How to Harmonize Minor Scales Guitar Lesson [Blues Flamenco Riffs]

This Guitar Lesson video by Paluzzi Guitar will show how to harmonize minor scales with Blues and Flamenco riffs.

Blues Riffs Guitar Lesson Playlist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy0YgszScUI&list=PLOKVJibwUTbrNI_Ow-WLrUqcwln951Xk3

How to Harmonize Minor Scales Guitar Lesson [Blues Flamenco Riffs]
0:00 Lesson Preview
0:35 Have a Foundation
0:55 Relative Minor Scales
2:07 'Pure'/Primary Riffs
3:02 Combining Blues and Minor Riffs
5:44 Playing Riffs with Rhythm
6:01 'A' Minor Rhythm Guitar Track (with riffs)
7:19 'Taking the Edge Off' Pure Moods
8:09 Rearranging Riffs - Variations
9:12 'A' Minor Rhythm Guitar Track (no riffs)
10:32 More Harmonizing Options
11:24 'B' Minor Rhythm Guitar Track
13:01 Lesson Review

Minor Scales Guitar Lesson
With this lesson we are going to take the first step in being able to mix and combine different scales while soloing. From a creative perspective, this will be the first step in being able to shift or change moods within the same guitar solo. From a music theory perspective, this involves learning how to improvise with different scales without sounding out of key, and the two scales we will focus on in this lesson will be the Pentatonic Minor/Blues scale and the Natural Minor Scale.

The Natural Minor Scale for Guitar
With its sad and serious tone, the Natural Minor scale has been the primary scale used in many famous
guitar solos. Many times, however, other scales are combined with or harmonized with the Natural Minor scale
in order to add more color or variation to the overall mood of a solo. One of the scales most-often
harmonized with the Natural Minor scale is the Pentatonic Minor scale. This Minor Scale guitar lesson will show
how to harmonize or ‘mix’ both scales together within the same key.

Establish a Foundation
Before starting this scale harmonization guitar lesson, you should already have a foundation of guitar scale basics with both the Blues scale and the Minor scale. This includes knowing various Blues and Flamenco riffs on guitar, knowing various guitar soloing techniques such as bending, vibrato, hammering, and phrasing, and having some experience with jamming, soloing, and harmonizing riffs with backing rhythms. Being able to recognize the essential differences in tone between each scale will make
the transition to combining and harmonizing both scales less challenging.

Relative Scales

Both the Natural Minor and Pentatonic Minor scales share the same description of ‘Minor’ because they
are relative scales that share similar notes.

How to Harmonize Guitar Scales/Different Moods
Aside from the more-standard or ‘strict’ Blues and
Flamenco-style progressions, most songs will feature
some type of harmonization between various scales.
After becoming familiar with alternating between Blues
and Minor scale riffs, the next step is to hear
how both scales harmonize together when played over
a backing rhythm. Though practicing with a second
rhythm guitarist works best, practicing along with prerecorded
songs or rhythm tracks will also work. Even on pre-recorded tracks where a pre-existing
solo can also be heard, it still helps to ‘jam-along’
with these recordings as certain riffs will tend to
‘land’ or harmonize with those heard on the recording.

How to Change Moods in a Guitar Solo
With more knowledge of musical theory, the more a guitarist can mold or construct a solo to whatever mood
is desired. Though the previous steps focus on alternating between Blues and Minor scale riffs, the guitarist
has the option to emphasize one scale over another depending on the desired mood. For example, one
soloist may prefer to play 75 percent Blues and 25 percent Minor scale while jamming ,
while another may prefer more of an emphasis with the Minor scale.
The Natural Minor and Pentatonic Minor scales will always harmonize within the same key, however, certain
styles of music require that a specific format be followed. For example, playing a Flamenco-style riff over
a twelve-bar Blues shuffle simply will not ‘fit’ within the Blues format, nor would playing Blues riffs over
a traditional flamenco-style rhythm.

Paluzzi Guitar
The objective of the Paluzzi Guitar video series is to help establish a foundation of guitar fundamentals by applying various playing techniques (rhythm, fingerstyle, and soloing) to various styles of music. The more playing styles and techniques a guitarist can learn, the more diverse and self-sufficient a guitarist will become. A self-sufficient guitarist can then teach themselves, communicate with other musicians, and even write their own music once a solid foundation of fundamentals is established.

The Creative Guitarist Method Series was written and designed by Kevin J. Paluzzi of Paluzzi Guitar Instruction in San Diego, CA. For more information on private lessons and books, go to:

http://www.PaluzziGuitar.com