Ok, so I know some might say, why not just say an E minor Scale? Well if Neil was navigating and focusing on the E root I would, but, the E minor / G major path is exactly the same AND Neil's Playing is more about the pathway than the function of the scale choice. So, I know that finding the parent key (G) is easy for me by finding the G chords and the related scales as I show in the video. You get the same results... the path. Then, like Neil, just flow up and down, and listen in real time to what you are doing. Hope that made sense.
Stich, I think the best term I've ever heard to describe Neil's playing is 'abandon.' Thanks for all you do Stich. Your videos explain the stuff that most others leave out. You are absolutely making me a better Guitarist and Musician....
To get into the mindset all you’d have to do is picture a beautiful island princess crying on the pristine beach next to a Spanish galleon while her village burns in the background and the Spanish soldiers March past her carrying baskets of blood soaked gold coins and idols.
Thanks for articulating your difficulty getting into the darker side feeling. Makes me better understand my difficulty getting into the positive feeling of major keys.
This song is a masterpiece. It resonates with so many people and transcends ALL cultural barriers around the globe. You feel it in every note as it literally moves people to tears.... It is a song about unfathomable loss. Neil Young channeled the agony and sorrow of this horrific time in humanity ...Neil's guitar screams and cries. You feel the sorrow. This song evokes a strong visceral reaction in ALL that hear it. Hopefully, you raised your energy and enjoyed the natural beauty in CO after sharing this lesson. It's ok to visit these dark places that are in us and be present to feel the emotion, but don't stay there. Thank you for sharing this lesson
I’m sure you’ve seen Warren Haynes cover this song with DMB in Central Park. It’s gotta be 15 years old at this point, but it’s still one of my favorite covers of all time. Warren’s tone is fire. As usual.
I watched a video recently by a top 'guitar reaction' RUclipsr who said Neil Young was not a 'Top Player' and used the whammy to make up for his lack of good vibrato ... Total BS in my opinion . He is just able to put SO much emotion and feel into his own signature style . Just adore this breakdown and really appreciate you sharing this .
This isn't one of the worst 'mind of's' it's one of the best I think! Some gold nuggets, Em = G major, linear playing etc. That scenery though, wow. Thanks for another great video Stich (and dog, ..and fly..), Tim, England 🙂
Been a Neil fan for a good long time and have been playing these same despair dripping leads in these same positions for long time. Hearing such praise from someone like you at the end of this video really made me feel good! Never thought about my mind set too much before now and it's interesting. You really do have to veer off onto a certain mind set to get it right. Thanks Stich. Brilliant, honest & humble. /tips hat
If memory serves, Neil’s soli on this particular tune typically involve not just the gut-wrenching linear single note runs, but also “punctuation” with strummed chords (often modified with the tremolo bar) and pinched harmonics. Just my two pennies. Great job. Enjoy the mountains!
funny... i never think of neil's style as being dark and angry - i hear joy and reckless abandon and righteousness . gonna play along with this one asap!
I recommended this back on one of your live-streams and remember you calling it out and saying that would be cool. After all that time, I’m so glad that you did it. One of my absolute favorites! Thanks Stich
Mr.Stitch I love Neil Young thsts all I woukd ever listen now you have put the icing on my whole journey on the guitar this was great now I know I'm not wasting my time thank you Mr.Stitch I have been a subscriber for over 3 yrs and will cont..for lot longer God willing...Roland J Gutierrez from Magdalena New Mexico USA.
You shook the holy savior out of those strings! I think the dog and fly conspired to bring you to the necessary point of angst. Great lesson as always.
This is actually fucked up. I swear on my life yesterday i decided I wanted to learn this song so I go an RUclips to find a lesson. They were all note for note and I was think farrrkkk if only stitch had a lesson so I could actually Understand what's going on here. This is now the third time youve read my mind. Thanks so much stich. Gonna make a coffee and really enjoy this lesson. Great way to start the day!! :)))
Who would give this a thumbs down? Great video as usual. I couldn't hear the dog snoring but I would have enjoyed it. Neil likes the outdoors I'm pretty sure so the whole setting seems appropriate to me. Keep up the good work.
