Here’s a typical message to give you an idea: “If dedicated
enough, is it a possibility to become a really impressive guitar
player within a year? I’ve known someone who has had their guitar
for 20 years and they can barely play fluently, in your teaching
experience has anybody progressed beyond boundaries with a short
amount of time?”

That’s a good question, let’s break that question down into three
sections to answer it in detail.

(a) “Can I become an impressive guitar player within a year?” -
yes

(b) “Is it possible to play guitar for 20 years and still be
struggling?” – yes!

(c) “Has anyone made rapid progression in a short amount of
time?” – yes

The trick with learning guitar fast is not about how dedicated or
determined you are it’s about …

* the quality of the material you are practicing

* it’s relevance to the music YOU want to play

* everything you practice must have direct application to your
music – the material you practice should motivate and inspire
you!

Never practice stuff just because someone told you to practice
it!

Everything you practice should sound like music not exercises.

Having said that, here are three ways to play country guitar
chords that sound great these tips will keep you motivated and
accelerate your learning.

Tip 1: Hammer-on’s – Static chords might be fun to play for the
guitarist but they sure are boring for the audience; when you add
some hammer-on’s to your basic chords they take on a whole new
level of interest for both the player and the audience.

Let’s take the standard: pick, strum, pick, strum style country
rhythm guitar pattern and turn it into a …

pick, strum, hammer-on, strum pattern.

I’ll use the “Em” chord for my example:

Em

-0-
-0-
-0-
-2-
-2-
-0-

Step (a) – play the sixth string open for your first bass note
played on beat one.

Step (b) – strum the first, second, third and fourth strings of
the “Em” chord

Step (c) – play the fifth string open and hammer-on at the second
fret (that will complete the standard “Em” chord shape.)

Step (d) – strum the first, second and third strings of the “Em”
chord.

Tip 2: Chord progressions – learning random chord shapes is like
learning random words it does not matter have many you know
(words or chords) it’s your ability to link them together to
create meaning fulfill communication that counts.

The best way to turn your chords into music is by learning how
chord progressions work, a great progression to begin with is the
“major to relative minor” chord progression.

Essentially, for every major chord there exists another chord
that represents the opposite mood or musical texture and that
chord is called the relative minor chord.

There’s two easy ways to find the relative minor chord for any
major chord:

(a) refer to the harmonized major scale and select chord ‘one’
for the major and chord ’six’ for the relative minor.

e.g.,

G harmonized major scale

G = [1]

Am = 2

Bm = 3

C = 4

D = 5

Em = [6]

F# dim = 7

G = 8

Therefore the relative minor chord for the “G” major chord is
“Em”.

Another way we could arrive at the exact same answer would be to
move back (down the neck, toward the head of the guitar) three
frets. The first note representing the major chord; in this
instance “G” third fret, string six, move back three frets to the
open sixth string “E” which would represent the relative minor
chord “Em”.

Tip 3: Bass runs – once you have created interesting chord
progressions and movement within the chord itself by using
hammer-on’s the next logical step would be to learn how to
connect your chords with interesting bass runs.

If we were to use the “G” to “Em” progression we just created a
strong bass note to connect the two chords would be an “F#” note.

Here’s how that works:

Using a G major scale as our reference scale.

G major scale = G-A-B-C-D-E-F#-G

Notice how when playing the G major scale in a descending manner
there is a potential bass note that exists between the G and the
E in our scale or chord progression and that note is F#;
therefore the F# note would be a logical choice as a strong
musical bass note.

Playing the F# bass note on the sixth string at the second fret
would be a great way to connect the G chord to the Em chord.

Tips on developing your own style

Every guitarist that you can think of who has a recognizable
style has a trademark (or small collection of them) that provide
his/her playing with a special, unique character.

Just as there are basic motor moves in tennis or typing, there
are basic moves in guitar playing. Once these are under control,
they become automatic, and combinations and variations of them
come with relative ease, providing the technical base for a wide
range of musical expression.

A fact that is not widely known is that there are only 19 basic
moves to playing the guitar. Even though this may still seem like
a large number of skills to acquire, keep in mind I am talking
about all styles of guitar playing, the average player needs to
know only about six moves.

