13 tunes | 104 step-by-step Guitar Lessons
When playing songs on the electric guitar, we must learn all our CAGED barre chords to build rhythm parts. We must also learn our pentatonic scales so we can incorporate licks and play solos.
In the intermediate electric guitar course, we do just that – at the same time as we learn thirteen legendary songs.
As you practice playing chord shapes and creating licks along to live band loops, there is little need for boring exercises to a metronome. Instead, we can learn all that stuff in the context of each song – a much better approach!
Upon completing the course, you will have mapped out the fretboard, as well as gained an understanding of how to create a guitar part.
As a final bonus, you’ll have the beginnings of a Motown/Soul repertoire, essential to joining a working band.
Even though you as a member have unlimited access to all these lessons, I recommend you experience them in the order displayed below and practice all material in the 8 step-by-step lessons per tune.
#1 – Rescue Me
In this first series of lessons for the intermediate electric course, we learn how to play Rescue Me by Fontella Bass, at the same time as we learn the CAGED system.
Practice along with the band as we step-by-step work our way to playing the complete song with a live band.
#2 – You Can’t Hurry Love
Learn how to play You Can’t Hurry Love, step-by-step by practicing each section of the song with the band.
As well as this we also practice all our dom7 CAGED shapes. if you can play all shapes, you can play this tune in an improvised way.
#3 – Can I Get A Witness
#4 – Be My Baby
Each section of Be My Baby is relatively easy, as long as you practice with the live band loops, you’ll learn them quickly.
The challenge lies within playing the verse, bridge, chorus, and solo without getting stuck, and making it all sound natural when you play with the band in step 8.
#5 – Soul Man
Soul Man is a rare example of how you should stick to just a one-bar riff for a long time, this is clearly what you should do when playing the verse.
Once we hit the chorus and the M8, things get much more intricate, can you put it all together in step 8?
#6 – Money (That’s What I Want)
As well as learning the very interesting main riff of Money (That’s What I Want), there’s plenty more going on in these lessons.
As well as varying the turnaround, we also have a solo to get our teeth into. This is an important lesson as we can build any solo using this concept.
#7 – I Heard It Through The Grapevine
When playing I Heard It Through The Grapevine, we get a great chance to vary our guitar parts in subtle ways.
For the instrumental section, we improvise by finding different chord shapes and adding licks using the minor pentatonic.
#8 – Get Ready
To get the most from playing Get Ready, we move that verse riff around the fretboard and vary it in execution.
For the solo, we copy what the strings and the sax play on the original recording. This will require us to work on our pull-off and hammer-on techniques.
#9 – Son Of A Preacher Man
Since Son Of A Preacher Man doesn’t have any guitar to copy, we must invent our parts by listening to what the other instruments play.
I’ll give you several ideas so you can create your parts for when you play with the live band in step 8.
#10 – My Guy
There are more jazzy-sounding chords to discover when we play My Guy.
During the steps, you’ll get many variations on how you can play each section, ultimately making it possible for you to improvise your guitar part when you play it with the band in the final step.
#11 – Respect
The ultimate soul song to learn we find in Aretha’s version of Respect. To create our guitar part we find inspiration from the horns, BV’s, and the original guitar.
For the solo, we copy what the sax played, note for note. This is a serious challenge but by practicing methodically, we will get there,
#12 – Jimmy Mack
Jimmy Mack is your introduction to chord substitutions, this is something we’ll do a lot more of in the future.
Seemingly simple to do, once you get it, you’ll see that we’ve opened a can of worms here. You can easily spend the rest of your life substituting chords.
#13 – Master Blaster (Jammin’)
The final series of lessons are done around Stevie Wonder’s masterpiece Master Blaster (Jammin’). As the title suggests, this is all about improvisation.
As a bonus, you’ll know that when you can lay the instrumental sections, you know your Minor Pentatonic well enough.