I love your outlook: your honesty and openness. What you say about personality and style seems to me crucial. I’ve played many NY tribute shows acoustic and electric and of course read everything I can of what he says about his ‘technique’. In a sense, I think he doesn’t have one. Clearly he knows a lot about progressions and substitutions etc but I think he knows it intuitively as the result of trial and error during countless gigs. If you listen to the Cortez solo on the Zuma album, you can hear him hitting wrong notes and adjusting to the right ones. There are little figures he seems to discover and then repeat. On the Weld version of Cortez the mistakes have been ironed out, mostly I guess through playing the song live over and over and discovering the patterns on the fretboard that work. Because NY’s songs tend to be written in a relatively small number of keys, I feel that over the decades he’s just got used to playing certain places on the fretboard that sound right to him. I doubt very much whether he’s conscious of scales. In fact, he seems to try and avoid that sort of knowledge. I remember reading a comment where he affected not to know what a ‘bridge’ passage was called. When NY played lead live with Jimmy Page (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) he’s out of his usual templates and so works single notes very hard. That’s just my sense of what’s happening. But of course for those of us who are not Neil Young, your explanations of how to go about it are massively useful and encouraging. Thank you so much for taking him seriously as a lead player.
Awesome Ian! Where in Colorado? I live near boulder. The high country is the best in the summer especially to get out of the heat! Hit strawberry park hit springs if you can.
Hey Stitch, what are your thoughts on doing a In The Mind Of Jerry Garcia with Mission In the Rain? Love that song but I find difficulty soloing over it for some reason. Love the videos keep up the great work!
Hi, if you could, at the end of the live concert for bob Dylan, ( MY BACK PAGES ) when Neil young does the out solo and looks like a madman out of control, could you explain how and why it sounds genius and what's going on in his head, the preasure of playing that solo in front of Eric clapton and George Harrison must have been incredible, same as when prince did the end of while my guitar gently weeps, the concert where he threw his guitar into the audience, the confidence is the key I guess, ...hey thank you for EVERYTHING !
Thanks dude..I asked for this a while back!!! Seemed so simple on the surface..Settled on full E minor scale and playing on the changes...Basically used my ear and feel! Warren w/ Mule Live is my favorite cover..Cheers!
Hey Stich! Beautiful area you’re in man! Enjoy! Been busy with work so playtime has been cut sadly but I’ll be catching up as soon as I retire in a few short months 🤙 Be safe and enjoy.
I believe Neil played this song in Double Drop D tuning (DADGBD). Would love to see a rehash of this using that tuning as it is very much part of his sound and I dont think you can really be in his mindset for this song in standard tuning. Otherwise great video, glad I found your channel...you are making me make great strides in my guitar learning. Thank you.
Great song choice. I grabbed Zuma awhile ago on vinyl because of this song. The sharp tone and hectic playing are very hard to emulate. I heard the Zuma sessions had a particular chemical throwing some weight around. Thanks for the video! Copying Young and BB King (random?) have always been a super challenge for me. Enjoy your vacation, or whatever ya got going on!.
Great job..I found it hilarious that you kept expressing how you can’t channel the angst because it’s so beautiful by this River the surroundings Yet the universe was speaking to you by sending that fly in to pester you Yet you remained Zen master🤣🤣
First time trying to follow along. Great tutorial! What do the squares represent on the fretboard map? Do they mean anything different than the circles?
Very cool lesson, Ian! Did you know that on April 3, I put a post in the StichMethod Jammers Facebook group, with a link to a video that I made with a guitar that I just got. And this is the song that I played! So . . . Like a Hurricane next? :-)
The best part about learning Neil Young songs is that you can get away with being a bit sloppy and you don't have to match the studio version exactly. He has a lot of live recordings that differ considerably from the recordings and his playing is often a bit sloppy in them. If anyone calls you out for playing a song wrong, you can just say that you are playing it the same way as Neil Young did on some rare bootleg you found.
Stitchmethod 2021 caravan summer tour : playing at all the snow capped mountains vistas... great job, sounded like Neil Young to me. Is your pet dog's nick name crazyhorse?...
Neil Young- You've got my attention.QUESTION unrelated. I bought from you the pentatonic forms page a year or two ago. I was watching a guy on guitario and was calling the forms differently. Because your educated on these matters, are the forms always called the same form numbers? Continued fun on your travels. Hoping your carrying bear spray. PEACE!
