In blues soloing we talk about mixing the major and minor blues sounds (or scales, same thing) to get some cool ideas going…
And there’s a common tactic I call, “the 3 fret rule” where if you take a minor pentatonic or blues scale, and slide it down 3 frets, it becomes the major pentatonic or blues scale.
In other words, let’s say you play A minor blues (box 1 on A) and then slide it down 3 frets and play it… now it’s F# minor blues, which is the same as A major blues. They are relative.
This is a trick that, yes, always works… and in my experience also never fails to produce results that are… not so good.
Here’s why: when you play a blues in A, you’re thinking about A because that’s the tonal center. When you play in F#, you are thinking about F# because that’s the tonal center.
So when you’re in A, but you’re thinking in F#, you tend to gravitate to F# and not to A… and as you can imagine that’s less than desirable.
Well one of my younger students recently had the misfortune of attending a sort of “workshop” with his high school jazz band. Luckily, one of the workshop instructors was a jazz guitarist who actually studied guitar and plays it well – and that’s super unusual because usually these things are run by horn players and guitars get hung out until it’s time for the whole band to play.
And guess what this guy told my student to do… move the blues scale down 3 frets and play it there. Never mind the fact that I’ve seen hundreds of students over the years make a mess with that trick and never mind that my student already knew how to play the major blues sound and already knew how to mix the major and minor blues sounds.
Please don’t learn A major as F# minor, just don’t. On the bandstand you’ll never have enough brain power to do the mental gymnastics involved to move 3 frets and still remember what key you’re supposed to be in. I have yet to see that trick work well… certainly not as well as learning the major blues sound from the right root.
And that’s all… rant over… carry on.
95 replies to "The 3 Fret Rule…"
I feel very “confusciuos”. By the way Griff, you just started world war 3 .(hee-hee)!!
Boxes are very important but what works great for me is to visualise a one-octave pattern that can be repeated all over the fret board instead of the whole 2-octave pattern of the boxes. No matter where the root note is on the neck, the other notes of the scale are always in the same position relative to it. For example, minor pentatonic in A, box one you get:
6th string: frets 5 and 8
5th string: frets 5 and 7
4th string: frets 5 and 7
This pattern can be played anywhere on the fret board no matter where the root note is ( adjusting for the 3rd to 2nd string move of course). Root on the 5th string?
5th string: open and 3
4th string: open and 2
3rd string: open and 2
Or,
5th string: frets 12 and 15
4th string: frets 12 and 14
3rd string: frets 12 and 14
Instead of playing the 8th fret on the 6th string you can do:
6th string: fret 5
5th string: frets 3, 5 and 7
4th string: frets 5 and 7
This pattern is great for smooth movement up and down the neck. Starting with the root on the 7th fret of the 4th string you the get:
4th string: frets 5 and 7
3rd string: frets 5, 7 and 9
2nd string: frets 8 and 10
For A major scales:
6th string: frets 5 and 7
5th string: frets 3 and 5
4th string: frets 3 and 5
Or, ( this is like gong down 3 frets)
6th string: fret 5
5th string: frets 2 and 4
4th string: frets 2 and 4
3rd string: fret 2 root
Or,
6th string: frets 5, 7 and 9
5th string: frets 7 and 9
4th string: fret 7
So I never worry about the F#….If I start on the 6th string with my pinky, then the fingering becomes 4, 1-3,1-3,1-3,1-4,1-4. That is an ample number of notes in A major pentatonic to get the sound I am looking for.
Wouldn’t the fingering be 5, 2-4, 2-4, 2-4, 2-5, 2-5 for the A-major pentatonic scale, the root being the 5th fret of the low E string???
I don’t use 3-fret rule. But I wonder why would it be F# minor if I play around A as root note. It will be and sound like A major.
All rules, boxes, patterns, what not are nothing but training wheels. Players need to make the jump at some point from those to intervals and tonal centre.
Sliding 3 frets is easy and a no brainer. I like it. However, I understand your concern. Could you please make a video showing playing some licks in position 1 A minor pentatonic then sliding 3 frets to get into the A major pentatonic show some licks and comparing and contrasting and explaining how to focus on the correct notes in each position. Alternatively, can you point to which lessons or course you show this?
