common to use the minor pentatonic scale to solo. But this won’t work in a major key. For that we need the major pentatonic scale.
1:25 If you take a minor pentatonic shape and move it down 3 frets it becomes a major pentatonic scale. This is a super handy because you can now use all your minor pentatonic scale patterns to solo in major keys. You can also recycle lots of your favourite pentatonic licks and bends into major pentatonic licks. They won’t always work but often they will.
3:25 I’m going to solo over a chord sequence in the key of D major. For this I can move my D minor pentatonic shape at the 10th fret down 3 frets to the 7th fret and play D major pentatonic scale.
4:51 You can hear how the major pentatonic scale fits great with the chord…sounding melodic and strong. Learn how to decide whether to play in major or minor when you play a solo.
5:23 Can you mix up major pentatonic and minor pentatonic scales on guitar. Yes you can, but it’s good to get the hang of using them seperately first before you try mixing them together.
ENJOYED THIS LESSON?
JOIN THOUSAND OF OTHER GUITAR PLAYERS IN MY FREE ONLINE COMMUNITY… AND GRAB A POWERPACK OF EXCLUSIVE ‘MEMBERS ONLY’ LESSONS!
Read More
Bending Vibrato Guitar Lesson: How Do I Vibrato String Bends?
Vibrato can sound awesome on string bends and it’s a sound we hear all the killer rock and blues guitar players use in their solos!
But how can you do it without the bend just, er…fizzling out completely when you vibrato it?
In this lesson I’ll show you
- The right way to add vibrato to a bend (for a big, exciting and punchy sound!)
- The No.1 problem guitarists have with this technique (and how you can fix it…easily!)
- 3 things you need to make your vibrato go from ‘so so’ to awesome !
So dive in and find out how this technique can literally transform the sound of your licks and solos!
JOIN THOUSANDS OF OTHER GUITAR PLAYERS IN MY FREE ONLINE COMMUNITY… AND GRAB A POWERPACK OF EXCLUSIVE ‘MEMBERS ONLY’ LESSONS!
Bending Vibrato Guitar Lesson – How Do I Add Vibrato To String Bends?
0:23 Hear a demo of what vibrato sounds like with string bends. Notice how it makes bends so much more expressive and energetic!
0:48 Bending Technique and hand Position
If you’re getting a poor sounding string bend to start with…then no amount of vibrato will get it sounding good! Here we look at some key pointers for solid bending technique. I suggest putting your thumb firmly over the top of the neck when you bend and make sure you use the next door fingers to help push the string. This makes it easier to move it as well as providing much needed stability and strength.
1:41 Adding Vibrato to a Bend.
To add vibrato to a bend you basically let the bend down a fraction then bend it back up to pitch. This takes a little control to get sounding good! Only let the string down a very small amount before bending it back up again.
2:05 Vibrato and Bending (Tips for Success!)
So that’s the mechanics of how it’s done. Now let’s look at some crucial tips you need to know about to get your vibrato on your bends sounding good.
2:15 Vibrato Tip 1- Make your vibrato sound rhythmic.
Give your vibrato a rhythmic ‘pulse’ so it sounds musical, controlled and polished.
2:45 Vibrato Tip 2 – Bend the String Back to Pitch
Out of tune vibrato is not good! After you let the bend down make sure you bend it all the way back up again. If it’s ‘in between’ then it’ll sound like an out of tune bend…not good.
3:14 Vibrato Tip 3 – Even ‘Let Downs’
Try to let the string bend down the same amount each time. This will make the tone and pitch of your bending vibrato consistent and smooth. If you’re doing this and making your vibrato rhythmic at the same time then you’re on your way to getting great vibrato and string bending technique.
3:50 Vibrato Tip 4 – ‘Pin’ the String
As you bend and vibrato you need to keep pressing the string ‘into’ the fingerboard of your guitar. If you release the pressure here then you’ll lose the sound and note. So it’s essential to keep a strong grip on the string even though you’re pushing it up and down.
4:40 Bending Vibrato Practice Exercise
One of the best ways to practice your bending vibrato is to take a common scale like the minor pentatonic and practice adding vibrato to the most often used bends from the scale. I demo this using the A minor pentatonic scale.
THEN JOIN THOUSANDS OF OTHER GUITAR PLAYERS IN MY FREE ONLINE COMMUNITY… AND GRAB A POWERPACK OF EXCLUSIVE ‘MEMBERS ONLY’ LESSONS!
Read More
The Major Pentatonic Scale
and Soloing In Major Keys
The major scale? Blues scales? Minor pentatonic scales? All of ’em?
There are several answers to this question…which can make it kind of confusing if you’re just starting out!
But there is one simple scale that worksgreat most of the time…the major pentatonic scale.
So if you need to kick start your major key soloing skills, aren’t sure what the major pentatonic scale is or how to play it, or if you just want to brush up your major key solos…then this episode of the ASK JAMES GUITAR SHOW is for you!
