Variations on the Minor Sound (Guitar Lesson)
What are you waiting for? Get your membership now!
Variations on the Minor Sound
Enter back into the realms of improvisation in this lesson and have some fun experimenting with different flavors of the minor sound. You'll get a sense of how to use some 'unexpected' sounding notes while working out the melody.
Taught by David Isaacs in 50 Years Of Guitar seriesLength: 22:20Difficulty: 2.0 of 5
Video Subtitles / Captions
Supplemental Learning Material
50 Years Of Guitar
Found in our Beginner Lesson SetsJoin Dave Isaacs for a comprehensive course covering some of the most well-known sounds of the last 50 years in guitar playing.
Lesson 1
50 Years Of Guitar Introduction
Join Dave Isaacs for a comprehensive course covering some of the most well-known sounds of the last 50 years in guitar playing. Come straight out of Isaac's Phase 1 series and learn songs in the style...
Length: 7:38 Difficulty: 0.5 FREELesson 2
Ride The Cycle - Chord Review
Get warmed up and bridge the gap between Dave's extensive Phase 1 course with this lesson on chords. You'll have a nice track to play over and you'll be able to review many of the common chords you may...
Length: 16:31 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Passing Thru - Passing Chords
Learn how to use inversion chords to link other chords together. This happens all the time in the Rock and Roll style of bands like AC/DC. Grab your overdrive pedal and and make a statement with your...
Length: 18:31 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Home - Picked Arpeggios
Work your chords in a melodic and soothing way. Picked arpeggios make it possible to extract melody from ordinary chord shapes. Once you have the concept and shapes down, try your hands at playing over...
Length: 17:03 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Trippin' - Bass Note Riffs
Do you remember the first time you heard "Day Tripper" by The Beatles? Learning these techniques and playing with this track will take you back and help move your playing forward a huge step. Learn how...
Length: 14:34 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Stix Stax - Moveable Partial Chords
Get comfortable playing small, musical chords around the neck in this lesson. You've likely spent some time moving your barre chords around the neck. You'll use parts of those chords and be able to realize...
Length: 20:46 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Santa Ana - Filling Out The Pentatonic
The minor pentatonic scale is a great place to start and a bedrock of popular music. Dave used those shapes and adds in the rest of the notes from the natural minor scale to tip his hat to one of the...
Length: 20:00 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Minor Blues - Rhythm Riffs
You're familiar with a standard 12-bar blues. Now, you'll get to experience some of the twists and chord possibilities that can be present in a minor blues. Riff away!
Length: 14:43 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Scaling The Heights - In C
Learn how to navigate the neck by connecting simple C major scale patterns together. Do it in a musical way with a nice, catchy example to get your feet wet with.
Length: 18:05 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
The Mountain: Melody & Chords
Scale the neck with both single notes and chords with this catchy musical example. This track moves at a slow pace and allows for a very contemplative mindset while learning the different positions of...
Length: 20:54 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Stone Face - Play Like Keith Richards
You'll spend some more time with moveable chord forms, journey around the neck a little, and learn bits and pieces of a classic rock style.
Length: 13:50 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Down The Road - Boogie Groove
By making small adjustments to a simple scale, you can make something very normal, sound much more interesting. It's been done for decades and is often not well understood, but Isaacs breaks down this...
Length: 26:23 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Berry Pickin' - 50's Style Double Stops
Put a little Chuck Berry in your playing by incorporating some of the most familiar sounds in all of Rock 'N Roll. Chords, rhythm and lead playing all come together in this style.
Length: 15:45 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
River Flow - Fingerstyle
You might think of fingerstyle guitar as something that mostly only happens on acoustic. While acoustic players will get a lot out of this lesson, electric players will also be given the tools they need...
Length: 13:23 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Bend Don't Break - String Bending
Bends are always one of the signature sounds of any guitar player, but bending musically and in tune consistently can be quite a challenge. Dave sheds some light on this subject in this lesson and also...
Length: 12:55 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Walking Chords - Moving Triads
Wanna play chords anywhere on the neck? Learning and applying your triad shapes is a GREAT place to start. Learn how to use triads all over the place with this simple and fun musical example.
Length: 21:41 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Blue Peaches - Improvising
Using nothing more than the simple Major Pentatonic scale, you'll create some catchy music and learn some nice licks. There's a lot to play with when it comes to this classic 5-note scale.
Length: 19:53 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
52 Blues - Slow Blues Rhythm
Triads, double stops and slides intertwined with tasty slow blues phrasing are going to make you proud to learn and practice this piece. Dig in
Length: 19:24 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Waltz For Pinky - Melodic Arpeggios
Arpeggios are not just for classical guitar players and shredders. They are fantastic musical vehicles and make your playing sound spacious and dynamic. You'll also give your pinky a good workout.
Length: 10:06 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Swinging In A - Melody Around The Neck
It's bright and bouncy... It's "Swing". Learn this simple melody and learn the feel that always brings the moods up a notch. You'll get a good hand workout and get a catchy tune stuck in your head at...
