Why does this song sound so dark and sad when there’s not a single minor chord in the entire progression?
That’s the question we’re answering in this lesson — and the answer reveals one of the most powerful tricks in all of songwriting.
Hendrix didn’t learn this in school. He didn’t study theory. He heard it with his ear and built one of the most sophisticated chord progressions in rock history — using nothing but major chords.
The secret is in the distance between the chords. When you move a minor third interval between two major chords, your ear hears minor — even though technically, it isn’t. Hendrix exploited this over and over in Wind Cries Mary, and once you understand how, you’ll hear it everywhere.
What You’ll Learn
The flatted 7th intro (D → D# → E) and why it sets a dark tone immediately
The 5-4-1 verse progression with chromatic passing notes
How the F# to A chord change creates a minor sound using only major chords
The solo section: following the pentatonic minor scale up through the chord changes (F# → A → C → E)
How Hendrix lands back on E major using C# pentatonic minor — the slickest key change you’ve ever heard
Multiple chord voicings so you can play it comfortably regardless of hand size
Why This Lesson Matters This isn’t just about learning one song. This is about understanding how chord distance affects the emotional color of everything you play. Once you see what Hendrix did here, you’ll start using minor third intervals in your own progressions — and your playing will sound darker, moodier, and more sophisticated overnight.
Prerequisite knowledge: Major and minor thirds, 1-4-5 progressions. If you’ve worked through the earlier lessons in this course, you’re ready.
Bob Dylan might not have the prettiest voice, but his pitch is solid, his lyrics are poetry, and his chord progressions are quietly brilliant. “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” uses just four open chords — but the way they cycle and resolve teaches you something fundamental about how songs breathe.
What we’ll cover:
The key of G major: your 1-4-5 (G, C, D) plus A minor (the 2 chord) — that’s the entire song
The two-bar cycle that drives everything: G (half bar) → D (half bar) → A minor (full bar), then G → D → C with a bass run back to G
Relative major/minor substitution — why the A minor leaves you hanging but the C major resolves cleanly back to G, and how Dylan alternates between them to create tension and release
The descending bass run: C → B → A → G — how walking down the scale from the C chord leads you naturally back to the tonic
Strumming: starting with the basic “down, down-up” pattern (quarter note + eighth notes), then graduating to bass note plucks with chord strums on top
How to let the C chord ring while you walk the bass line underneath — keeping your first finger down as an anchor
Why getting the basic strum smooth first makes the fancier variations fall into place naturally
Key takeaway: Dylan’s genius is in knowing which chord to leave out. Substituting a relative minor for the expected major — or alternating between the two — is a simple trick that adds huge emotional depth. Once you hear it here, you’ll start hearing it everywhere.
Bonus — “All Along the Watchtower”: We’ll also look at Dylan’s chord trick in “All Along the Watchtower”: B minor → A major → G major. It’s in the key of D major, but Dylan substituted D major for its relative minor (B minor), giving the whole song a darker feel while keeping the 4 and 5 chords from D major. That’s a relative minor substitution — one chord swap that changes the entire mood. Hendrix took it from there and made it legendary.
Van Morrison is one of those songwriters who can make something incredibly simple sound incredibly deep. “Into the Mystic” uses just a handful of chords, but the way they’re arranged — and the feel behind them — creates something that leaves you floating. In this lesson, we’ll break down how the song works, why it works so well, and then take it a step further with a capo’d version that gives it a whole different ring.
