I used to hate country because of all the sappy modern stuff they played on radio. Then I listened to guys like Tommy Emanuel, Steve Morse, Eric Johnson and Andy Wood who incorporate it into their styles and realized there are some super cool leads and riffs in the older or less mainstream music. Now I'm on board with the twang! 🤠
I remember a Guitar World article in the late 90s where they were interviewing a bunch of metal guitarists from some metal fest tour. And Friedman's suggestion for being a better metal guitarist... "Learn a country song". 👏 👏 Classic.
I've said it a few times and it never fails to be absolutely true...Ben Eller is one of the clearest speaking, most enjoyable, inspirational and MOTIVATIONAL teachers on RUclips. Any great player can show you licks, Ben Eller shows you licks and you just want to take on the challenge and learn them. For me, that's the difference 👍
I had way more fun learning this than I thought I would. Best part is it can be used from country to rockabilly, southern rock, blues, the glammier flavours of metal etc such a fun ditty to play
I suck at guitar. But I am trying to suck better. Been playing the blues 20+yrs and LOVE old school country (Billy Joe Shaver). Now & then people will actually applaud after my soloing efforts at our local blues jam...but this half hour I spent watching this has opened my eyes like nothing short of a revelation(!) THANK YOU UNCLE BEN- you are my brand new HERO
Thank you for this video!!! As a mediocre-at-best rock guitarist, I got talked into playing lead in a country cover band and really struggle in putting the pieces together. Watching vids by primarily country guitarists just wasn't sinking in with me. Watching a phenominal rock guitarist put their spin on making it work suddenly the lightbulb is turning on for me. THANK YOU AGAIN!!!
Was a massive fan of Jerry Donahue and bought his signature Tele. He has suffered health wise which is so very unfair, amazing human being. I can relate to a lot of this stuff. Thank you Uncle Ben.
Then you are a person of culture and taste that can appreciate Danny Gatton's "hold my beer" guitar solo from ACL. I also learned about fret wraps from that video. (just kidding, but I have shown people who use fret wraps the video) Teles are tough guitars. They really are.
@Jimmy Galloway Um....Jerry is my favorite guitarist of all time. He's the reason I changed from a blues/rock player to a much more country-oriented player. But I've never thought of him as a "string bender." In fact, I cannot think of a single performance or recording were he bent strings. Jerry Donahue takes that title.
I love this! As an experienced metal player trying to work my way into country playing, this is a quick easy transition, rather than attempting to start from scratch or re-invent the wheel, so to speak. Great content as always. You have quite the way of explaining things, so that anyone can get it. I grew up in SW VA so your accent reminds me of home. Keep rockin!
The trickiest part for me when venturing into country territory was all the syncopated changes of direction. In rock you often go up, up, up then down, down, down in a linear fashion. Getting those “outside” notes in more of a “lick” fashion was a new approach. Awesome lesson and I’m sensing a Danny Gatton lesson soon!!
You called it Uncle Ben. My country playing DOES suck! Extraordinarily. The main reason is because I absolutely loathe the vast majority of country music and it just never popped up on my radar. Until recently. You don't have to look far on instructional sites (TrueFire etc.) or the RUclipss before coming across a country music guitarist that absolutely RIPS! So to continue ignoring that entire segment of music is to fall way short of full potential as a guitarist. GREAT TOPIC!
I've been a guitarist for over 25 years and I'm familiar with rock and classical guitar. Those are easier transitions. For me country is a stretch. You made it look smooth. Loved the lesson. Great work.
i got hired on for a country band in early 2020 and i didnt know my ass from a hole in the ground as far as country gtr. boy that band MADE me level my chops up and. as a result. my entire vocabulary. you and A Wood helped me out a LOT w that. now, those country gigs are the ones i look fwd to the most!
I grew up as an acoustic country player and then got into electric, jumped into rock and blues and funk, but I'm always happy to polish the fundamentals! Thanks Uncle Ben!
There are virtuosos in all genres. For example there is a jazz guitarist called Gary Potter that nobody has ever heard of, but in his day he was and still is amazing.