Length: 23:34 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Sweet Strum - Triads
Practice moving triad shapes around the neck in a musical and even soothing way. You'll learn how to connect these small chords so that you're making little melodies as you're moving around!
Length: 15:05 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Stomp It - Pentatonic Riffs
Rock out a little bit with this Bluesy and driving track that will make you want to play lead guitar all day long. Get ready for some straight up Rock and Roll. You'll be working a lot on slides and...
Length: 18:11 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Down Home - Clean Country
Laid back, clean, and soothing to play, this lesson will have you focusing on double stops and slides in a Classic Country setting. Set the overdrive pedal aside and make it ring loud!
Length: 17:57 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
CAGEY - Chord Connections
It's time for a geography lesson. Look at the way the CAGED patterns relate to each other around the neck. You'll be moving up and down the neck with ease after you master the material in this lesson!
Length: 17:15 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Sally's Impala - R&B Sounds
Dig in to some R&B-style grooves and playing here! You'll be using a lot of we've already covered previously, but with a good deal more 'bounce'. Each lick will contain a lot of different types of techniques...
Length: 14:37 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Like An Eagle - Double Stop Bends
Do you like Classic Rock? Do you like Country-tinged, laid back leads? Well, get ready for a treat! You'll learn a solo in the style of the Eagles today and have a chance to work on musical bending...
Length: 19:11 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
What It Is - Improvisation in A
Improvisation might be a scary word for some, but Dave lays out a method and a track that will have you making music that easily comes out of your stream of conspicuousness. You won't need to over think!
Length: 11:30 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Funky - Syncopated Rhythm
There's lots to unpack here with all of the various rhythmic variations. It has a chime, yet it is tight and full of range. Have fun with this one!
Length: 27:44 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Variations on the Minor Sound
Enter back into the realms of improvisation in this lesson and have some fun experimenting with different flavors of the minor sound. You'll get a sense of how to use some 'unexpected' sounding notes...
Length: 22:20 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
About David Isaacs
View Full Biography
Nashville-based Dave Isaacs has made a name for himself as one of Music City's top guitar instructors, working with both professional and aspiring songwriters and artists at his Music Row teaching studio. He is also an instructor in the music department at Tennessee State University and is the coordinator and artistic director of the annual TSU Guitar Summit.
A seasoned performer as well, Dave has released eight independent CDs and gigs steadily as a solo artist, bandleader, and sideman. He continues to write, record, and perform as well as arranging and producing projects for other artists.
Acoustic Guitar Lessons
Our acoustic guitar lessons are taught by qualified instructors with various backgrounds with the instrument.
Danny Voris
Lesson 7 is all about arpeggios. Danny provides discussion and exercises designed to build your right hand skills.
Free LessonSeries Details
Jessica Baron
Jessica kindly introduces herself, her background, and her approach to this series.
Free LessonSeries Details
Steve Eulberg
Steve Eulberg does a quick review of this lesson series and talks about moving on.
Free LessonSeries Details
Miche Fambro
Miche introduces several new chord concepts that add color and excitement to any progression.
Free LessonSeries Details
Evan Taucher
In the classical guitar world, there seems to be a lot outdated instructional advice. And while this type of information...
Free LessonSeries Details
Greg Greenway
Greg kicks off his series telling a little about himself and introduces the C9 tuning.
Free LessonSeries Details
Robbie Merrill
JamPlay welcomes bassist and founding member of Godsmack, Robbie Merrill. In this short introduction lesson, Robbie showcases...
Free LessonSeries Details
Jim Deeming
Jim discusses the importance of setting goals. He provides some tips that will help steer your practicing in the right direction.
Free LessonSeries Details
Pamela Goldsmith
Pamela brings a cap to her first 13 JamPlay lessons with another original etude inspired by the great Leo Brouwer. This is...
Free LessonSeries Details
Phil Keaggy
Welcome to the Phil Keaggy Master Course! In this series introduction, Phil shows and tells us what we can expect from this...
Free LessonSeries DetailsElectric Guitar Lesson Samples
Our electric guitar lessons are taught by instructors with an incredible amount of teaching experience.
Steve Stevens
Steve Stevens shows some of his go-to licks and ideas while improvising over a backing track he made.
Free LessonSeries Details
Jeffery Marshall
Welcome to Inside and Out with Jeff Marshall! In this lesson series, Jeff takes a bottom up approach to fret board proficiency....
Free LessonSeries Details
Matt Brown
Matt Brown shows off some ways to add some creativity and originality to your rock chord voicings.
Free LessonSeries Details
Ariel Posen
If you could choose one technique to replicate the human voice on your guitar, it would be slide guitar. The long rich history...
Free LessonSeries Details
Tom Appleman
Tom Appleman takes a look at a blues in E with a focus on the Chicago blues style. The bass line for Chicago blues is very...
Free LessonSeries Details
Andre Nieri
Born in 1986 and hailing from Brazil, Andre showed musical inclination at an early age. Influenced by native Brazilian Jazz...