In this short lesson I’ll show you:
- How to play the major pentatonic scale (hint: if you know your minor pentatonic scale it’s easy!
- How to avoid the mistake many guitar players make in major keys (it don’t sound good!)
- How to spot a major key chord sequence so you know when to use the major pentatonic scale (this confused me for years…)
Have fun…and remember you can ASK A QUESTION on the Ask James Guitar Show page…
Not a Member of James Shipway Guitar yet? SUPERCHARGE your guitar playing with my Members Only ‘Video Powerpack’!
The major pentatonic scale is the most commonly used guitar scale when playing a guitar solo in a major key. In this short lesson you’ll learn everything you need to know to get started playing and using the major pentatonic scale in your guitar solos.
Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll learn in this guitar lesson:
- 0:20 I’ve had lots of guitar players ask about how to play a guitar solo in a major key. In this lesson I’ll show you a simple hack for using your minor pentatonics in a major key as well!
- 0:55 Major keys and minor keys – what’s the difference? In a minor key it’s common to use the minor pentatonic scale to solo. But this won’t work in a major key. For that we need the major pentatonic scale.
- 1:25 If you take a minor pentatonic shape and move it down 3 frets it becomes a major pentatonic scale. This is a super handy because you can now use all your minor pentatonic scale patterns to solo in major keys. You can also recycle lots of your favourite pentatonic licks and bends into major pentatonic licks. They won’t always work but often they will.
- 3:25 I’m going to solo over a chord sequence in the key of D major. For this I can move my D minor pentatonic shape at the 10th fret down 3 frets to the 7th fret and play D major pentatonic scale.
- 4:51 You can hear how the major pentatonic scale fits great with the chord…sounding melodic and strong. Learn how to decide whether to play in major or minor when you play a solo.
- 5:23 Can you mix up major pentatonic and minor pentatonic scales on guitar. Yes you can, but it’s good to get the hang of using them seperately first before you try mixing them together.
Questions? Leave them in the form on the ASK JAMES GUITAR SHOW page
Hope this lesson helped you out and see you next time!
Not a Member yet? SUPERCHARGE YOUR guitar playing with an awesome free Members Only ‘Video Powerpack!”
Read More
The ‘Must Know’ Blues Guitar Scale!
How to Play and Use It Over a 12 Bar Blues
There are lots of answers to this question…which can make it kind of confusing if you’re just starting out!
But there is one simple blues guitar scale that all the blues legends use most of the time.
If you’re just starting to get into playing blues guitar then this episode of the ASK JAMES GUITAR SHOW is for you!
In this short lesson I’ll show you:
- How to play the exact scale shape used by all your favourite blues legends…most of the time!
- How to use it over the 12 bar blues (it’s easier than you might think!)
- The common mistake many guitarists make with the scale (which makes it much harder to use than it really is)
- The next step you need to take to start sounding like a blues guitar player
Have fun…and remember you can ASK A QUESTION on the Ask James Guitar Show page…
SUPERCHARGE your Blues Trick Bag with my awesome ‘Blues Guitar Bundle’!
Here’s a breakdown of what’s covered in this lesson:
- 0:17 What blues guitar scale should you use to play over a blues? The major scale? The minor scale? Pentatonic scales? This is a question I hear a lot!
- 0:40 There are lots of scales you can use over a blues but the most common is the minor pentatonic scale. This is the best starting point and definitely where you should begin.
- 0:50 Here’s exactly how to play a minor pentatonic scale in the key of G.
- 1:35 Lots of guitar player think you need to move the scale around when the chords change in the 12 bar blues- but you don’t!! You can play the minor pentatonic scale over the entire blues chord sequence…there is no need to move it anywhere. It’s possible to only know this one blues guitar scale and still sound amazing!
- 2:27 Hear the sound of the scale over a 12 bar blues – it works great!
It’s simple and easy to do meaning you can focus on the important things…like playing stuff that sounds good and makes you sound like a blues guitarist! - 3:00 You need to play the scale in the right key though! See button below to watch a helpful video on changing keys
- 3:30 Knowing the scale is a great start but you also need to build up a library of great sounding blues licks you can use to make your playing sound musical. See links below for helpful videos showing you great licks to get started on
ERIC CLAPTON STYLE BLUES LICKS LESSON
EASY JIMI HENDRIX STYLE BLUES LICKS
ESSENTIAL BLUES LICKS AND TECHNIQUES
BLUES STARTING LICKS…HOW TO START YOUR SOLO!
Questions? Leave them in the form on the ASK JAMES GUITAR SHOW page
Hope this lesson helped you out and see you next time!
SUPERCHARGE your Blues Trick Bag with my awesome ‘Blues Guitar Bundleand your Members Only ‘Video Powerpack!”
Read More