"Stuff you already know"--um, yeah, about that... :D Way too much time clickin', and when I'm not clickin' I'm usually fixin' or buildin'. Need to get around to more pickin'. I'll absolutely start working on this chikin' stuff so it'll be ready when I finish my next build; a custom double-cut Esquire-style thing that will almost certainly play better than I can.
Country as a chicken, mustard biscut! Another way to look at this is Mixolydian with the flat 3rd addition. For a really good reference to how to apply these shapes, dig into some Dixie Dregs. Steve Morse and his use of chromatics, within both major and minor chord centers... Gooder than fried chicken and collard greens! Awesome video, Ben!
So glad you did this video on country. Country is so much fun to play. It always brings a smile to everyone's face. 😉👍 Your playing the good ole country too, not the garbage that passes for county today. Great video Ben! 👍
Hello! I have been watching RUclips guitar lessons for years and today is the first the algorithm showed me your channel. This is great! I have been trying to understand the country lick for a while, this was really useful. Liked and subscribed! You have an excellent presentation style.
F##$ing AWESOME. This has bit me more than once especially living in the south and growing up playing rock and blues. I found out about maj/min pents and tried moving everything down 4 frets but the bend and target notes were not in the same place on the patterens. This helps a lot. THAK YOU! Jamee
I’ve been a country player for 20+ years and aside from really learning hybrid (which is crucial), another EASY way for rock players to get a start on playing through country is to just take the minor pentatonic box and simply shift it down 3 frets to become the MAJOR pentatonic and then move it around to follow the chord sequence. For example in key of A, instead of using the Am pentatonic, slide it down three frets from 5th fret to 2nd fret and play exactly the same notes you would as if you were playing minor pentatonic, but it’s now essentially an A major pentatonic. Voila! If the chord changes to D you then move the pentatonic box to the 7th fret position, which is again 3 frets down from where D pentatonic Minor would be. Move up two frets again when chord changes to E. That’s not only a hack that can get rock players through country easily, it’s also what a lot of legit country player do too!
Thanks for this! I play in a really popular weekend variety band where we play rock, pop, country, funk, etc. This has given me a way to really open up those 3-4 chord country songs, especially impromptu solos. I worked the third/flat third previously but was missing following the other chords as those changed. That’s a whole new world to me, a rock guitar player. Cheers.
I gave up on guitar playing until I recently listened to Symphony of destruction solo and found your video tutorial on it. Now I’m learning country 😂 thanks for making these videos.
My band (80s pop/rock) did a show at a predominantly country bar and we did an impromtu jam to Folsom Prison Blues (a song I know the main lick and progression for...) with a Nashville singer who was in town on tour. Remembering these tips saved my shredder ass from doing nothing more than boring double-stop licks :) Thanks, Uncle Ben!
What a timely lesson. Been playing in a country cover band for a little over a year (still got an original metal act) and will be an awesome addition to the arsenal.
HEY!! I'm WALKIN' here!!! Thanks for doing the whole lesson for this. Now to get practicing so's I can get my guitar sweatin' like a sinner in church doing them licks!
Finally, I get it. The mystery is solved. I am so happy you explained this to me. Now, if you could just make a video explaining how to sing country. I tried like crazy to make a karaoke version of George Strait's "I Cross My Heart" for my wife. She never heard it. I finally gave up after three days. That was the first dance song at our wedding. LOL: "from shred to cornbread". I didn't even notice that in the thumbnail until I went back to my subscriptions. Genius!!!
Start with Jimmie Rodgers! Once you learn how to yodel, you'll know how to throw that country twang, voice crack thing into everything. It greatly improved my singing and turned me into a country guy all around. I'm talking about the Jimmie Rodgers from the late 1920s to early 1930s. Check out his live versionmof "Waiting for a Train" to get started!
Very useful, Ben! I noticed these changes over chords the first time hearing Paradise City ("...so far away...."). Best cliche ending would be: Take the last chord and strike the 5th and the octave of the scale on the b and high e string (in A: both 5th fret) and at the same time raise the g string at the 4th fret to 6 (to a major third). Then you get the ending chord with a pedalsteel like tone...