How many of these basic moves you will need to learn will depend
entirely on what style(s) of music you wish to play and since we
are discussing country lead guitar in this article I will list
the most important guitar techniques to learn in order to be an
effective country lead guitarist.

Electric Country Guitar – 8 basic techniques to learn

* notes (single note playing)

* chords (three note back-up triads)

* slides

* bends

* hammer-on’s

* pull-off’s

* scales

* double stops

As you dig deeper into each of these techniques you will discover
more specific information that has to be learned e.g., the scales
section would require us to zero in on exactly the type of scales
we need to learn for country guitar which would be : the major
pentatonic, minor pentatonic, blues scale and major diatonic
scale, these would be the most important to learn.

The next trick is to learn these scales in all the common country
(guitar friendly) keys such as G, D, A and E.

By eliminating all the unnecessary information and really
focusing on only the techniques and skills you need to learn in
order to achieve your musical goals you accelerate your learning.

Remember the basic principles in the learning process.

1. Do it once, right. Then just repeat it, from 20 to 100 times.
It can take this long to imprint, but once you’ve got this motor-
programming complete, you’ve got it.

2. When you encounter a difficulty, isolate the smallest
possible amount of information to be mastered, and focus all of
your attention on this alone.

How how will it take? For the dedicated newbie player to learn
and feel comfortable playing country lead guitar it usually takes
between six to twelve months.

The interesting thing about music is that it doesn’t take too
long to learn what to put in a song but it takes the rest of your
life to learn what to leave out.

How long does it take to play acoustic country guitar? To answer
that question we have to decide which style of guitar playing we
want to focus on. Let’s start by looking at our options.

Acoustic country guitar styles

* Acoustic pick-strum style

* Flat pick style acoustic guitar

There’s a lot more to choose from however these are the main
groups; now we will dig a bit deeper to discover what techniques
we need to learn in each style and that will help us determine
the time frame it takes to learn.

Guitar techniques for acoustic country guitar

* Acoustic pick-strum style

The most important skill to learn with this style of guitar
playing is your ability to select the correct bass notes; here is
a list of the alternating bass notes you will need to know, I
recommend practicing these bass patterns until you know them ‘off
by heart’.

The first letter refers to the type of chord, the first number
refers to is the string location of your first bass note, the
second number is the location of your second bass note.

Example: A, Am, A7 = 5 /6 /

Refers to any ‘A’, ‘Am’ or ‘A7′ chord will have the first bass
note played on string five and the second bass note played on
string six.

A, Am, A7 = 5 / 6 /

B, Bm, B7 = 5 / 6 /

C, Cm, C7 = 5 / 6 /

D, Dm, D7 = 4 / 5 /

E, Em, E7 = 6 / 5 /

F, Fm, F7 = 4 / 5 /

G, Gm, G7 = 6 / 4 /

How long will it take to play acoustic pick-strum style country
guitar; I’d recommend about six months (from a newbie player)
because you will need to give yourself time to learn the basic
open position chord shapes and co-ordinate your bass notes; you
will also need to learn the standard ‘three chord’ song
progressions.

Guitar techniques for acoustic country guitar

* Flat pick style acoustic guitar

This style is similar to the pick-strum style playing however it
tends to be mostly strumming without the alternating bass.
Bluegrass guitar playing could easily fall into this category of
country guitar playing.

The type of chords used in this style are quite often different
from that the standard open string chords, many chord shapes omit
the third note of the chord, here’s some examples of major chords
without the third.

G (no 3rd)
-3—-
-3—-
-0—-
-0—-
-x—-
-3—-

C2 (no 3rd)
-3—-
-3—-
-0—-
-x—-
-3—-
-x—-

here’s another way to play …

G (no 3rd)

-x—-
-3—-
-0—-
-5—-
-5—-
-x—-

This style of playing usually will take about twelve months to
get under control as you will generally encounter faster tempos
and need to learn a few country scales such as the major
pentatonic scale.

Most guitarists study for long hours and practice hard but never
really achieve that elusive country guitar sound, there is much
more to that country guitar twang than Fender Telecasters and
Twin Reverb amps.

Instead of just sticking with the usual major and minor
pentatonic scales another really cool idea is to mix other scales
into your playing such as the blues scale and the chromatic scale
let’s take a look at how all this comes together to create mind
blowin’ country guitar solos.