What we’ll cover:
Van Morrison as a songwriter — why his chord choices are deceptively simple but emotionally powerful
The key of E major: your 1-4-5 (E, A, B) plus the minor 3 chord (G# minor) — and that’s the whole song
The suspended fourth — how adding and releasing a sus4 on both the E and B chords creates that “floating” quality that matches the song’s sailing/spiritual theme
Verse structure: four bars of E (with sus4), two bars of B (with sus4), two bars back to E — a simple eight-bar phrase that repeats
The bridge: G# minor (the minor 3 chord) → A major (the 4 chord) → back to E — how one unexpected minor chord changes the entire feel
Why the bridge works: the minor 3 is the one chord you wouldn’t normally expect in a 1-4-5 song, and it adds that emotional weight
The “stabs” section — muted chord strikes with open strumming bars in between, creating dynamics and tension
How the entire song is built on eight-bar phrases — a common songwriting structure that’s worth internalizing
Colin’s capo version — capo at the 4th fret using C, G, F, and Em shapes. Same chords (E, A, B, G#m), completely different feel. A great example of how transposition and open string voicings can transform a song you already know
Transposition in action — how C, F, G, and Em become E, A, B, and G#m when you capo up four frets, and why understanding this lets you find your own favorite voicings for any song
Key takeaway: You don’t need a lot of chords to write a great song. Van Morrison builds “Into the Mystic” on just four chords (E, B, A, G# minor), but the suspended fourths, the eight-bar phrasing, and that one surprise minor chord give it all the emotional depth it needs. Sometimes less really is more — and if you find a version that resonates with you, make it your own.
Recommended listening:
“Into the Mystic” (original studio recording)
Colin James’ version of “Into the Mystic” (with mandolin)
You don’t have to be a Springsteen fan to get something massive out of this lesson. “Prove It All Night” (the live-in-New-York 2000 version) is a masterclass in chord arrangement — how the order and timing of simple chords creates something that feels way more sophisticated than it looks on paper. We’ll break it down piece by piece.
What we’ll cover:
Why chord arrangement matters more than chord complexity — Springsteen’s genius is in how he orders and times familiar chords
The key of A major: your 1-4-5 (A, D, E) plus the relative minor (F# minor) — and why all six chords in the key show up in this song
Relative major/minor relationships — how B minor pairs with D major, A major pairs with F# minor, and E major pairs with C# minor, and how Springsteen weaves these pairs throughout the song
The intro: B minor → D major (minor to its relative major), then flipping to A major → F# minor (major to its relative minor)
The 4-5-6 progression (D → E → F# minor) — one of the most common progressions in music, hidden inside the chorus with unusual timing
The dotted eighth strum pattern — that “long-short” feel that gives the song its drive
Half-bar chord changes in the chorus — how to handle changes that land on the “ah” (the upbeat) instead of on the beat
The E chord as a “push” back to the tonic — a trick you can use in your own songwriting
How to count and feel the tricky timing in the chorus (bars 3 and 4 especially)
Key takeaway: Great songwriting isn’t about knowing more chords — it’s about placing the chords you already know in unexpected but musical ways. Springsteen uses just six chords from one key, but the way he arranges the relative major/minor pairs and plays with timing creates something that sounds complex and emotionally powerful. This is a lesson in thinking like a songwriter.
John Fogerty was CCR — and he wrote some of the greatest rock and roll riffs of all time. In this lesson, we’ll dig into the tools Fogerty used to create those iconic hooks, and how a few simple ideas can carry an entire song.
What we’ll cover:
The open E pentatonic minor scale — Fogerty’s home base for countless riffs (“Green River,” “Susie Q,” “Run Through the Jungle,” “Old Man Down the Road”)
How this scale connects to the A pentatonic minor you already know — just moved to the 12th fret, then played open
The B-to-D minor third interval — a two-note combination that shows up in thousands of famous riffs, and Fogerty used it constantly
The flatted fifth (the “devil’s note”) — how that one chromatic passing tone between the 4 and 5 gives your riffs a darker, bluesier edge
Fogerty’s signature triads — sizing down a full root-6 bar chord to just the top three strings, and how that voicing drives songs like “Bad Moon Rising” and “Up Around the Bend”
Major vs. minor triads and how to move between them by shifting one note
Combining triads with open bass strings (open D and open A) for that big, full Fogerty sound
Ascending vs. descending fingerings — why your finger choices change depending on direction, and how to keep it smooth
Key takeaway: Fogerty proves you don’t need complicated technique to write unforgettable guitar parts. A great scale, one killer interval, and a simple triad voicing — played with energy and conviction — is all it takes.
Recommended listening:
“Green River,” “Susie Q,” “Run Through the Jungle” (open E pentatonic riff masterclass)
“Bad Moon Rising,” “Up Around the Bend” (triad-driven hooks)
Blue Moon Swamp album (Fogerty’s solo work — country-flavored rock)
“Centerfield,” “Rock and Roll Girls,” “Old Man Down the Road”
If you haven’t seen Buddy Guy live, consider this your homework assignment. He’s one of the greatest blues guitarists still carrying the torch from the old school — and he influenced everyone from Hendrix to Clapton to SRV. In this lesson, we’ll dig into what makes Buddy Guy’s style so distinctive and how to start working his ideas into your own playing.
