Easy Country Guitar Lessons - 'Memphis Scale' - Part 1

An easy country guitar lesson on some cool use of doublestops in what I always call the 'Memphis Scale' (as that is how it was described to me in a music book when I first came across it.)

Simple licks designed to give you the building blocks to try to come up with your own ideas.

Like all of my lessons, it is aimed at a fairly competent beginner difficulty wise.

Other lessons available - just get in touch and ask.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• easy
• country
• guitar
• lesson
• lessons
• lead
• double
• stops
• doublestops
• thrids
• memphis
• scale

[DensGuitarLessons]

Wow, thanks for the nicest comment on these vids yet. That is exactly why I do these videos tho.

I've had loads of 'a-ha' moments myself over the last 14 years, but often through buying guitar magazines or by working it out by (in those days) pausing the tape, rewinding it, playing that bit again, rewinding it, playing it etc etc etc I met a lot of musicians but few ever stopped to show me anything and so I'm sharing my stuff on here.

More 'a-ha' moments to come I hope ;-)

[DensGuitarLessons]

You're absolutely right of course, these are technically 6ths if you start from the lower-sounding note, however I prefer to put them across as thirds (the harmonies are a third below the note on the e string).

The reason I do this is simple, when people focus on the note on the e string rather than the note on the G string, in my experience, it helps people remember what they're playing and helps them move the shapes to new keys.

Thanks for watching though.

[DensGuitarLessons]

Some thoughts: "muddies your ability to recognize sounds" - the whole point of this channel is to help beginners pick up easy stuff quickly. If ppl want to start analysing and memorising sounds of intervals they can do that a lot farther down the line.

No idea where the term 'Memphis scale' started but a music book I got from a charity shop when I was 19 called it that and I liked the name.

I've seen this kind of debate when people call it 6ths, so maybe it's best to say 'Memphis Scale'.

[DensGuitarLessons]

It's a Shine guitar - a little known Chinese company that apparently make bodies for Les Pauls. Its actully shi-an or something in Chinese. I don't particularly worry bout those kind of things - I tried it out, it felt right, it was affordable at the time, so got it.

[testdrivin]

now thats a guitar! hollowbody am i right?

[perseusbeatkraken]

It doesn't scream country but it is very cash sounding early country ish! I guess??

[geobruf123]

never thought to reverse the 3rds! learnt something new in 5 secs. thanks!

[KabukiGallery]

reminds me of chet atkins!!! GREAT JOB

[lacuevadelvampiro]

re-quinto

[thingblue12]

wow dam nice guitar man

[levijones79]

remindin me of some hank garland

[RingsOfNeptune]

That sounds 100% country, man!

[myownschadenfreude]

I want to wrap myself in that tone like a blanket on a cold winter morning.

[tomthefunky]

I've never heard Americans refer to what you're doing as the "Memphis Scale". It seems only people from the U.K. and Europe call it that. Steve Cropper is from Memphis and he's famous for that technique, but he never once called it the Memphis scale. We in the States call it "sliding sixths".