I’m going to create an interesting country guitar twist to a
standard scale by:

(a) Playing the scale descending instead of ascending

(b) Using some blues notes

(c) Adding a note or two from the chromatic scale

(d) Sprinkling the run with some open strings

(e) Playing some of the notes as pull- off’s

My basic scale will be the G Mixo-Lydian Mode.

Musical resources:

G Mixo-Lydian mode = G – A – B – C – D – E – F – G

G Blues scale : G – Bb – C – Db – D – F – G

G Chromatic scale: G – G# – A – A# – B – C – C# – D – D# – E – F
- F# – G

Applying this information to the guitar and remembering to learn
the run in small sections, playing everything slowly and
accurately then gradually linking the sections together until all
the sections flow; then and only then do we begin to crank up the
tempo.

Section 1: G – Gb (F#) – F – E

———————0–
–8-p-7-p-6———
————————–
————————–
————————–
————————–

Section 2: D – C – B

——————-
—————0—
–7-p-5———
——————-
——————-
——————-

Practice these two sections carefully aiming for perfect
synchronization of both hands before moving on to the third
section.

Section 3: Bb – A – G

——————-
——————-
————–0—
–8-p-7———
——————-
——————-

By the time you add this section to the other two sections your
run will sound complete; you could finish on the note ‘G’ however
I’m going to keep going to give you an idea how you might develop
this basic scale into a very impressive run.

Section 4: Gb (F#) – F – E – D

————————-
————————-
————————-
——————-0—
–9-p-8-p-7———
————————-

Section 5: C – B – Bb – A

————————-
————————-
————————-
————————-
———————0–
–8-p-7-p-6——–

Section 6: G

———
———
———
———
———
–3—–

The next project is to try and incorporate this run into your
solos, here are a couple of ideas for you to try:

Play this run over a pre-recorded chord progression something
like this will sound great.

| G /// | G /// | F2 /// | F ///  |

suggested chord voicings

G
–x——
–3——
–0——
–5——
–5——
–x——

F2
–x——-
–1——-
–0——-
–3——-
–3——-
–x——-

Another idea is to play the entire run as presented above only
instead of finishing on the ‘G’ note in section six play the ‘G’
on the third fret; sixth string then slowly slide up the sixth
string to finish on the octave ‘G’ note on the sixth string;
fifteenth fret.

optional ending for Section 6:

—————-
—————-
—————-
—————-
—————-
–3–s–15—

This idea is great for an ending; by sliding from the third fret
‘G’ to the fifteenth fret ‘G’ you will actually be playing a ‘G’
chromatic scale! What a neat way to finish a song; as you can
see there are many ways to use these cool country sounds on
guitar.

I know it’s happened to me, and when it did I came up with all
sorts of reasons why they could do that and I couldn’t! They must
(a) have a different tuning, (b) have more strings on they
guitar; (c) must be using some type of effect pedal etc., and so
the list went on and on; of course the truth was I didn’t have
the faintest idea how they were doing it!

The good news is … I’ve now worked how it’s done and I’m going
to share it with you.

The trick with country guitar playing is to incorporate lots of
open strings, hammer-on’s and pull-off’s which create the
illusion on extra notes being played; another thing that helps
create interest and excitement in country guitar solos is the use
of the blues scale and the chromatic scale.

By playing solos with heaps of open strings you create the effect
of musical ’space’ between the notes which has the effect on the
listener as if you are actually playing more notes than you
really are playing.

Here’s is a sample of the type of long ascending country run I’ve
been talking about using open strings, hammer-on’s and  pull-
off’s plus some notes from the blues scale and chromatic scale
laced into the run for good measure.

I’ve presented the run in sections containing three to four notes
since that’s the way the best guitarists learn all their music;
learn each section by playing slowly and carefully making certain
you are playing each notes cleanly and accurately.

Remember: speed comes as a by-product of accuracy.

