Intermediate Electric Guitar Course

For bands playing other people’s songs, Rescue Me has become an easy classic to add to the Motown/Soul repertoire.

Before we look at how to play each section in detail, let’s have a listen to the complete song and study a Bars and Beats chart.

The chorus of Rescue Me mainly moves between the two chords A and D.

To develop a good guitar part for it, you must ensure you can play these two chords anywhere on the neck. Let’s practice with the band.

In this step, we learn two new chords all over the neck in G and Em.

Pair this with A and D and you have the complete progression for the verse of Rescue Me to play with the band on a loop.

In this step, we take a look at the turnaround and how we can play it all over the neck, both as a single line and as chords.

To work out what chords we can play instead of just the melody, we must harmonise the A major scale.

As the intro has notes from the Major Pentatonic, let’s learn the scale in all shapes and make sure we can play the intro all over the neck.

I’ve made five custom-made exercises for this, see them as an introduction to learning the Major Pentatonic.

It’s time to put sections together, let’s play the verse, chorus, and turnaround one after another.

Remember this is still an exercise, keep exploring that fretboard!

In this step, I play Rescue Me from beginning to end. Play along with me and the video, using both the same shapes as I do, as well as trying others.

And don’t forget to play the turnaround both as a melody, as well as chords.

The final step is now for you to play the full song.

If you practiced well, you could do this in an improvised way, picking out different chord shapes as the song moves along.

Written in 1966 by Motown’s production team Holland-Dozier-Holland, You Can’t Hurry Love went straight to #1 in the Billboard charts.

Sixteen years later, Phil Collins recorded it in a different key and again put it back at the #1 spot, this time in the U.K.

I want you to be able to play the chorus progression anywhere on the neck as this will make it more enjoyable playing the song.

You could in this way keep changing it every time you play it.

In this lesson, we take an in-depth look at the verse.

It is actually the same as the chorus you learned last time, just played with a different rhythm.

In this lesson, we learn how to turn a major barre chord into a dom7 chord, no matter where we are on the neck.

We do this in preparation for playing the bridge in the next step.

Today we take a look at the bridge section of You Can’t Hurry Love.

This section ends with that F to F7 movement you practiced last time.

Today we recap all three sections by playing them one after another.

Following this, you will be well on your way to play the full song.

To be as methodical as we have been really is a great idea when you learn any song.

It gives you the freedom to play around with the chords and rhythms, rather than having one set part.

This is the last lesson in which we work on You Can’t Hurry Love.

Use what you’ve learned in previous steps to construct a part that you feel works for this song. Or, why not just improvise!

Today we start working on Marvin Gaye’s Can I Get A Witness?. This is a song in the key of Eb and structured similarly to a blues.

Before we dive into how to play the main riff, let’s have a listen to the complete song and map out the arrangement.

To learn how to play this riff in an improvised way all over the neck, first work your way through all examples one by one.

Then start improvising.

As we will soon add a sus4 to the riff, let’s work out how to play that chord in all five shapes.

To create a sus4 chord, we need to start with finding the 3rd, then replace it with a 4th, one fret up.

As the bass moves to chord IV, we get a new set of chords to build the riff.

Before you start flying around the fretboard, picking these chord shapes out like it was the easiest thing in the world, make sure you’ve checked each example in detail.

In this lesson, I’ll give you three examples that will make sure you’re comfortable playing the turnaround.

As you’ve seen, some chord shapes don’t work as well. Because of this, you only get three examples, not five.

It’s time to put all these things together: The riff in Eb, the riff in Ab, the sus4 movements, the turnaround, and the Pentatonic lick.

Practicing to the loop, you’ll soon be able to do it all in an improvised way.

In this lesson, you’ll find a video of me playing the complete song, as well as some TAB.

Spend up to half an hour playing along with me, preparing yourself for playing the song on your own.

The time has come for you to have a go on your own.

Ensure you play in an improvised way, as in, you don’t plan where on the neck you play the riffs.

In this lesson, we start working on Be My Baby, an early Motown smash hit produced by Phil Spector and performed by The Ronettes.

Before we get into building the guitar part, let’s have a listen to the complete song.

In this lesson, we learn how to play big barre chord shapes as we play the verse for Be My Baby.

As the song is in the key of E, we can take advantage of open strings. This will help when trying to create a wall of sound.

In this lesson, we work out what to play the bridge, it too uses big, arpeggiated chord shapes, just like the verse.

Be My Baby really is a great example of classic songwriting. The chord progressions, the structure, it’s like the ABC of how to write a song.