I find I can do more stretching and bending in the minor pentatonic scale than in a major scale-perhaps because I’m more familiar with it. As a result I find the relative minor useful in playing in a major key – not exclusively , but as an adjunct to the major key I’m playing.
Maybe Griff could demonstrate how to play the major scale more like a Blues scale. Right now I tend to play the same single note patterns in major scales. They sound okay but it’s pretty bland the way I do it. More work needed here in getting the most out of solos in major scales.
Wow did that stir up the bees nest grip is right you will Center on F sharp which will be wrong you can play box 1 in F sharp as long as you remember to Center your tone on the a if grip was to keep going in this blog he would tell you that if you play Box 2 in F sharp minor it’s right there in the key of A thanks bro your a genius😎😎
OK, I’m just guessing here BUT, I’m now thinking that starting an A Major Blues on an F# Minor is wrong because you’re blues will then resolve (end on or go back to) an F# Minor, instead of an A Major which won’t sound right?
I’m also guessing that the F# Minor works best as a “Passing” note in an “A” Major Blues rather than as a Root note?
OK, now I need to ask you one HUGE question:
Can this “Rant” be found as a lesson in your “Blues Guitar Unleashed” courses 1.0 or 2.0? I hope so!
Thanks! This is the first time I’ve ever heard about this and (amazingly) I think I get it!
A good lesson. Still working on knowing where the root notes are. Seems (to my simple brain) that is really what it comes down to — the 3 fret rule plus remembering where the root notes are in those 3 frets works. Also, couldn’t help but chuckle when you mentioned that the school band workshops are usually run by horn players. My suggestion to you, Griff, is don’t be busting on horn players — that most certainly won’t end well for you at home. 🙂 Take care!
Yes it works but it’s the wrong way it’s simply a trick but why learn and teach things the wrong way doesn’t make sense teach them the right way then show them the students the little tricks just because something can work doesn’t make it right I agree with Griff .
Its NOT the wrong way. It works AND is much easier.
Agreed.
yes, no right or wrong. If sounds good, then it is good
Jeff,
Please use punctuation.
Griff. I have more respect for you than any other music teacher and any other guitar teacher. It took you the whole rant, and then all the way to the end of the last sentence of the last paragraph to get to the punch line which is: “…learning the major blues sound from the right root.” I know you have done videos and blogged about this and have courses with it included. Nevertheless, the point is so important it seems to deserve more of an explanation than what was given in this blog. Just sayin’.
Right on Jeff, and I see that punch line as the key (no pun intended) to the difference between the major and minor pentatonic scales. It seems that a lick in the pentatonic minor scale usually doesn’t work when used in the major scale (and vice versa) as it just doesn’t sound right. Often these phrases start and/or end on the root note whose position in the box changes depending if you’re playing the major or minor scale.
Others here have pointed out that players need to progress from knowing the box forms to focusing/centering on the root (or secondarily the root of the current chord, or a kind of third choice are chord tones not in the scale can be used, but aren’t usually the focus like the root is). So yeah, the Em pentatonic is played differently than the G major pentatonic, even though they have the same notes. Griff has also pointed out the great tip of only playing that major pentatonic sound over the I chord, rather than over the IV or V chords in a 12 bar blues.
Another approach is to learn where the pentatonic major scale notes are in the minor pentatonic boxes, and add one to the minor pentatonic scale for a song if it fits. My observation is Santana does this.
pentatonics will almost always fit. they may not be the best for a particular song but they fit, simply because they share the 5 notes common to three modes pf the major scale
In major scale, modes 1, 4, 5 are major sounding, simply because they have a 3rd interval. The three have 5 notes in common that are used as major pentatonic
Accomplished players may start with pentatonic and then judiciously add the other two notes of the mode they want, for major scale itself that would be the Ionian
Santana’s music is more melodic and diverse than just what pentatonic gives. Black Magic Woman for example has much in minor penatatonic but gets into Natural Minor or Aeolian
Oye Como Va branches into Dorian
his mode selection always fits the underlying chord structure
yes!
the key is the key 🙂
the problem with many guitar teachers and learning from youtube is that somehow they do not send the student through the basics of the music. The 3-fret rule, or patterns, or caged are all fine as training tools, but if you want the sound of major, you must play the major: the root, the 3rd, the 5th, and establish the tonal characteristics of the major sound
Hmmmm.. controversy I love it !!