What we’ll cover:
Buddy Guy’s place in blues history — why Hendrix, Clapton, and SRV all cited him as a major influence
The signature octave riff: 1-8-7-5 — a universal blues pattern straight out of the pentatonic minor scale
How Buddy uses rhythm riffs as chord substitutions — replacing standard chord changes with movable scale-based patterns
Building a full 12-bar blues using this riff approach in the key of G
The 1-4-5 system: how to transpose the riff to follow chord changes (G → C → D)
Playing the riff off the 6th string vs. the 5th string — and how to move it to any key on the fretboard
Shuffle vs. straight feel — how the same riff changes character depending on your rhythmic approach
Adding fill riffs between the rhythm patterns to make the 12-bar come alive
Key takeaway: Buddy Guy’s style is built on simplicity and energy. One great riff, moved intelligently through a 12-bar progression, can sound like a full arrangement. We’ll work on making the pentatonic scale do double duty — as both your rhythm and your lead vocabulary.
Recommended listening:
“Let Me Love You Baby” (the foundation for this lesson)
“Ain’t No Sunshine” (Buddy Guy’s blues version)
“Feels Like Rain” (with Bonnie Raitt on slide — a John Hiatt song)
Buddy Guy with the Saturday Night Live band (live, no rehearsal)
BB King could say more with three notes than most players say in a full solo. In this lesson, we’ll explore how BB approached the guitar as an extension of his voice — and how that mindset changes everything about the way you solo.
What we’ll cover:
BB’s “call and response” philosophy — treating the guitar like a second voice answering the singer
Why BB almost never played chords live, and what that tells us about his approach
The signature BB King string bend — how to get it smooth, up to pitch, and with that unmistakable vibrato
Five BB King-influenced riffs, all based in B minor (a nod to “The Thrill Is Gone”)
How to use the pentatonic minor scale and the three-position climb to build BB-style phrases
Playing in the upper register — why BB stayed high on the neck and how that kept his lines clear of the rhythm section
Combining riffs into a full solo: mixing lower and upper register phrases for variety
Why you don’t need to play fast — BB proves that feel, note choice, and dynamics matter more than speed
Key takeaway: BB King’s genius was in restraint. We’ll work on choosing notes that matter, bending with intention, and leaving space — because what you don’t play is just as important as what you do.
Stevie Ray Vaughan single-handedly brought the blues back into fashion. When he first arrived on the scene, purists rejected him — he played too loud, too aggressive, too many notes. But the truth is, he was one of the greatest blues guitar players who ever lived, and his influence on modern blues and rock is hard to overstate.
In this spotlight, we’ll dig into what made Stevie’s sound so distinctive — starting with the gear, and then getting into the scales, techniques, and signature licks that defined his playing.
What You’ll Learn:
Why SRV sounded like SRV — it wasn’t just talent, it was a very deliberate combination of guitar setup, string choice, tuning, and amp settings that all worked together
The left-handed neck trick — Stevie played a right-handed body with a left-handed neck, which flips the string spacing at the nut and changes how the guitar feels and responds. We’ll look at why this matters and how it affects tone
The whammy bar technique — SRV mounted a left-handed tremolo bar on a right-handed guitar so it would fall away from his picking hand. He’d catch it with his forearm and lean into it while still picking — a signature move
String gauge and tuning — Stevie used heavy strings (13s) tuned down to Eb, which gave him that thick, chewy tone but required serious hand strength. We’ll break down how string gauge affects your sound and feel
Amp and tone choices — the role of tube amps, how Stevie pushed them into overdrive, and why his tone was inseparable from his technique
How gear serves the music — understand why the legends made their gear choices, then figure out what works for you. Don’t copy the rig — understand the thinking behind it
The A pentatonic minor scale — the foundation of SRV’s soloing. One position, one scale, endless possibilities
The pentatonic climb — the three-position scale that covers most of what Stevie played in his solos. Combined with the one-position scale, these two patterns are the backbone of his lead work
Chromatic passing notes — the secret sauce. Stevie loved the chromatic between the 4th and 5th (the flatted fifth / blues note) and between the 7th and 8th (the raised seventh). These add color and tension that separate blues from just playing the scale
The raised six double stop — a two-string bend on the 2nd and 3rd strings that Stevie, BB King, and Chuck Berry all used. Pull down, not up — and grab the neck like a baseball bat to get the leverage
Moving scales across the fretboard — Stevie didn’t just play in one position. We’ll move the same patterns through A, G, and open E, showing how the same riffs take on different character in different keys
Riffs from Texas Flood, Cold Shot, and more — real examples of how Stevie combined all of the above into the licks that made him famous
Key Takeaway: SRV’s playing comes down to two scales (pentatonic minor and the climb), two chromatic passing notes (flatted fifth and raised seventh), and the raised six double stop. That’s a surprisingly small toolkit — but he knew it cold in every key, every position. Master those fundamentals and you’ve got the building blocks for everything Stevie did.
