John Knowles ‘Lenny Breau’ Guitar Tip

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Jazz guitarist John Knowles shares something he learned from hanging out with Lenny Breau.

John Knowles: I remember him saying, “Man, it’s like a game I play. It’s a challenge I give myself.” Here’s how it works. I choose a key… C, and a chord progression… C, Am7, Dm7, G7… the Blue Moon progression… 1, 6, 2, 5. Then I play a C scale going up.

Now I’m going to play that progression and for each chord, I’m going to put one note from the scale on top of the chord. When I play the C chord… I’m going to put a C note on top. When I play Am7… I’m going to put a D on top. When I play Dm7… I’m going to put an E on top. When I play G7… I’m going to put an F on top. And when I play the next C chord… I’m going to put a G on top.

I could go back and name those chords… but the big idea is that you’ll need to re-voice some of the chords to keep the scale moving with the chord progression. Now buckle up… because it gets crazy. You change keys… you change progressions… you change the scale… you start on a different note in the scale. Each day… a new challenge.

For more John Knowles lessons and tips.

And check out Jazz Guitar Today’s interview with John Knowles.