Now I’m totally confused so I will forget the whole thing, I’m good at forgetting stuff. lol
I don’t agree! What is wrong is saying to a student “just play F# minor” but so long as it’s understood that the root is in a different position and therefore all the other intervals are also, it’s a very useful trick, and works for me when I suddenly have to switch to a Country flavoured solo on the spur of the moment…it gets me started whilst my mind gets into gear.
People, many of you apparently need to go back and learn your scales on your fretboard again if you don’t understand what he is talking about. You will have the same set of notes, but in different arrangement. Just like if you played all the white notes on the keyboard starting at A instead of C. If you go to a diagram of A Maj and F#m on the fretboard, they are the same notes. The only difference is your starting point.
Excellent, my guitar teacher when I was 12 was a master of many instruments and he showed me this. I was like a sponge wanting to soak in everything I could, and I learned this and have used many times.
I was taught this early and never quite understood it or applied it until 4 years ago. Of course you’re not going to play the scale with the same licks once you move it down. I maybe wrong but it makes a great change lick on the 4 chord in blues. Think Allman Brothers!
Yep, totally agree – the sounds in that box are quite horrible and only about one note there really works, the root…
As Grif said just forget it!
Much much better to just add one simple note to your normal box 1 instead – the major third
Then you’re playing with the big boys and your brain isn’t trying to catch up with everyone and always late…
Took me years to figure this one out too
I had never heard of it, so “forgetting it” is no problem for me! Thanks, Griff!
That doesn’t make ANY sense, they’re the exact same notes so how would they sound “horrible”? Using that pattern at F# is the same as the 5th position of A major.
And of course, patterns use different arrangement of notes but the point is, they’re all the same notes of the same scale all up and down the neck so they would never “sound horrible.”
Say what, could you tab this out for us?
Ya this whole subject is where i am in my guitar studies. So to say i,m a little confused is an understatement.
Hi, Griff.
Could you please make a video that doesn’t use the minor pentatonic for blues and used a major scale? I mean, using a major scale for a major chord.
I think I’m not the only one that can’t seem to wrap his brain around this.
Should we just plain old use the do-re-mi major chord?
I GOT IT. I’M ONE OF THOSE GUYS THAT USES THE WHOLE FRET BOARD TO PLAY A SOLO, OR JUST A 5 NOTE LICK.
WOUD BE NICE TO SEE YOU DO THIS IN A VIDEO . PLAYING THE F# WIL NOT SOUND BLUESY! IT WILL SOUND MORE MAJOR AND I GET IT!!
You literally just move the root note of F# UP ONE NOTE in the scale for the root note to now be A. Don’t know why everyone doesn’t see this slight change in how you view the scale.
That would be G sir….
Clear as mud. I’m still really confused about this. Griff i need some help understanding this.
HUH?
Am I correct that if you take the 2nd position of F# and use those notes (now over the A position, that that is an easier way to play in the major?
that is entirely correct, and something Griff explained some months ago in another -very helpful for me- post!
“When you play in F#, you are thinking about F# because that’s the tonal center.”
Respectfully, aren’t you make a huge assumption here? It’s not true if you think about it a A major i.e. are conscious of the A root and such.
Probably another knucklehead adding to the confusion but isn’t F#m the relative minor to A Major? The whole area of playing in minor and major keys in the blues can be hard to digest and Griff has explained it better in prior posts It also is very dependent on which chord is underneath i.e. 1, 4 or 5 as to which scale (mn or Maj)will sound better. Not to mention the tonal center which has been discussed above. There is a good chance the more you know about formal music theory and the more formal music education you have you the less sense playing the blues makes – probably because the founding blues musicians played more around what sounded good and less around a formal scale and its relative minors etc. I can look up the prior post that Griff did about playing over the 1, 4 and 5 but there is a ton of info on the topic within BGUL and the various courses I believe.