Been studying country playing for 20+ years now and had to go through this same process of figuring out what was different about country playing because my rock/blues ideas just didn't quite sound right. I eventually figured it out for myself by doing exactly what you are talking about here without realizing that's what I was doing. Worth mentioning though, is the idea of moving the MAJOR pentatonic scale to a different position for each chord instead of thinking about the minor pentatonic with a major third. Ultimately you arrive at the same place, but for me, in the beginning at least, it was easier to just think about playing over each chord in the progression using the major pentatonic scale that corresponds to that chord. You will eventually learn ways to connect those major pentatonic scales without changing positions over each chord. Regardless, this is one of the best starting points I've seen for players with a decent knowledge of blues and rock playing that are wanting to get into country guitar. Well done.
True, and in the end they are all closely related cousins. Rock is really the child of country and blues coming together, though at an early time, country and blues emerged from the same music.
U.B. you're so 100% correct here! I will never forget jamming with a cat I looked up to when I was younger, he was shredding out Children of Bodom tunes by ear, while I was playing CFH in standard tuning (long time ago 😀) and I finally was like, "what did you do to get like this?" , since I knew he didn't play modes and wasn't a theory junkie. He told me he played country covers with his old man's bar band since he'd been in high school. Changed my perspective forever.
What a great lesson! And yes, a Tele will get you there more faster for this style of Music 😹 That’s a sick Suhr. My baby’s an Ash Butterscotch black pickguard Fender, I absolutely adore that bridge pup
This is so awesome. I got into country a few years ago by way of one of the founders of the genre, Jimmie Rodgers. Learning to play and sing some of his songs taught me so much about song structure and composition that after about a year of playing them, suddenly, out of the blue, I could write and improvise songs on the spot. Then my lead playing also changed to exactly what you described here, though I never thought it out so clearly as you presented it. I started noticing thdn that I really liked the minor to major third sound and the "blues" sound of adding the flat fifth. Then all that started making me a better rock and metal player too as I started learning how to incorporate flat seconds and minor to major sixth intervals into my riffs and solo playing as well. I probably picked those up more from Metallica and Guns N Roses than from country though. Anyway, lomgwinded way of saying great lesson and thank you for putting it out there for all of us students for life.
I listen to very little Country music aside from Dwight Yoakam whose music my wife introduced me to years ago and have become thoroughly obsessed with. His Guitarist is Eugene Edwards and he is is an absolute mauler and is one of the most entertaining players I have seen live in any genre. I highly recommend anyone who wants some inspiration to check him out. In fact all of the players that Dwight has employed have been great.
I popped into Rik's new place recently on Kingston Pike, TN guitar and sound it's called now, I think. He told me to check out a guy named Johnny Hiland. And ofcourse being a metal dude, I'm not up with all of the country stuff, but man this dude can rip across a fretboard. He reminds me of the old Chet Atkins stuff. And even if we don't really like country music, there's something about someone just having fun on the guitar, that any guitar player can resonate with.
Definitely the light bulb 💡 went off here! I have messed around with pentatonics and thirds quite a bit and never stumbled across this! Thanks for sharing!!! 👍👍👍
Another trick that works well (also in conjuction wit rhe raising the flat 3rd shown here) is to take the main chord’s (I) note, go down 3 steps (e.g. id playing in A major, start from F#) and just do the regular pentatonic scale in F sharp). You can then move up into the A pentatonic and use the trick in this video a couple of times then to back to F sharp. When back in F sharp, don’t forget to always “sprinkle in” some one-tone bends up. Instantly sounds great, you’d only have to pre-adjust string tension, make them loose, so that the bent note lands correctly on pitch
I started noodling with this flat 3rd -> 3rd trick and then my guitar started to play the intro of losing your mind by pride and glory! Every thing makes sense now!
Happy New Year to you Ben. A really fantastic lesson on Country Style guitar playing - (a style that often gets overlooked or dismissed) - and an equally good photo of you with Brad Paisley's body, Stetson and guitar - I had to do a double take!! 🙂
Excellent video. I played ROCK guitar for the first 10 years of my career. It was usually a Les Paul through a Marshall or a Mesa Boogie. Then, when I was about 26 years old I discovered Jerry Reed. I bought a tele and taught myself hybrid picking. Since those days my playing has become MUCH more interesting.