Unfortunately they are numbered differently depending on how you learn or was taught them. BUT BUT BUT if you watch video 7 and 8 in my CAGED Primer playlist, you will have access to what I believe is the truest labeling of the pentatonics.
good lesson, but as a lifelong Neil Young freak, I don't think the feeling is really 'anger'. It's more like struggle to exist, so there''s triumph and defeat inextricably mixed together. A deep intuition about life expressed in sound that is much more ambivalent than just 'angry' (excuse the crazed fan rant)
Hello Stitch, what type of amp you taking on the road? I've always been searching for an angry scale. Any ideas you can add. Driving in rush hour traffic is always a good way to stir up those emo's.
One of my favorite songs is Gov't Mule's cover of this. Warren Haynes and the crew do an excellent, excellent job each and every time they play it. 👍🎸 Thank you!
There's a dog snoring? Oh, I guess I couldn't hear it over MY dog snoring 🤣 She's a 130 lb French Mastiff like on the movie Turner & Hooch. And she snores. LOUDLY. 🤣 She also loves when I play guitar apparently. Every time I do, she comes and lays so close that she's touching me. 😉
I'm a huge Neil Young fan, owing at least forty albums of his. I've also read a great deal of what has been written by and about him. Though it's nice to have a breakdown, I highly doubt he gave any thought to what he was playing. In order to play this like Neil Young, you need start off by being a world class asshole and then do copious amounts of mind altering substances. You then just let it rip based on feel. He would probably agree with me on this.
I 100% agree with you. I mention that same thing in this video. BUT for YOU to play it, you gotta know the path that he follows. Everything else is “Just Play”.
@@StichMethodGuitar I wasn't being critical, Ian, just making an observation. You did a very good job of deconstructing it. I love the lesson because it's forcing me to learn Am7 and Em7 all over the neck.
I don’t think you’re being critical man at all. It’s just I forgot to mention this in the video so I always just want to reply cause I forgot to say it👍
@@StichMethodGuitar Neil has often stated that he plays for himself. That's probably why he walked away from CSNY despite having stadiums to play to and amazing income. Stephen Stills could never understand why he would do such a thing. CSN has been great at time. But even Nash said that Neil adds nitroglycerin to the show.
![Improved Pentatonic Soloing [3 SIMPLE TIPS]](/img/1.gif)
Ok, so I know some might say, why not just say an E minor Scale? Well if Neil was navigating and focusing on the E root I would, but, the E minor / G major path is exactly the same AND Neil's Playing is more about the pathway than the function of the scale choice. So, I know that finding the parent key (G) is easy for me by finding the G chords and the related scales as I show in the video. You get the same results... the path. Then, like Neil, just flow up and down, and listen in real time to what you are doing. Hope that made sense.
I WOT that spot did u say. it was hot I can't here nothing
Stich, I think the best term I've ever heard to describe Neil's playing is 'abandon.'
Thanks for all you do Stich. Your videos explain the stuff that most others leave out. You are absolutely making me a better Guitarist and Musician....
To get into the mindset all you’d have to do is picture a beautiful island princess crying on the pristine beach next to a Spanish galleon while her village burns in the background and the Spanish soldiers March past her carrying baskets of blood soaked gold coins and idols.
Accurate...
Thanks for articulating your difficulty getting into the darker side feeling. Makes me better understand my difficulty getting into the positive feeling of major keys.
This song is a masterpiece. It resonates with so many people and transcends ALL cultural barriers around the globe. You feel it in every note as it literally moves people to tears....
It is a song about unfathomable loss. Neil Young channeled the agony and sorrow of this horrific time in humanity ...Neil's guitar screams and cries. You feel the sorrow. This song evokes a strong visceral reaction in ALL that hear it.
Hopefully, you raised your energy and enjoyed the natural beauty in CO after sharing this lesson. It's ok to visit these dark places that are in us and be present to feel the emotion, but don't stay there.
Thank you for sharing this lesson
Excellent job explaining the music theory and feeling of the song.
I’m sure you’ve seen Warren Haynes cover this song with DMB in Central Park. It’s gotta be 15 years old at this point, but it’s still one of my favorite covers of all time. Warren’s tone is fire. As usual.