I certainly agree wholeheartedly with you Griff. However, I suppose we should consider that a teacher is probably dealing with 10-20 “students” here. They may even have other subjects they teach. There is probably some pressure to get the band up and running ASAP, causing less attention to individuals and more to the collective. Thus the tendency to take shortcuts in teaching methods. As we know, while shortcuts may work initially they can lead to bad habits, confusion and other problems down the line. Group lessons never serve the student as well as a dedicated teacher. This is not a good excuse, but it could be a reason.
For some reason when I play in that position I tend to gravitate more the the roots, just seems easier to me..
If you think of all the boxes being connected in one continuous scale what Griff is saying makes perfect sense. Or at least that’s how I think of it.
Now I am thoroughly confused???
So would you call that Box 5 of the major pen tonic with a 6th string root?
Box one, but use the original root, A not F#
Folks seem to be making hard work of this when in fact it is simple. To play in A major you use the same set of notes that are used to play in F# minor. Ask yourself how can a bright and cheerful major use the same notes and sound like a a sombre and melancholy minor scale? Well the answer is that it is the choice of notes and their sequence that makes the difference. Put another way, each tune has a root note or tonic that it revolves around, or hovers around and ”wants” to return or resolve to. Using that identical set of notes used by both A major and F# minor, no matter what shape you are using and no matter where you are on the fingerboard, if you keep A in mind as the root note you will play in A major and if you keep F# in mind as the tonic you will play in F# minor. Now the point Griff is making is a good one. Because we likely learn shape 1 and play in minor pentatonic scales so much when we are first introduced to the pentatonic scale, if we use the three fret rule in an attempt to switch from say A monor to A major we are very likely going to gravitate towards treating F# as the root because that is what our finger muscles have learned and become accustomed to.
Right, if you move down three frets, you need to gravitate to the right root note in your solo which, in the case of A is A and not F#. The other thing I think Griff has mentioned elsewhere, is that this should only be done on the I chord.
So one needs to practice noodling 3 frets down, while the solo needs to be centered around the A note, not the F# note.
And playing the 2d pattern in position 1, the same thing applies. You need to center the solo around the A note.
I’ve found that instead of moving down three frets just playing the second pattern in position 1 gives better results.
Someone below said:
I’ve found that instead of moving down three frets just playing the second pattern in position 1 gives better results.
Griff actually mentioned this in passing in one of his videos. This is good advice and it would have been helpful for Griff to mention it again in his discussion.
Excellent point, keep up the great work!
This really answered my problem. Who raised you? They deserve a medal for a job well done.
I’ve learn a few excellent stuff here. Definitely valuable bookmarking for revisiting. I wonder how much effort you place to create this type of great informative website.
Mr H
Top work worked that 3 frets thing out for myself a million years ago as I couldn’nt afford guitar lessons so me and my mates just tried to work stuff out Always always frustrated by how bad it sounded but my brain too puddled to be able to work out why
I’ve learned more in the last 18 months for free from you and a couple of other on line tutors than in the last 40 years tragic and brilliant at the same time
thanks for taking pity on an ageing idiot half way round the globe and God bless computers for making it possible
Some of these posts just prove your point about mental gymnastics. It’s just two 5 note scales, mates. Play them and know them!
There was a lesson on playing the scales right of the first note and left of the first note. If you play Am pentatonic to the left of the first note it is A maj if you play it to the right it is A min. Yes, it would still have a root on the F# so it is an F# min pentatonic also. But the point seems to be, think in A or the key your are in. I think that it works weather you start on the A tone and work left or start on the F# and work right. Am I getting this right? Because F# is also A maj following CAGED system. One is playing the A maj in the G pentatonic shape or you can just start on the E shape of the scale on A. I just never thought of it as moving 3 frets. I learned the Pentatonic scales chord shapes rather than boxes. It works either way. But, one can understand the fret board a bit better using the Chord shape. Box 1 in min pentatonic is built on G chord shape the next scale up is E and the next down is A. Off track now. Listen to Griff. He is the master.
Are you getting it right you ask. Well yes in essence, but where you said ”if you play A minor pentatonic to the left of the first note it is Amajor…” that is wrong, and is better expressed as ”if you play shape 1 to the left of an A root note on the first and sixth string, then you are playing in A major” etc as before. However the whole thing can be summarised very simply by saying ”keep your root note in mind” and everything falls into place.