Stewart Smally was ok, but I much prefer the Deep Thoughts of Jack Handy He created toonces the driving cat, how county is that? My pinky says Hey( then mumbles something derogatory under its breath)
There is so much gatekeeping in music instruction and you are able to break it down for the Everyman. You’re doing a great service
Paul ain't got no surprise for you 🤣
@@e.k.izzle32 “it’s right here in the back of my van”
IMO country and bluegrass can have some of the trickiest licks to play. It's always impressive to hear a player in those genres pull them off.
Especially cause their tone is usually so clean, they don’t have any effects to hide behind, 🤣🤣🤣
@@iamdecentatguitar1091 except compression and a quick delay..but there are some monster country players for sure
@@johnfoskey7855 true, but compression and delay hide almost nothing when compared to some crazy metal lead tone
@@iamdecentatguitar1091 great point
Especially B bender shredders
I used to hate country because of all the sappy modern stuff they played on radio. Then I listened to guys like Tommy Emanuel, Steve Morse, Eric Johnson and Andy Wood who incorporate it into their styles and realized there are some super cool leads and riffs in the older or less mainstream music. Now I'm on board with the twang! 🤠
Johnny Highland
@@KyleCanessa Oh yes! You know Danny Gatton is definitely one of his mentors. I got some cool ideas from Johnny myself.
Great player! 🎸☮️💕
Go listen to Waylon Jennings you may like his stuff as well. He falls under outlaw country
Check out ALL of the Nashville guys. Frighteningly good.
@@jameslaird1213 The old Masters
Chet Atkins, Roy Clark, Jerry Reed, and Glen Campbell I grew up listening to. 🎸☮️💕
I can feel my molars beginning to loosen up. Thanks man
This is so great. I’m one of those minor pentatonic rock guys who totally suffer on a country song. This is really helpful.
I've always kinda dug this sound but never tried to learn it. Once again you make it easier for the stepdads of the world. Thanks Uncle Ben
I remember a Guitar World article in the late 90s where they were interviewing a bunch of metal guitarists from some metal fest tour. And Friedman's suggestion for being a better metal guitarist... "Learn a country song". 👏 👏 Classic.
Back of the barndoor mathematics there... Who needs a napkin. Thanks UB! Genius!
I've said it a few times and it never fails to be absolutely true...Ben Eller is one of the clearest speaking, most enjoyable, inspirational and MOTIVATIONAL teachers on RUclips. Any great player can show you licks, Ben Eller shows you licks and you just want to take on the challenge and learn them. For me, that's the difference 👍
I had way more fun learning this than I thought I would. Best part is it can be used from country to rockabilly, southern rock, blues, the glammier flavours of metal etc such a fun ditty to play
I suck at guitar. But I am trying to suck better. Been playing the blues 20+yrs and LOVE old school country (Billy Joe Shaver). Now & then people will actually applaud after my soloing efforts at our local blues jam...but this half hour I spent watching this has opened my eyes like nothing short of a revelation(!) THANK YOU UNCLE BEN- you are my brand new HERO
I am certain you dont suck my dude. Rock on! :)
amazing video, its so funny that small changes make such a big difference
good stuff! I really could do with woodshedding some Country playing, and this is a great hack 🤠
Thank you for this video!!! As a mediocre-at-best rock guitarist, I got talked into playing lead in a country cover band and really struggle in putting the pieces together. Watching vids by primarily country guitarists just wasn't sinking in with me. Watching a phenominal rock guitarist put their spin on making it work suddenly the lightbulb is turning on for me. THANK YOU AGAIN!!!
Was a massive fan of Jerry Donahue and bought his signature Tele. He has suffered health wise which is so very unfair, amazing human being. I can relate to a lot of this stuff. Thank you Uncle Ben.
Then you are a person of culture and taste that can appreciate Danny Gatton's "hold my beer" guitar solo from ACL.