I watched a video recently by a top 'guitar reaction' RUclipsr who said Neil Young was not a 'Top Player' and used the whammy to make up for his lack of good vibrato ... Total BS in my opinion . He is just able to put SO much emotion and feel into his own signature style . Just adore this breakdown and really appreciate you sharing this .
“Im just a nice peaceful dude”love it man. Stay Happy ✌🏾
At around 9:40, you changed my playing forever. Amazing lesson.
Your worst Is still the best. So grateful to you for your contribution.
A very emotional song,Thank you.
This isn't one of the worst 'mind of's' it's one of the best I think! Some gold nuggets, Em = G major, linear playing etc.
That scenery though, wow. Thanks for another great video Stich (and dog, ..and fly..), Tim, England 🙂
One of the most satisfying tunes to jam to. There's so much that works with this chord sequence and sounds great.
Absolutely right!!!
Been a Neil fan for a good long time and have been playing these same despair dripping leads in these same positions for long time. Hearing such praise from someone like you at the end of this video really made me feel good! Never thought about my mind set too much before now and it's interesting. You really do have to veer off onto a certain mind set to get it right. Thanks Stich. Brilliant, honest & humble. /tips hat
If memory serves, Neil’s soli on this particular tune typically involve not just the gut-wrenching linear single note runs, but also “punctuation” with strummed chords (often modified with the tremolo bar) and pinched harmonics.
Just my two pennies.
Great job. Enjoy the mountains!
Beautiful location. Great video as always 👍
Top 3 favorite Neil songs great video
funny... i never think of neil's style as being dark and angry - i hear joy and reckless abandon and righteousness . gonna play along with this one asap!
I recommended this back on one of your live-streams and remember you calling it out and saying that would be cool. After all that time, I’m so glad that you did it. One of my absolute favorites! Thanks Stich
I'M SO GLAD YOU DID THIS
Ian - I Hope you have a fly rod with you seeing all the rivers you come across! And thanks for the great lesson!
I think you got the feeling of Cortez, definitely! I never really thought about this song like this before!
Mr.Stitch I love Neil Young thsts all I woukd ever listen now you have put the icing on my whole journey on the guitar this was great now I know I'm not wasting my time thank you Mr.Stitch I have been a subscriber for over 3 yrs and will cont..for lot longer God willing...Roland J Gutierrez from Magdalena New Mexico USA.
You shook the holy savior out of those strings!
I think the dog and fly conspired to bring you to the necessary point of angst. Great lesson as always.
Thank you Stich, I have my hum buckers plugged in- lets roll!
You nailed it. I completely understood your point
Soar like an eagle, Sensei..the view from above is fantastic...✌love the lesson.
This is actually fucked up. I swear on my life yesterday i decided I wanted to learn this song so I go an RUclips to find a lesson. They were all note for note and I was think farrrkkk if only stitch had a lesson so I could actually Understand what's going on here. This is now the third time youve read my mind. Thanks so much stich. Gonna make a coffee and really enjoy this lesson. Great way to start the day!! :)))
Who would give this a thumbs down? Great video as usual. I couldn't hear the dog snoring but I would have enjoyed it. Neil likes the outdoors I'm pretty sure so the whole setting seems appropriate to me. Keep up the good work.
Man I love this song!
I love your outlook: your honesty and openness. What you say about personality and style seems to me crucial. I’ve played many NY tribute shows acoustic and electric and of course read everything I can of what he says about his ‘technique’. In a sense, I think he doesn’t have one. Clearly he knows a lot about progressions and substitutions etc but I think he knows it intuitively as the result of trial and error during countless gigs. If you listen to the Cortez solo on the Zuma album, you can hear him hitting wrong notes and adjusting to the right ones. There are little figures he seems to discover and then repeat. On the Weld version of Cortez the mistakes have been ironed out, mostly I guess through playing the song live over and over and discovering the patterns on the fretboard that work. Because NY’s songs tend to be written in a relatively small number of keys, I feel that over the decades he’s just got used to playing certain places on the fretboard that sound right to him. I doubt very much whether he’s conscious of scales. In fact, he seems to try and avoid that sort of knowledge. I remember reading a comment where he affected not to know what a ‘bridge’ passage was called. When NY played lead live with Jimmy Page (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) he’s out of his usual templates and so works single notes very hard. That’s just my sense of what’s happening. But of course for those of us who are not Neil Young, your explanations of how to go about it are massively useful and encouraging. Thank you so much for taking him seriously as a lead player.