When you refer to the first pentatonic shape as “the G shape’ etc. that implies a major tonality, if you actually use the G as your root.
Hi Griff, your point is correct, and well made as usual; I think there is a point where a player who wants to keep developing really has to grow out of the boxes – keeping them as the safe and reliable home base; and to do this, I think you have to really know where the Roots are on every string, and experiment on the best note-paths for approaching them. For myself, I am working this past while with looped recordings of individual chords – one at a time, across the neck, for 5-10 minutes every other day; starting with just the 1-3-5 tones, then adding the 7ths, flat thirds, and blue notes. Echoing some of the comments above, you do get the ‘hear’ the resolution on Roots this way; I recall advice that you can eat a whole elephant once you cut it up small enough, but some bits would be tastier that others, and some sauce and fixings would be nice!! I’m at the satge where I know and understand a lot more than I can do well – my problems are ‘speed, timing & shifting position accurately’ and years clocked up on my Birth Certificate – ha ha – but I’ve convinced myself it is fun practice and beneficial. If you have any shareable tips on good (i.e. wise, efficient and effective) ways to ‘master the intervals’ I for one would be most grateful.
As ever, yours in appreciation
The 3 fret move down works as long as you always start on the A and never linger on the F# and always resolve on the A. Much easier said than done. For A maj pent I just play Box 2 where you normally play Box 1 for Am. Work that Albert King house on the G B and High E. Now…ready for this? For more major tonality play that same Box 2 house at the 10th fret. It’s not in the major or minor pentatonic…but those notes sound fine over the I chord. I have no idea why, but they do. You get BB King and Albert Collins sounds there.
It sounds good because it’s pattern 4 of the major pentatonic. It’s also referred to as the “BB Box.”
I think that if you practice over a backing track that modulates between the major and relative minor you get a feel for where the target notes are in each, even in the same “box”.
Where do you suggest the major pentatonic would better be played?
As a player of over 40 years, I find there is still always something to learn. Technically moving down the 3 frets is fine as long as you change your tonality thinking. I have seen people do it well and people do it badly. Where people go wrong is that the notes you bend when thinking Blues scale are not the same notes you necessarily bend for the Major Scale, the notes to bend change
When in Major Scale Mode, the Root,7th, Major 7th and our fiend the 3rd take on a slightly different role. Maybe Griff has a lesson on bending in the Major Scale, Anyway folks that’s how I approach it
Hey Griff,
I am like Walt, How about a demo on Video so we can understand this Rant better. Everyone here had a say, very confusing.
Michael-Sydney-Australia Feb 2016
Hi griff as I’ve been saying for some time now scales are a must aswell ,but above all learning the notes on the fret board each and everyone of them and the best trick is so top string open is an E the first fret is an F then next to it an f sharpe then a g then a g shape then an A then an A sharpe Then always after A sharpe there’s a B note and b dose not have a pair and E note has no pair but all other notes do so after the B is C then you guessed right C sharpe then D then D sharpe then we are back to E then all that repeats its self so as long as you know the note at the first fret you can work out the note pattern then you will able to move up and down in any key and minor and major.
Plus you must in blues have a 1st and a 5 th note and a 7 th note this is true in the chords you play and if you play in a band the fills will normally have 1 st and 5 th notes IMO.
Plus IMO all minor blues scales lean to heavy on the b3 rd making it truly all sound minor but moving to the 5 th and 7 th position it sounds prominently more like the blues with the root being b7 th and having the bass double it’s a powerful riffs that can hold its own with a good back beat drummer happy learning griff get your guys moving up and down the neck show them the 7 note trick Eric clappton for one uses this and you can create outstanding blues riffs and you can mix notes in different ways with out moving off that 7 note group meaning endless licks that don’t all sound the same plus you can move up or down the neck and also slide note to note then pick it up again great stuff rant over
Learned the 3 fret rule (as one of many ways to think about it), but knew that you started/ended with the A, not the F#. Even a little noodling over a progression should get the student to recognize the resolving effect of landing on an A. They should be able to hear the A’s – even if they don’t know exactly where they are (you need to know them for 5th and 6th strings – no excuses). I think it is a viable rule of thumb – but it is all in how it is taught. It is a rule that needs to be taught carefully.