I also learned about fret wraps from that video. (just kidding, but I have shown people who use fret wraps the video)
Teles are tough guitars. They really are.
@Jimmy Galloway He is probably the most amazing dynamic guitarist I have ever met or heard. Love JD.
@Jimmy Galloway Um....Jerry is my favorite guitarist of all time. He's the reason I changed from a blues/rock player to a much more country-oriented player. But I've never thought of him as a "string bender." In fact, I cannot think of a single performance or recording were he bent strings. Jerry Donahue takes that title.
Dude, not only was this video great, but your hair is lookin mighty nice as well! Cheers buddy!
A really cool lesson..thanks!
BTW Even the colour of this guitar reminds country..
Developing Hybrid Picking has helped me learn more Dimebag solos than I can count 🤟 and let's not forget how essential it is to Mastodon!
I love this! As an experienced metal player trying to work my way into country playing, this is a quick easy transition, rather than attempting to start from scratch or re-invent the wheel, so to speak. Great content as always. You have quite the way of explaining things, so that anyone can get it. I grew up in SW VA so your accent reminds me of home. Keep rockin!
“As country as a chicken coop!” Andy Wood is proud of you!
He’s a bad influence haha
@@BenEller All y’all East Tennessee boys are ornery! My mom married a Knoxville boy. They’re together 35 years. We all fell in love with the area!
The trickiest part for me when venturing into country territory was all the syncopated changes of direction. In rock you often go up, up, up then down, down, down in a linear fashion. Getting those “outside” notes in more of a “lick” fashion was a new approach.
Awesome lesson and I’m sensing a Danny Gatton lesson soon!!
You called it Uncle Ben. My country playing DOES suck! Extraordinarily.
The main reason is because I absolutely loathe the vast majority of country music and it just never popped up on my radar. Until recently. You don't have to look far on instructional sites (TrueFire etc.) or the RUclipss before coming across a country music guitarist that absolutely RIPS! So to continue ignoring that entire segment of music is to fall way short of full potential as a guitarist. GREAT TOPIC!
I've been a guitarist for over 25 years and I'm familiar with rock and classical guitar. Those are easier transitions. For me country is a stretch. You made it look smooth. Loved the lesson. Great work.
i got hired on for a country band in early 2020 and i didnt know my ass from a hole in the ground as far as country gtr. boy that band MADE me level my chops up and. as a result. my entire vocabulary. you and A Wood helped me out a LOT w that. now, those country gigs are the ones i look fwd to the most!
Ah, we got Uncle Brother Ben today. Sweet!
Gonna pick up my fiddle and learn this sucker now. Thanks as always 👊
I grew up as an acoustic country player and then got into electric, jumped into rock and blues and funk, but I'm always happy to polish the fundamentals! Thanks Uncle Ben!
Man you are so funny, as well as guitar genius, I’m feeling so much better Jeeez, thanks Ben!
There are virtuosos in all genres. For example there is a jazz guitarist called Gary Potter that nobody has ever heard of, but in his day he was and still is amazing.
Gary used to play a lot in around north Wales and the Wirral.😁
"Stuff you already know"--um, yeah, about that... :D
Way too much time clickin', and when I'm not clickin' I'm usually fixin' or buildin'. Need to get around to more pickin'. I'll absolutely start working on this chikin' stuff so it'll be ready when I finish my next build; a custom double-cut Esquire-style thing that will almost certainly play better than I can.
Dang Ben you are a really special player. Thanks
Country as a chicken, mustard biscut!
Another way to look at this is Mixolydian with the flat 3rd addition. For a really good reference to how to apply these shapes, dig into some Dixie Dregs.
Steve Morse and his use of chromatics, within both major and minor chord centers... Gooder than fried chicken and collard greens!
Awesome video, Ben!
So glad you did this video on country.
Country is so much fun to play. It always brings a smile to everyone's face. 😉👍
Your playing the good ole country too, not the garbage that passes for county today.