Today we work out what to play the chorus. The progression is E – C#m – A – B. That’s a I – VI – IV – V progression.

Let’s learn it all over the neck so we can improvise up our favorite part.

Today we play all three sections you’ve learned so far in the verse, the bridge, and the chorus.

Your goal is to improvise up as many different parts as you can.

The step from playing chords with a couple of licks here and there to soloing isn’t as far as you may think.

If you swap the chord playing for playing a melody, but keep the licks, you’re soloing!

In this lesson, I’ll play the complete song with the band.

Playing along with me is a good way to prepare for playing the song on your own in the final step.

Today we finish off our study of Be My Baby as it’s your turn to play the song with the band.

Remember, explore that fretboard – The longer you can keep improvising for, the better.

Today we start working on Soul Man by Sam & Dave. This song is, unlike many songs in this course, built around a driving and repetitive guitar riff.

The man behind the guitar part is Steve Cropper, a legendary soul guitarist who was a member of Booker T. & the M.G.’s.

One bar long, that’s all. Sounds easy, doesn’t it?

Let’s spend half an hour on this one bar of music by digging deep into all its detail.

This lesson is all about the D shape. We’re first going to practice it in three different ways using the cycle of 4th.

This will manifest the D shape all over the fretboard and if you haven’t achieved this already, it will teach you all the notes on the B string as well.

In this step, we work on the intro and chorus. They may look very similar at first glance, but there are actually key differences in there.

Saying this, it’s not that much to learn so we also play the verse and chorus on loop.

In this M8 lesson, even though there is a great part to just learn as it is, I would like to encourage you to try different chord shapes for this section.

This is in contrast to the otherwise strict note for note approach this song seemingly craves.

We have arrived at the end of the song and it’s time to change key. It’s similar to the intro, although a semitone up.

If you want to play it note for note, there are some details that are new. We also look at the super simple but clever outro part.

In this lesson, I play the full version of Soul Man in the original key of G.

My aim has been to stay as close to Steve Cropper’s original as possible.

Ok, so now it’s your turn. You already have the TAB, you’ve played along with me, now you’re on your own.

Well, you still have the band to play with!

Today we start learning Money (That’s What I Want). Written by Barry Gordy and performed by Barrett Strong.

This is an early Motown hit with an easy to recognize guitar riff that has been covered by many artists and bands since.

Before we get into all the different ways we can play Money (That’s What I Want), we need to clear something up.

We need to talk about and understand, Blues melody language. We will do that by looking to the king of scales, the Minor Pentatonic.

Today we learn the remaining two shapes of the Minor Pentatonic before we connect all five shapes.

By doing all this hard work now, when it comes to playing the solo, you won’t trip over on not knowing your shapes well enough.

In this step, you’ll learn ten ways to play the main riff. The aim is that you learn these in order to develop your own version(s) of the riff.

Should that not happen, pick your favorite version(s) from the ten.

In this step, we have lots to go through. So far, all you’ve got is a bunch of variations of the main riff, the minor pentatonic shapes, and that initial melody.

By the time you finish today, you’ll be ready to play the complete song.

To notate in TAB what I play in the video is largely counterproductive, Blues is not a style that uses notation.

The goal is not to repeat but to constantly vary the licks, to improvise, to follow the song, to be in the moment.

In the video lesson, I play the entire song in an improvised way.

I’ll give you the TAB, but please only use this as a starting point as you too should be improvising.

In this final step, we finish our study of Motown’s Record Executive (Berry Gordy) who have told us about his motivation and what he really wants: Money.

We do this as you play the entire song with a recorded live band.

Today we start working on a new song in Marvin Gaye’s I Heard It Through The Grapevine.

This song has a very clever chord progression. The home chord, Ebm, feels different depending on what section it appears in.

During the verse, the Ebm feels like the I chord of a blues.

Sure, the order and length of the chords are different to a standard blues but the overall feel is there. It’s just that the I chord is now a Im chord.

Today we continue our study of the Motown classic that is I Heard It Through The Grapevine. we do so by looking at the bridge.

As always, I’m giving you a bunch of examples to practice to loops. Use these as a starting point to develop your own parts.

You already played Ebm – Ab during the bridge. During the chorus, each of these chords gets a bar each.

This movement of a minor chord, a dom7 a 4th up is found naturally in a II – V.

In this lesson, we take a look at four sections that all use the same chord.

I like to keep this section improvised but before I’ll let you loose to do the same, here are six examples of what you could play. Learn them first.

Last time, you got six examples you could play over the intro, outro, and chorus tag. In this step I want you to improvise.