Free LessonSeries Details
Ian Argys
Lesson 6 is all about the major mode. As with the other lessons you'll be taking a look at the individual notes on the strings...
Free LessonSeries Details
Andy Wood
So how does Andy Wood pick so quickly and with such precision? Level up your speed and accuracy with Andy's near-flawless...
Free LessonSeries Details
Stuart Ziff
Stuart delves into all the different aspects of how R&B guitar has had an impact within reggae music.
Free LessonSeries DetailsJoin over 518528 guitarists who have learned how to play in weeks... not years!
Signup today to enjoy access to our entire database of video lessons, along with our exclusive set of learning tools and features.
Unlimited Lesson Viewing
A JamPlay membership gives you access to every lesson, from every teacher on our staff. Additionally, there is no restriction on how many times you watch a lesson. Watch as many times as you need.Live Lessons
Exclusive only to JamPlay, we currently broadcast 8-10 hours of steaming lesson services directly to you! Enjoy the benefits of in-person instructors and the conveniences of our community.Interactive Community
Create your own profile, manage your friends list, and contact users with your own JamPlay Mailbox. JamPlay also features live chat with teachers and members, and an active Forum.Chord Library
Each chord in our library contains a full chart, related tablature, and a photograph of how the chord is played. A comprehensive learning resource for any guitarist.Scale Library
Our software allows you to document your progress for any lesson, including notes and percent of the lesson completed. This gives you the ability to document what you need to work on, and where you left off.Custom Chord Sheets
At JamPlay, not only can you reference our Chord Library, but you can also select any variety of chords you need to work on, and generate your own printable chord sheet.Backing Tracks
Jam-along backing tracks give the guitarist a platform for improvising and soloing. Our backing tracks provide a wide variety of tracks from different genres of music, and serves as a great learning tool.Interactive Games
We have teachers covering beginner lessons, rock, classic rock, jazz, bluegrass, fingerstyle, slack key and more. Learn how to play the guitar from experienced players, in a casual environment.Beginners Welcome.. and Up
Unlike a lot of guitar websites and DVDs, we start our Beginner Lessons at the VERY start of the learning process, as if you just picked up a guitar for the first time.Our teaching is structured for all players.Take a minute to compare JamPlay to other traditional and new methods of learning guitar. Our estimates for "In-Person" lessons below are based on a weekly face-to-face lesson for $40 per hour.
 |
||||
| Price Per Lesson | < $0.01 | $4 - $5 | $30 - $50 | Free |
| Money Back Guarantee | Sometimes | n/a | ||
| Number of Instructors | 123 | 1 – 3 | 1 | Zillions |
| Interaction with Instructors | Daily Webcam Sessions | Weekly | ||
| Professional Instructors | Luck of the Draw | Luck of the Draw | ||
| New Lessons | Daily | Weekly | Minutely | |
| Structured Lessons | ||||
| Learn Any Style | Sorta | |||
| Track Progress | ||||
| HD Video | - | Sometimes | ||
| Multiple Camera Angles | Sometimes | - | Sometimes | |
| Accurate Tabs | Maybe | Maybe | ||
| Scale/Chord Libraries | ||||
| Custom JamTracks | ||||
| Interactive Games | ||||
| Community | ||||
| Learn in Sweatpants | Socially Unacceptable | |||
| Gasoline Needed | $0.00 | $0.00 | ~$4 / gallon! | $0.00 |
Mike H.
"I feel like a 12 year old kid with a new guitar!"
I am 66 years young and I still got it! I would have never known this if it had not been for Jamplay! I feel like a 12 year old kid with a new guitar! Ha! I cannot express enough how great you're website is! It is for beginners and advanced pickers! I am an advanced picker and thought I had lost it but thanks to you all, I found it again! Even though I only play by ear, I have been a member a whopping whole two weeks now and have already got Brent's country shuffle and country blues down and of course with embellishments. Thank you all for your wonderful program!
Greg J.
"With Jamplay I can fit in a random session when I have time and I can go at my own pace"
I'm a fifty eight year old newbie who owns a guitar which has been sitting untouched in a corner for about seven years now. Last weekend I got inspired to pick it up and finally learn how to play after watching an amazing Spanish guitarist on TV. So, here I am. I'm starting at the beginning with Steve Eulberg and I couldn't be happier (except for the sore fingers :) Some day I'm going to play like Steve! I'm self employed with a hectic schedule. With Jamplay I can fit in a random session when I have time and I can go at my own pace, rewinding and replaying the videos until I get it. This is a very enjoyable diversion from my work yet I still feel like I'm accomplishing something worthwhile. Thanks a lot, Greg
Bill
"I believe this is the absolute best site for guitar students."
I am commenting here to tell you and everyone at JamPlay that I believe this is the absolute best site for guitar students. I truly enjoy learning to play the guitar on JamPlay.com. Yes, I said the words, ""enjoy learning."" It is by far the best deal for the money.
Member Comments about this Lesson
Discussions with our instructors are just one of the many benefits of becoming a member of JamPlay.Another great series David! I learned a lot through these 29 lessons. Thank you!