Great video Ben! 👍
Hello! I have been watching RUclips guitar lessons for years and today is the first the algorithm showed me your channel. This is great! I have been trying to understand the country lick for a while, this was really useful. Liked and subscribed! You have an excellent presentation style.
That lesson really opened my eyes and ears. Thanks Uncle Ben... your my hero...
If you’er talking country and metal, John 5 is definitely worth checking out. His sugar foot rag is amazing!
I went through a Brian Setzer phase back from 2000-2006 and many of those licks work well with a country tune.
Definitely. Rockabily is a very close cousin to country, if not just country played faster and with more color.
Brilliant this is exactly what us play by ear guy’s with no theory knowledge needed. Awesome 👽🎸
Great Lesson. Thank you! My playing now sounds as country as a sibling wedding.
Hill Billy Ben and the obscure Daily Affirmations reference. I love it!
Great Video Ben! Your explanations are vital to understand what is happening to the notes. Thanks again!
This video is exactly what I needed. Now I won’t feel so much like a fish out of water when I pick up my acoustic guitar.
F##$ing AWESOME. This has bit me more than once especially living in the south and growing up playing rock and blues. I found out about maj/min pents and tried moving everything down 4 frets but the bend and target notes were not in the same place on the patterens. This helps a lot.
THAK YOU!
Jamee
All of your videos are educational, precise, and entertaining to boot. But what if you have short fingers?...
Try this one! ruclips.net/video/UYW7-__6XtI/видео.html
I’ve been a country player for 20+ years and aside from really learning hybrid (which is crucial), another EASY way for rock players to get a start on playing through country is to just take the minor pentatonic box and simply shift it down 3 frets to become the MAJOR pentatonic and then move it around to follow the chord sequence.
For example in key of A, instead of using the Am pentatonic, slide it down three frets from 5th fret to 2nd fret and play exactly the same notes you would as if you were playing minor pentatonic, but it’s now essentially an A major pentatonic. Voila!
If the chord changes to D you then move the pentatonic box to the 7th fret position, which is again 3 frets down from where D pentatonic Minor would be.
Move up two frets again when chord changes to E.
That’s not only a hack that can get rock players through country easily, it’s also what a lot of legit country player do too!
Thanks for this! I play in a really popular weekend variety band where we play rock, pop, country, funk, etc. This has given me a way to really open up those 3-4 chord country songs, especially impromptu solos. I worked the third/flat third previously but was missing following the other chords as those changed. That’s a whole new world to me, a rock guitar player. Cheers.
I gave up on guitar playing until I recently listened to Symphony of destruction solo and found your video tutorial on it. Now I’m learning country 😂 thanks for making these videos.
Uncle Ben seems like a guy that you definitely want to have a beer with. AND his videos are very helpful. Amazing :D
My band (80s pop/rock) did a show at a predominantly country bar and we did an impromtu jam to Folsom Prison Blues (a song I know the main lick and progression for...) with a Nashville singer who was in town on tour. Remembering these tips saved my shredder ass from doing nothing more than boring double-stop licks :) Thanks, Uncle Ben!
I haven't had a chance to see him in 20+ years Junior Brown would totally melt your face off on the guit-steel. I hope he's still out there doing it
One also part of this lesson is that Ben doesn’t give an F about a little fret sizzle! ( people make such a big deal about it ) Great lesson as well 😊
That guitar sings! I agree.
What a timely lesson. Been playing in a country cover band for a little over a year (still got an original metal act) and will be an awesome addition to the arsenal.
HEY!! I'm WALKIN' here!!! Thanks for doing the whole lesson for this. Now to get practicing so's I can get my guitar sweatin' like a sinner in church doing them licks!
Finally, I get it. The mystery is solved. I am so happy you explained this to me. Now, if you could just make a video explaining how to sing country. I tried like crazy to make a karaoke version of George Strait's "I Cross My Heart" for my wife. She never heard it. I finally gave up after three days. That was the first dance song at our wedding. LOL: "from shred to cornbread". I didn't even notice that in the thumbnail until I went back to my subscriptions. Genius!!!