Use this as a reference while you practice. Everything below maps directly to what Colin covers in the video above.
Tuning & Setup
This lesson is in Eb standard tuning (Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Bb, Eb) — a half step down from standard, same as Stevie. Colin uses 11-gauge strings (Stevie used 13s). All fret numbers below use standard position names — the shapes are the same whether you’re in standard or Eb.
Scale 1: A Minor Pentatonic — Position 1
The foundation. The standard box shape at the 5th fret.
Fingering: 1st finger on the 5th fret, 4th finger (pinky) on the 8th fret. Colin notes Stevie used his 1st and 3rd fingers — but Stevie had enormous hands. For most players, 1st and 4th is more practical.
Scale 2: The Three-Position Climb
Colin calls this “one of the biggest solo scales.” It extends the pentatonic up the neck through three connected positions — and covers a huge amount of what SRV played.
Important: The climb starts on G (3rd fret, low E), but the tonic is still A — the second note. The pattern begins on the 7th degree. Just know your root is A.
Start from G on the 6th string and flow straight up through all three positions without backtracking. This is where SRV lived — connecting positions fluidly so there are no dead ends on the fretboard.
Chromatic Passing Notes
These don’t belong to the pentatonic scale, but they connect scale tones in a way that sounds unmistakably blues. Colin highlights two that Stevie used constantly:
4 to 5: The Flatted Fifth
Between the 4th (D) and 5th (E), add the note in between — D#/Eb. The classic blue note.
5th string: fret 5 (D) → fret 6 (D#) → fret 7 (E). Pick it, hammer it, slide through it.
b7 to Octave: The Raised 7th
Between the b7 (G) and the octave (A), add G#. Colin relates this to harmonic minor.
4th string: fret 5 (G) → fret 6 (G#) → fret 7 (A). Combined with the flatted fifth, these two chromatic notes open up most of the SRV sound.
The Raised 6th Double-Stop
A signature SRV move — a two-string bend that creates tension and release.
Position (in A):
1st finger: 3rd string, 5th fret (C)
3rd finger: bar across 2nd and 3rd strings at the 7th fret (D and F#)
Technique: Pick the double-stop, then pull DOWN — grab the neck like a baseball bat and pull the strings toward the floor. Bend the D up one whole tone toward E, focusing on pitch accuracy. Release and let the notes slide back while still ringing, then continue into your scale run.
Don’t push up. Don’t use your square “jazz” hand. Wrap your thumb over the top of the neck for leverage.
Moving It Around: E and G
Everything above works in any key — just move the shapes.
E Minor Pentatonic — Open Position
Where Stevie did a lot of his work. The open strings give the scale a completely different personality.
Fingering: Colin uses his 3rd finger where you’d expect the pinky (e.g., 3rd fret on the 6th string) — this keeps him in position for chromatic passing notes without shifting.
Chromatic passing notes in E: 4→5 on the 5th string (open A → fret 1 → fret 2). b7→octave on the 4th string (open D → fret 1 → fret 2).
G Minor Pentatonic — 3rd Fret
Colin uses this for the Texas Flood examples.
