G Archives

Mixing the Major and Minor Pentatonic Scales Together

April 13, 2025April 10, 2016 by Devin

mixing the major and minor pentatonic scales guitar lesson

Lesson ID: A0065

In this guitar lesson I’ll teach you an easy way to switch back and forth between the major and minor pentatonic scales. This is one of the most important concepts of playing lead guitar and it is very common in country and bluegrass music. Developing this technique will add a whole new layer to your soloing!

Guitar Lesson

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	Lesson Overview
01:24 min	Major and Minor Pentatonic Scale Comparison
03:48 min	Easy Way to Mix Major and Minor Pentatonics
05:04 min	Why Should You Switch Between These Scales?
05:40 min	Make Your Solo Sound More “Country”
06:27 min	More Improvising Tips

Backing Track

Member Content

Your Very First Guitar Chords

April 13, 2025February 22, 2016 by Devin

Lesson ID: A0059

Brand new to guitar and wanting to learn how to play country music? You’re in the right place! In this guitar lesson, you’ll learn the four most common guitar chords used in country music. If you know these four chords, you’ll be able to play a ton of the songs you hear on the radio. We’ll also go over some good chord progressions that you can use to practice your left hand chord changes.

Lesson Video

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	Lesson Overview
00:56 min	Open Chords
01:58 min	String Numbers and String Notes
02:59 min	Left Hand Finger Numbers
03:34 min	Chords and Their Root Notes
04:20 min	Your First Guitar Chord – E Minor
05:36 min	Major and Minor Chords
06:09 min	How to Read Chord Charts
06:43 min	The Three Most Important Guitar Chords
12:18 min	Your Homework – Chord Transitions and Strumming

Chord Charts
x = Mute String
o = Let Ring Open

Chord Progressions

Red = Two Down Strokes

Green = Four Down Strokes

Blue = Eight Down Strokes

Chord Progression 1
G – C – D – G

Chord Progression 2
G – C – Em – C

Chord Progression 3
Em – G – C – G – Em – G – D

Chord Progression 4
G – D – C – G – Em – D – C

Chord Progression 5
G – C – G – Em – G – D

Chord Progression 6
G – C – G – C – G – D

2nd Position G Minor Pentatonic Licks

April 13, 2025January 27, 2016 by Devin

2nd position minor pentatonic scale country lick

Lesson ID: A0056

We’ve already covered several licks within the 1st position of the G Minor pentatonic scale. In the lesson videos below, we’ll be moving up the guitar neck to learn some licks built around the 2nd position of the G Minor pentatonic scale. The solo in the beginning of this video is an example of how you can combine each of these minor pentatonic scale licks to create one long guitar solo.

Guitar Lick 1

Guitar Lick 2

Guitar Lick 3

Guitar Lick Tablature Woodtone Strings

Bryan Sutton Style Sweep Picking

April 13, 2025January 10, 2016 by Devin

Lesson ID: A0053

Bryan Sutton is definitely one of the best flatpickers alive today. He plays with a uniquely smooth tone even when he’s picking super fast, and one of the ways he does this is with sweep picking. In this lesson we’ll go over an awesome bluegrass sweep picking lick that Bryan Sutton uses regularly in his flatpicking.

Lesson Video

Guitar Tablature