Start with Jimmie Rodgers! Once you learn how to yodel, you'll know how to throw that country twang, voice crack thing into everything. It greatly improved my singing and turned me into a country guy all around. I'm talking about the Jimmie Rodgers from the late 1920s to early 1930s. Check out his live versionmof "Waiting for a Train" to get started!
Very useful, Ben! I noticed these changes over chords the first time hearing Paradise City ("...so far away...."). Best cliche ending would be: Take the last chord and strike the 5th and the octave of the scale on the b and high e string (in A: both 5th fret) and at the same time raise the g string at the 4th fret to 6 (to a major third). Then you get the ending chord with a pedalsteel like tone...
Man I love playing that lick! Good call!
Thanks for the great lesson and for explaining very clearly! Time to knock the dust off of my tele!
Well now I don't feel so bad when I asked you to do a weekend warrior work up on Junior Browns song" broke down south of Dallas"
Been studying country playing for 20+ years now and had to go through this same process of figuring out what was different about country playing because my rock/blues ideas just didn't quite sound right. I eventually figured it out for myself by doing exactly what you are talking about here without realizing that's what I was doing. Worth mentioning though, is the idea of moving the MAJOR pentatonic scale to a different position for each chord instead of thinking about the minor pentatonic with a major third. Ultimately you arrive at the same place, but for me, in the beginning at least, it was easier to just think about playing over each chord in the progression using the major pentatonic scale that corresponds to that chord. You will eventually learn ways to connect those major pentatonic scales without changing positions over each chord. Regardless, this is one of the best starting points I've seen for players with a decent knowledge of blues and rock playing that are wanting to get into country guitar. Well done.
Awsome video dude! Great way to expand my guitar chops into a different genre. Fast and effective results, absolutely killer bro!!
Instant Pride and Glory Losin your mind (with the missing g)
Bro seeing and hearing you play country music makes me want to do a shot and load up the bong 😂
I had to come back and find this video to say how addictive this is once your know that simple signature note for playing country!
Thank you for sharing, your playing is very clean and I find your explanations to be good
Good stuff, more is needed on mixing rock, blues, and country. Helps get out of the usual ruts with playing.
True, and in the end they are all closely related cousins. Rock is really the child of country and blues coming together, though at an early time, country and blues emerged from the same music.
This is why I’m a rockabilly guy. Rockabilly is a fusion of rock, country western, swing, blues, with a lot of jazz chords.
U.B. you're so 100% correct here!
I will never forget jamming with a cat I looked up to when I was younger, he was shredding out Children of Bodom tunes by ear, while I was playing CFH in standard tuning (long time ago 😀) and I finally was like, "what did you do to get like this?" , since I knew he didn't play modes and wasn't a theory junkie.
He told me he played country covers with his old man's bar band since he'd been in high school.
Changed my perspective forever.
What a great lesson! And yes, a Tele will get you there more faster for this style of Music 😹
That’s a sick Suhr. My baby’s an Ash Butterscotch black pickguard Fender, I absolutely adore that bridge pup
Best country lesson I’ve ever seen.
this video has been a revelation. That 3rd changes everything. Thank you
This channel is the only place I have ever seen a Suhr guitar in my entire life.
Yeah Man ..
Awesome Lesson "Unk." ..
It's all about Flavor,
Thanks.
You are greatly appreciated,
This is so awesome.
I got into country a few years ago by way of one of the founders of the genre, Jimmie Rodgers. Learning to play and sing some of his songs taught me so much about song structure and composition that after about a year of playing them, suddenly, out of the blue, I could write and improvise songs on the spot. Then my lead playing also changed to exactly what you described here, though I never thought it out so clearly as you presented it. I started noticing thdn that I really liked the minor to major third sound and the "blues" sound of adding the flat fifth.
Then all that started making me a better rock and metal player too as I started learning how to incorporate flat seconds and minor to major sixth intervals into my riffs and solo playing as well. I probably picked those up more from Metallica and Guns N Roses than from country though.
Anyway, lomgwinded way of saying great lesson and thank you for putting it out there for all of us students for life.
"Musical accent" is a great call-out. That's an easy concept to grasp, and really makes the point.