The SRV Toolkit — Summary
Two scales: The one-position pentatonic and the three-position climb
Two chromatic passing notes: 4→5 (flatted fifth) and b7→octave (raised 7th)
One double-stop technique: The raised 6th with a pull-down bend
Move it around: Same shapes in A, E, G — wherever the song takes you
As Colin puts it: “We’ll never nail it, but we sure can appreciate what our brother Stevie left behind for us.”
To wrap things up, we’ll dive into five essential single-note riffs you can use to build solos, fill space, or add expression. These patterns are totally movable and help develop your touch, timing, and right-hand control — all while sounding awesome over a blues progression.
Here we’ll introduce harmonic diads — two-note shapes you can slide into for a punchier, chord-like sound without needing full barres. You’ll learn a few go-to shapes that work as riffs or chord substitutions, and we’ll talk about how to use them creatively across the fretboard.
In this lesson, we’ll look at ways to outline chords with single-note arpeggios — a melodic approach that makes your slide playing sound more intentional and musical. You’ll also learn to blend in quick single-note fills between chords for added flavor.
In this board lesson, we’ll break down two commonly used slide guitar colors: the flatted third (♭3) and the flatted sixth (♭6). These are great optional changes to spice up your 12-bar progressions beyond just the I–IV–V chords.
We’ll walk through how each note fits into the D major scale, explain what makes them “flatted,” and show you where to find them on the fretboard using your slide. These theory-based moves come up all the time in blues and give you a more emotional, expressive sound with minimal effort.
In this lesson, we’ll dive deeper into color tones you can use to spice up your 12-bar progressions — specifically the flatted third (♭3) and flatted sixth (♭6).
We’ll start by exploring how the ♭3 can be used as a minor substitution in place of standard major chords. You’ll see how to apply it off each chord in a progression (D, G, and A), and learn a few common spots where it adds the most emotional punch.
Then, we’ll shift to the ♭6 substitution — a powerful way to create more sophisticated blues turnarounds, including a couple of 16-bar progression variations. You’ll hear and feel how this sound shows up in real songs, and walk away with practical options to break out of repetitive phrasing and keep things sounding fresh.
Let’s take a moment to zoom out and look at the 12-bar structure itself. We’ll break it down visually and explain how the chords fit together in any key. You’ll also learn about common variations used by players like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Chuck Berry — great tricks to have up your sleeve.
In this lesson, we’ll take the 12-bar form into the key of A — a great key for combining slide and fretted chords. You’ll learn how to use the open D (IV chord) and open E (V chord) in this context, and we’ll walk through some chromatic passing licks you can use to end or transition between progressions.
We’ll shift to the key of G and apply the same 12-bar principles in a slightly different layout. You’ll see how to adapt your voicings and slide moves across the neck, explore different fretboard positions for the G–C–D chords, and start blending rhythm and slide playing together. These concepts let you back up a jam or create a call-and-response feel.
Here, we’ll break down the classic 12-bar progression in the key of D — the most natural fit for our tuning. You’ll learn the structure step by step, how to move between the I–IV–V chords, and how to build your groove with feel. We’ll also cover a common closing riff you can use to finish or loop your progressions smoothly.
In this lesson, we’ll explore how to spice up your chords using two powerful notes: the major 6th and the minor 7th. You’ll see how to add these to your slide riffs and chord shapes in open tuning, and we’ll look at the practical fingerings that make them easy to access — even when you’re using a slide.
In this lesson, we’ll build on your open tuning foundation by learning how to play classic shuffle and boogie-woogie patterns using the 1–5–6 and flat 7 intervals. We’ll explore how the tuning itself gives you built-in power chord shapes across the neck, and how to add motion using major sixths and flattened sevenths — staples of the blues sound. You’ll also learn picking variations (downstrokes vs. down-up), how to mute for control and groove, and how to apply these riffs in different keys. Slide optional — groove essential.
Here we’ll explore what makes open tunings work so well for slide guitar. Using Open D as the main example, we’ll break down where the notes come from and how to modify your standard tuning to get there. We’ll also take a quick look at Open E tuning and see how it’s just a whole step up from Open D. If tuning has ever seemed mysterious, this lesson will show you how it’s all rooted in chord structure.