Keep the loop on for half an hour, keep improvising for this entire time.

It’s that time again – time to play the full song!

By practicing all sections individually you know this song by now, all that is left for me to do is give you the TAB.

It’s your turn, don’t just play what I did, take it somewhere else, keep improvising to this backing track on a loop for half an hour.

Don’t think about it as just one performance, instead, see it as an opportunity to discover the fretboard.

Written and produced by Smokey Robinson, Get Ready was originally written for a dance craze at the time.

Performed by The Temptations, it was released in 1966 and made it to the number 1 spot in the R & B charts.

First of all, you must try playing the riff in all positions. Not only will this teach you to play the riff better, but you’ll also manifest the Minor Pentatonic scale in your hands.

Moving a riff around like this is a much better idea than just practicing the scale up and down.

To master the chord progression of the chorus, first, we play the chords I – IV – II – V on a loop up and down the neck.

Following this, we look at some ideas for creating a completely new part.

Now that you know the verse and the chorus, let’s put them together and as we do, let’s explore options for that chorus tag.

First practice the two TAB examples exactly as written, then build your own variations.

Today we prepare to steal the sax solo and copy what the strings play during the solo section of Get Ready.

These two tasks come with pretty complicated techniques so before we get to that, I’m gonna give you some technical exercises.

When you visualize the string line, see each shape like this: A Major Pentatonic, add the 4 and b7, start on the 3rd of the scale.

Seeing the fretboard and theory like this is the key to mastering the guitar.

In this step, I play the complete song from beginning to end. Using the complete TAB, play along with me, aiming to play the same or similar licks.

When you feel ready, move on to the next step where it’ll be your turn to play with the band.

Spend at least half an hour playing the song on a loop. The longer you can experiment with what you’re playing, rather than settle on a part, the better.

Get Ready is a Motown classic you’re very likely to come across should you join or jam with a soul band.

Today we start working on a new song in Dusty Springfield’s legendary Son Of A Preacher Man.

Due to the lack of guitar on the original recording, we are going to have to invent a guitar part.

Let’s learn that verse! The progression moves from chord I to chord IV and then back again.

The use of the 6 over the E chord, hints the 3rd of the A.

Today we continue our journey of inventing a guitar part for the super famous Son Of A Preacher Man.

In this step, we look at how to play the chorus.

In this step we learn the intro and the instrumental sections, they are not exactly the same.

In total there are seven different examples here to try. Which one will you end up using?

Today we put all you’ve worked on so far together as we play the first half of Son Of A Preacher Man.

I’ll give you two examples of how to do this, start by learning them before you develop your own variations.

Today we get into the M8. This is what chord progression legends are made of.

This section presents a new idea to the song, changes key and takes us to the chorus a 4th up.

It is details that are too small to pick out for the average listener that in the end makes them go: Wow, without being able to explain why.

If you can put the same amount of detail work in as a great singer does, you’ll be a great guitarist.

In this final step, you play the song on your own with the band. Every time you enter a new section, aim to explore the fretboard with your different chord shapes.

Remember, it is being able to “improvise the part up” that matters, not to memorize stuff exactly.

A standard on the Motown/Soul setlist, this sugar-sweet pop hit is a must to learn for the aspiring soul guitarist.

With one foot in jazz rather than blues, we get more maj7 and 6 chords than dom7 chords.

The more you change between the rhythms and positions, the better.

Right now, this is not about performing the song, this is practicing getting good at moving around the neck. First, we develop, then we refine.

Today we dive into the bridge. As always, start by playing exactly like the TAB says.

Should you do this in less than half an hour, spend the remaining time on improvising what shapes you play.

If you can move around the neck, rhythmically and dynamically communicate with the band you’re playing with, then your making music.

Perhaps you spent today practicing the licks. If you did, remember, the guy who played it just came up with it, he didn’t practice it.

There was a lot of TAB in the last few lessons, today there’s even more!

Luckily it is the same concepts repeated, and they all build on what you’ve done before so it shouldn’t be too difficult to get through it all.

For the first three examples, we just play chords using the same rhythm as the bridge had. We also mainly stay in each area.

In these last three examples, we play licks instead of chords. Notice how the licks follow the chords.

Today you’ll find out how well all that preparation paid off as it’s time to play the full song.

Use the TAB to play along with me before you tackle the song on your own.

You could still use the TAB when you play on your own with the band, but it would be better if you didn’t.

Instead, aim to explore the fretboard as you play the song. This is what will create your most organic and best sound “part”.