Uncle Ben can read my mind now :D
THanks so much for this video
Thanks a lot Uncle Ben!
A video on some Brad Paisley / Vince Gill style licks would be awesome!
Johnny Hyland.
I listen to very little Country music aside from Dwight Yoakam whose music my wife introduced me to years ago and have become thoroughly obsessed with. His Guitarist is Eugene Edwards and he is is an absolute mauler and is one of the most entertaining players I have seen live in any genre. I highly recommend anyone who wants some inspiration to check him out. In fact all of the players that Dwight has employed have been great.
No wonder why Andy Wood speaks highly of you. Dig your lessons!
Thanks buddy!
Nice job, UB. Merry Christmas too.
Thanks! You too!
This was a larrupin' good lesson. Thanks Ben!
EXCELLENT...Uncle Ben makes me feel good! 🤟🏻🤟🏻🤟🏻
I popped into Rik's new place recently on Kingston Pike, TN guitar and sound it's called now, I think. He told me to check out a guy named Johnny Hiland. And ofcourse being a metal dude, I'm not up with all of the country stuff, but man this dude can rip across a fretboard. He reminds me of the old Chet Atkins stuff. And even if we don't really like country music, there's something about someone just having fun on the guitar, that any guitar player can resonate with.
Gold and an eye opening lessen 👍
Ben these are my favorite videos you do… you explain it in a way that even I can understand thanks good bud
You can go down from major 3rd to flat 3rd if your next note is the 2nd. E.g - If you're playing in G, you play B, Bb then A. It sounds well country!
Not a fan of country but I like how they utilize the single coils and make them sound good.
Perfect timing man. I just started jamming A-based country licks in the past few days. HA! Thanks dude...
Just discovered Billy Strings this week and this lesson came up. Thanks Uncle Ben!
Haha Ben, I like the Stuart Smalley reference LOL
Lol loved the comment on the Hulk Hogan theme song on the Am lick. 😂 15:26
Definitely the light bulb 💡 went off here! I have messed around with pentatonics and thirds quite a bit and never stumbled across this! Thanks for sharing!!! 👍👍👍
Another trick that works well (also in conjuction wit rhe raising the flat 3rd shown here) is to take the main chord’s (I) note, go down 3 steps (e.g. id playing in A major, start from F#) and just do the regular pentatonic scale in F sharp). You can then move up into the A pentatonic and use the trick in this video a couple of times then to back to F sharp. When back in F sharp, don’t forget to always “sprinkle in” some one-tone bends up. Instantly sounds great, you’d only have to pre-adjust string tension, make them loose, so that the bent note lands correctly on pitch
Three half steps down makes it minor or major. Yep.
I started noodling with this flat 3rd -> 3rd trick and then my guitar started to play the intro of losing your mind by pride and glory! Every thing makes sense now!
Happy New Year to you Ben. A really fantastic lesson on Country Style guitar playing - (a style that often gets overlooked or dismissed) - and an equally good photo of you with Brad Paisley's body, Stetson and guitar - I had to do a double take!! 🙂
Excellent video. I played ROCK guitar for the first 10 years of my career. It was usually a Les Paul through a Marshall or a Mesa Boogie. Then, when I was about 26 years old I discovered Jerry Reed. I bought a tele and taught myself hybrid picking. Since those days my playing has become MUCH more interesting.
Stewart Smally was ok, but I much prefer the Deep Thoughts of Jack Handy
He created toonces the driving cat, how county is that?
My pinky says Hey( then mumbles something derogatory under its breath)
Love your instruction Ben! I don't even like country but I may start listening more to it now.
Hey Uncle Ben can you get me a suhr Tele like yours for Christmas this year?
YES!!! I started playing with a honky tonk group about 2 years ago. It made me seriously rethink how I approach the guitar.
So now i know how to do it🙄 many thanks Uncle Ben. Top bloke👍
Hey the hulk Hogan theme song ain't no joke, same guy that wrote it Rick Derringer, also road hang on sloopy, and Rock and roll hoochie Koo
Great stuff, Uncle Ben! Gonna put this to work for me. Thanks!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👍🏻