You’re an amazing teacher!
Awesome Ian! Where in Colorado? I live near boulder. The high country is the best in the summer especially to get out of the heat! Hit strawberry park hit springs if you can.
Hey! Wondering if you could do in the mind of Neal Schon! He’s one of my favorites and I’d love it if you could do a video on his playing!
Hey Stitch, what are your thoughts on doing a In The Mind Of Jerry Garcia with Mission In the Rain? Love that song but I find difficulty soloing over it for some reason. Love the videos keep up the great work!
"so if you're ready to throw up..." Haaaaaaaa laughed out loud.
dang man, you are really good!!!!!
Hi, if you could, at the end of the live concert for bob Dylan, ( MY BACK PAGES ) when Neil young does the out solo and looks like a madman out of control, could you explain how and why it sounds genius and what's going on in his head, the preasure of playing that solo in front of Eric clapton and George Harrison must have been incredible, same as when prince did the end of while my guitar gently weeps, the concert where he threw his guitar into the audience, the confidence is the key I guess, ...hey thank you for EVERYTHING !
Well done a big help thanx I got all of that cheers
For not "feeling it," you sounded really Neilesque at the end there!
Great lesson!
Have you seen the Dave Matthews version from Central Park with Warren Haynes?
Thanks dude..I asked for this a while back!!! Seemed so simple on the surface..Settled on full E minor scale and playing on the changes...Basically used my ear and feel! Warren w/ Mule Live is my favorite cover..Cheers!
Hey Stich!
Beautiful area you’re in man! Enjoy!
Been busy with work so playtime has been cut sadly but I’ll be catching up as soon as I retire in a few short months 🤙
Be safe and enjoy.
Cool lesson man
How do you like the D’Angelico?
Great i love this song, live rust or rock in rio are my favorite versions
This lesson convinced me to become your Patreon!
Awesome!
I believe Neil played this song in Double Drop D tuning (DADGBD). Would love to see a rehash of this using that tuning as it is very much part of his sound and I dont think you can really be in his mindset for this song in standard tuning. Otherwise great video, glad I found your channel...you are making me make great strides in my guitar learning. Thank you.
this is true
Yes double drop D tuning and then the song makes sense!
Yes! Agree!
Great song choice. I grabbed Zuma awhile ago on vinyl because of this song. The sharp tone and hectic playing are very hard to emulate. I heard the Zuma sessions had a particular chemical throwing some weight around. Thanks for the video! Copying Young and BB King (random?) have always been a super challenge for me. Enjoy your vacation, or whatever ya got going on!.
... thanks Stich, I really needed this one, man; safe camping to you and yours! So glad you're getting out & away from all that "Crime In The City"!
Thanks for the video, you should do in the mind of Neil Young for Cowgirl in the Sand too
Great lesson and yes I totally understand Bullies! I have 2 and their real snorters and bad gas too! 😁
Baaaaaaad gas
Could you give me a basic idea of how to get that guitar tone?
Great job..I found it hilarious that you kept expressing how you can’t channel the angst because it’s so beautiful by this River the surroundings Yet the universe was speaking to you by sending that fly in to pester you Yet you remained Zen master🤣🤣
First time trying to follow along. Great tutorial! What do the squares represent on the fretboard map? Do they mean anything different than the circles?
The squares are the root notes of the scale, and the circles are all the other notes in the scale
@@StichMethodGuitar thank you for the quick response. That makes so much sense.
Stitch. Dude! How many guitars did you bring with you cross country? I've noticed quite a few lol.
Very cool lesson, Ian! Did you know that on April 3, I put a post in the StichMethod Jammers Facebook group, with a link to a video that I made with a guitar that I just got. And this is the song that I played!
So . . . Like a Hurricane next? :-)
The best part about learning Neil Young songs is that you can get away with being a bit sloppy and you don't have to match the studio version exactly. He has a lot of live recordings that differ considerably from the recordings and his playing is often a bit sloppy in them. If anyone calls you out for playing a song wrong, you can just say that you are playing it the same way as Neil Young did on some rare bootleg you found.
"Budokan '81, my buddy used to play it all the time! Pretty hard to find as I understand it."