Originally, Respect was written by Otis Redding but aimed for a singer called Speedo Sims who made an attempt to record it with his band.

After an unsuccessful session at legendary Muscle Shoals studios, Otis decided to record it himself and then again with Aretha Franklin.

Being in the key of C, the two verse chords are G7 and F7.

In order to find a good part for the verse, we must explore the fretboard using different shapes and try different rhythms we find on the original recording.

Today we start working on how to play the chorus of Respect. There is lots of TAB to go through here.

Using six different rhythms we explore all five areas of the neck.

Only four examples to work through in this step. Hopefully, after this, it’ll all come together for you.

We have four bars of a chorus, followed by six bars of verse to play around with.

Let’s learn the intro, breakdown and how to play the chords for the solo.

You never know, there may be a sax player on your gig, that way you won’t have to play the solo!

I’m not gonna lie, this lesson is pretty hard. It took me several days to work this sax solo out and learn to play it reasonably well.

I would have liked another week of practice time, to be honest!

Reading the TAB and playing as I do in the video is a bit strange. It doesn’t go well with the style, it’s supposed to be improvised.

So if you aim to play exactly what I did, I’m flattered, but really, to build your own variations is the way forward.

To play this song on repeat for half an hour means you need to play it twelve times in a row.

You don’t have to play what I did, aim to find something that you’re happy with after playing it twelve times. Who knows, maybe you’ll even try again tomorrow.

With Jimmy Mack, we get a relatively straight forward arrangement, although there are little variations in there.

Let’s start this off by listening to the complete song and work out the structure.

In this step, we learn the intro. The chords are extended and substituted to create more jazzy sounds.

First, learn all examples as the TAB says, then start improvising what shapes you play.

Today we dive deeper into everything that is Jimmy Mack as we explore the chorus.

Start by practicing all examples to the loop as the TAB show, then develop your own variations using substitutes or extensions.

In this step, we crack on with the verse of Jimmy Mack. Four TAB examples cover the entire neck.

Simply practice these to the two loops until they feel natural. To become free, spend some time improvising what shapes you use without looking at the TAB.

Today we make sure the verse and chorus are all good by looking at two examples of how you can play these sections on repeat.

Start by nailing them as written before you start improvising what shapes you use.

In this step, we learn how to put the horn section solo found on the original recording on the guitar.

It’s really easy if you compare it to playing the sax solo of ‘Respect’.

Today I play the entire song and give you the TAB for what I play in the video.

I hope playing this song has taught you about extended/substituted chords and that you can apply this technique to any song you play in the future.

Today we finish off our study of Jimmy Mack as it’s your turn to play with the band. Ensure you move around the neck in an improvised way.

Only by actually doing this can you find the best part, only by doing this can you get good at substituting chords on the fly.

Today we start working on ‘Master Blaster (Jammin’)’ by Stevie Wonder.

This is probably my favorite song to play as it literally encourages me to improvise, or as the title suggests, Jammin’.

What’s so interesting with the verse progression is that we can’t exactly define what the Roman Numerals are.

The chords are several things at the same time. It’s a master class in how to write a great chord progression if you like.

Today we play the chorus. This is a simpler progression than the verse, similar to what you played in ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’, although now in a different key.

When you can play all examples – start improvising.

In this step, we practice the Minor Pentatonic again, in sequences. This is a great test to see if you have learned the scale properly.

There are five examples to get through as there are five shapes of the Minor Pentatonic.

Today we learn those scary instrumental sections, in (almost) all areas of the neck!

Plenty of shapes to get through and as if that wasn’t enough, I want you to practice all by picking the notes as well as hammering-on and pulling-off!

In this lesson, I’ll show you a scale I made up and named Conspirian.

After you learned it in five positions I also give you six licks that’ll work when you improvise a solo over Master Blaster’s verse or chorus progressions.

Today I’m gonna play this song from beginning to end, in an improvised way.

The improvisation part is down to what shapes I play when, but also how hard or soft I strum, and how much I take out from a part in order to create more space.

Keep this video on repeat as you jam along, exploring the fretboard at the same time.

Today was the last time we studied how to play Master Blaster. It was also the last song of the course. But it wasn’t the last lessons…

In this lesson I play all the songs you’ve learned in this course. Play along with me and make a mental note of songs or sections of songs that you could improve on.

Go back to whatever lesson you need to brush up on and then try again.

This is the final lesson of the course. It’s time for you to play all 13 tunes in a row, with the live band, just as if you played a gig.

Having completed the course, you know that the best way to play them is in an improvised way.