I know exactly what you mean mate. Exactly!
That particular one really had me twisted up in brain farts and finger knots for oh so many years.
And trying to find something that sounded good in that position is really, really difficult.
As soon as I went there it was a major downer…
It’s quite rare to have all Major chords in a progression too, unless maybe an Allman brothers song or something.
Always best to listen to the greater experience of someone like Grif, most especially if you’re a beginner/intermediate.
He’ll cut out a lot of dead ends and lost alleyways for ya.
It will save you lots of TIME!
Always love it when someone else has a rant too!
Makes me feel human!
I agree with James Vaughn’s earlier comment – just switch from Box 1 into Box 2 at exactly the same position and you’re playing Major in the same key, with the tonic at the exact same place.
So, A Minor blues at fifth position Box 1, tonic is on the first string (and sixth) under your first finger.
Switch to Box 2 at fifth position, tonic is still on the first (and sixth) string under your first finger, but now you’re playing A MAJOR blues.
Forget about moving 3 frets, it’s just making hard work of a simple change.
I always like reading or listening to Griff’s instruction. He’s one of small hand full of guys online that I like to implement into my learning.
I’ve been playing now for just over four years. I learned all 5 boxes of the minor pentatonic scale, the “blues scale” and how to link the boxes to make an extended scale. Most of us learn the boxes in the key of Am. Am is the relative minor in the key of C. If I’m trying to solo over a chord progression in the key of C I can’t help but relate to the Am pentatonic scale. C Major pentatonic is Am pentatonic. The trick to major/minor pentatonic scale interaction is to understand where the root note is. Even if you don’t know the notes on the fretboard, your ears should be able to hear the root and apply the scale appropriately.
There’s a mode for this as well but that’s above my head.
My take, pentatonic box 1 at the 5th fret, Root note on the 6th string = Am.
Lower Box 1, 3 frets still equals minor pentatonic but now in the key F#m.
In order to change to the Major pentatonic, you must maintain the Root note of A.
This is the 2nd note in the pattern. This is now a Pentatonic Major “5th position”.
Play A to A. You can play above the Root or below the Root. But you must maintain the Root note for the Key signature desired.
There are 5 Pentatonic patterns. Each can be played as a “minor” or “major”.
It’s all about the “Root” placement in the pattern being used at the time.
Thanks for reading.
Kim Jackson
Geez Griff, it sounds like so far, just about everyone that has replied to this rant is totally confused. C’mon guys…GET ON BOARD! I think the Slow Blues Supplement Course or the Major Minor Blues Shapes Course could help a great deal. Check it out!
All the best,
DaveyJoe
Hi Griff
So what I many many times I hear you saying for us to do is to keep it simple & have fun. I checked out a past thread you put out. I liked it but I just wasn’t getting any real return for my time invested so i dropped it.
08/26/15 @ 6:30am
https://griffhamlin.infusionsoft.com/app/linkClick/47225/190bdffb1bc34c9d/234807729/ba0566938c24dcec
So my question is, ought I spend time learning this. From what I am getting from this lesson is that unless I am really accomplished I am best to just let it roll on by. Maybe if I master the 5 boxes more it might make more sense.
Speaking of which I misplaced my BGU book with the boxes in it. Anyone know of a site that has a good, clear printable version of the 5 boxes?
Thanks
DelRio
Hi mate
I’ve only been learning since 1974 in earnest yep I’m a slow learner and only discovered the 5 positions recently like a few weeks ago and only yesterday why there’s 5 positions 1 position for each start note on the bottom E string so e major pentatonic would be I think E Fsharp Ab B D Anyway utube search a chap called J J Tanis who does a great explanation pictures and on the guitar itself both major and minor really simple and clear a good guy
Papastache also a big help but less clear on music theory tho he’s first to say that really good
and I’ve been sold on this man Griff since he did that 4 note blues solo vid
Between them all I’m finally finding out the answers to the questions I couldn’t put into words and the answers come in digestable bite size chunks Hat’s off and major respect
They say a picture is worth, what?? Vid-e-o, vid-e-o!!!