Yes! Can't wait to dig into this.
Great lesson , you should do a "In the mind of Johnny Thunders" specifically his "In cold blood" live show thats on youtube....haha that would be epic
If this is your worst, it puts to shame the best of some others. The fly wanted an in person lesson.
Great leson !!
Stitchmethod 2021 caravan summer tour : playing at all the snow capped mountains vistas... great job, sounded like Neil Young to me. Is your pet dog's nick name crazyhorse?...
Neil Young- You've got my attention.QUESTION unrelated. I bought from you the pentatonic forms page a year or two ago. I was watching a guy on guitario and was calling the forms differently. Because your educated on these matters, are the forms always called the same form numbers? Continued fun on your travels. Hoping your carrying bear spray. PEACE!
Unfortunately they are numbered differently depending on how you learn or was taught them. BUT BUT BUT if you watch video 7 and 8 in my CAGED Primer playlist, you will have access to what I believe is the truest labeling of the pentatonics.
good lesson, but as a lifelong Neil Young freak, I don't think the feeling is really 'anger'. It's more like struggle to exist, so there''s triumph and defeat inextricably mixed together. A deep intuition about life expressed in sound that is much more ambivalent than just 'angry' (excuse the crazed fan rant)
Grand....as a life long Neil fan, I’ve realized that what His muse brings is the journey, past present future..... along for the trip🎶✨🕊🌹🎩
Hello Stitch, what type of amp you taking on the road? I've always been searching for an angry scale. Any ideas you can add. Driving in rush hour traffic is always a good way to stir up those emo's.
I've got moody and dark nailed. But I can't follow a path to save my life.
Great song. Great video. Thanks Ian!! ;-)
❤️
One of my favorite songs is Gov't Mule's cover of this. Warren Haynes and the crew do an excellent, excellent job each and every time they play it. 👍🎸 Thank you!
Get ready to be disappointed :).... I love Haynes' approach.... this is about Neil.
@@StichMethodGuitar oh no way. Not disappointed in the least bit. I still listen to the original all the time, as well 👍
Don’t be so hard on yourself Stich. It’s actually a pretty good In The Mind Of... And you hit more right notes than Neil does.
😂
Neil turns the bass up and turn the treble down.the over drive it
Maybe you should play " Cortez the Kitten" , it's a lot less angry?
❤️😂
👍🏼👍🏼
There's a dog snoring? Oh, I guess I couldn't hear it over MY dog snoring 🤣 She's a 130 lb French Mastiff like on the movie Turner & Hooch. And she snores. LOUDLY. 🤣 She also loves when I play guitar apparently. Every time I do, she comes and lays so close that she's touching me. 😉
Stich waxing philosophically. I won't have any trouble at all getting in touch with my dark side. My ying bout as close in size to my yang.
Get the basic structure and then play from the heart
He’s playing in double drop D
Yes!!! Forgot to mention that. But this is still the path for us standard players😬
I just think that is what gives the song it’s dark mood . The drone of the low open “D”. I’m sorry I wasn’t trying to call you out .
@@Otis790
I didn’t think you were, but I agree with you
That does make the chords and scale more complicated, at least for me. Will have to play with it.
I'm a huge Neil Young fan, owing at least forty albums of his. I've also read a great deal of what has been written by and about him. Though it's nice to have a breakdown, I highly doubt he gave any thought to what he was playing. In order to play this like Neil Young, you need start off by being a world class asshole and then do copious amounts of mind altering substances. You then just let it rip based on feel. He would probably agree with me on this.
I 100% agree with you. I mention that same thing in this video. BUT for YOU to play it, you gotta know the path that he follows. Everything else is “Just Play”.
@@StichMethodGuitar I wasn't being critical, Ian, just making an observation. You did a very good job of deconstructing it. I love the lesson because it's forcing me to learn Am7 and Em7 all over the neck.
I don’t think you’re being critical man at all. It’s just I forgot to mention this in the video so I always just want to reply cause I forgot to say it👍
@@StichMethodGuitar Neil has often stated that he plays for himself. That's probably why he walked away from CSNY despite having stadiums to play to and amazing income. Stephen Stills could never understand why he would do such a thing. CSN has been great at time. But even Nash said that Neil adds nitroglycerin to the show.