I’ve seen lots of people who touted this trick as a way to add variety to the blues scale, as you said the problem is the mental gymnastics involved, also it shifts the player’s focus (which might amount to the same thing really). The key thing to me at least is that it causes two problems for the player; first, there’s a corollary between the two but the notes don’t mean the same thing in the scale so it’s kind of like saying a sentence with the words out of order, second, it diminishes fretboard knowledge.
The latter is actually the bigger problem in my opinion because it functionally shrinks the tonal vocabulary of the player. Griff has made the assertion that players go through a babbling stage where they know words and phrases but not how to link them into longer more interesting sentences. (Which is a really great analogy in my opinion).
I’ve yet to find a “trick” that actually improved my ability to play and understand what I was playing. It might make an individual thing easier to get under my fingers but tricks don’t replace understanding.
My rant is now over.
Cheers,
JiB
In the words of Mohammed Ali: “You better C-sharp or you’re gonna B-flat
I see confusion here, and I really understand. Buy Griff’s “Major Minor Blues Shapes” course and all will be answered.
here’s think link:
http://bluesguitarunleashed.com/get-major-minor-blues-shapes/
I have a question ? does A C EFLAT GFLAT make the chord F7flat9 F#dim7 A dim that seems a bit weird as a is nowhere near F could you help me with this also why are they called different names . thanks Rick
If you use box 2 starting on the 6th string 5th fret you will get A Major
What is the point here? When you are in A minor at the 5th fret and slide back three frets to A major that you have to think A minor/A major and forget about F# at the second fret. Is that right? If that is the case then should you begin A major at the 5th fret 6th string and play B on the 5th string 2nd fret next and then continue on with box one but play the notes three frets back (i.e. 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th fret)?
Sounds like you’ve got it. It becomes A major. It is the same pattern.
The root note has moved to the 2nd note of the pattern. The root note will repeat every 5th note of the pattern.(ie, Root + 5)
Thanx Keith – you never know with these things.
Thanks yet again Griff for the good advice.
What a relief though to realise there is great ‘stuff’ to play that’s not too confusing!
Thanks to B.B King for combining a great ‘conclusion’ via a ‘mini’ chord leading to a ‘sweet’ sounding lick.
A chart would have been nice to go along with the rant! Couldn’t agree more, however. I’ve gotten lost more than a few times attempting this one. But I assumed I just didn’t have the brain power in the first place.
Thanks, Griff.
Griff.
Can you say this same thing, only make it more simple?
By the way, I’m looking to be able to “slide” from one chord, without changing my finger configuration, and play a complimentary chord.
Thanks for all you great lessons.
Ken
Griff.
Can you say this same thing, only make it more simple?
By the way, I’m looking to be able to “slide” from one chord, without changing my finger configuration, and play a complimentary chord.
Thanks for all you great lessons.
Ken
Right do not do that ! its just a mess just remember the 1 4 5 thing that would be where I would go . To play the blues of course . 2 cents .
I have been stumped by that very trick. Could never figure out why it should work but didn’t. The amazing Griff solves another nuddle knocker. Thanks for the insite. Jack the ripper
How about the same rant on video? It’s better to read and see what is meant.
Thanks,
Walt
Totally.
Hi Griff, my friend taught me that move and it works really well if your trying to get a country sound.
Played it as F# minor, but start on the A & finish on the A. Bingo! Now it’s A majior sound!
The notes are the same just rearranged. It is a piano trick we use to be able to shift keys. We put the 3rd and sometimes even the 3/5 on the front side and the root note at the end. It works on piano because you play the root bass note while playing the third and fifths and it sounds very full like home sweet home by crue. The major and minor notes are the same repackaged. Take the major and move three frets to the left for the minor. But as I saw above then start in position 2 or try one of the other positions I like 3 and 5. It would be better to know both scales. The problem is switching for me. I can do one scale and run it everywhere on the neck but when I have to switch scales it becomes confusing. 10 forms instead of the 5. I like the minor trick but agree it makes it all sound minor.