Section 1: Notes = G – A – Bb – B

———————-
———————-
———————-
———————-
—–0-h-1-h-2—
–3—————–

Section 2: Notes = D – E – F

———————-
———————-
———————-
–0-h-2-h-3——
———————-
———————-

Section 3: Notes = G – A – Bb – B

————————
—————–0—–
–0-h-2-h3———
————————
———————–
———————–

Section 4: Notes = C – D – E

————-0—-
——————
–5-h-7——-
——————
——————
——————

Section 5: Notes = F – F# – G

——————-
–6-h-7-h-8—
——————-
——————-
——————-
——————-

The musical resources for this run are:

G Mixo-Lydian: G – A – B – C – D – E – F – G

G Blues: G – Bb – C – Db – D – F – G

G Chromatic scale: G – G# – A – A# – B – C – C# – D – D# – E – F
- F# – G

This country run was based on the G Mixo-Lydian mode, see if you
can find were I added the other scales.

There you have it, of course you can add echo, chorus and reverb
to enhance and color your solos but these electronic effects can
only enhance your musical content they can never replace your own
individual creativity on guitar.

Classical composers have often written melodies derived for one
scale with an accompaniment derived from another type of scale.

For example:

(a) The melody may be composed from notes of the “A” natural
minor scale: A – B – C – D – E – F – G – A

(b) The accompaniment or counter melody may be derived from the
“A” Harmonic minor scale A – B – C – D – E – F – G# – A

Notice how there is only one note difference between the two
scales; however that one note gives the composer several new
harmonies to work with; the result being lots of musical
surprises and interesting textures for the listener.

Now over to country guitar and hybrid scales: two scales that are
always good to use are the blues scale and the chromatic scale,
you can mix these two into almost any musical setting and today
I’m going to blend the blues scale with the Mixo-Lydian Mode for
a great country blues feel.

Step one – the thinking behind my scale choices

(a) I’m after a blues feel so I’m going to go with the mode that
produces the best blues flavor, the Mixo-Lydian mode, this mode
produces a ‘pure’ sound that works well with dominant seventh
type chords, the type of chords typically found in blues chord
progressions.

You might be surprised to find that I did not go with the obvious
choice the blues scale, the reason is I want to blend the blues
scale with the Mixo-Lydian mode to create a musical contrast
between the two scales.

Important: Too much of anything will spoil the effect; in this
instance if I began with the blues scale I won’t have nowhere to
go and the solo will soon become boring, however if I go with the
Mixo-Lydian mode I can I introduce the blues scale and when I do
it will sound even more ‘bluesy’!

My example will use the G Mixo-Lydian mode.

G Mixo-Lydian : G – A – B – C – D – E – F – G

And the G Blues scale …

By contrast the G blues scale contains the following notes:

G Blues scale: G – Bb – C – Db – D – F – G

Step two: applying to the guitar fretboard

The guitar is such a versatile instrument with multiple choices
of fingering and string combination’s there are many ways we could
play these scales but since I’m after a country guitar sound I’ll
be looking for three things: open strings where possible and
hammer-on’s and pull-off’s.

I’m going to break up this hybrid scale into small bite size
pieces that will give us a chance to perfect each section before
moving on to the next.

Part 1: The notes are – G – A – Bb – B

————————
————————
————————
————————
——-0-h-1-h-2—
–3——————–

Part 2: The notes are – D – E – F – G

———————-
———————-
——————-0—
–0-h-2-h-3——–
———————-
———————-

After you can play each part smoothly try joining both parts
together and instantly you will have a great country sounding
run. Keep playing the entire run over and over very s-l-o-w-l-y
until you can play seamlessly without thinking about. Now, it’s
back to slaving over that hot country guitar!

Modes … it’s all Greek to me (pun intended), actually if you
take your time and let yourself get your head (as well as your
fingers) around the basic concepts of modes and their application
they are quite guitar friendly and certainly lots of fun.

Modes – a quick overview (for those who already know this stuff
please talk amongst yourselves.)

The ancient Greeks had this neat idea that a scale could be
subdivided (played) from any point within that scale to create a
number of sub-scales all related to the original scale but each
having it’s own unique underlying structure of tones and
semitones thereby giving each sub-scale (mode) a unique sound,
flavor and mood.

Here’s what I mean …

C major scale (parent scale)

C – D – E – F – G – A – B – C

Playing this scale from the first degree of the parent scale is
called the Ionian mode; in this instance the ‘C’ Ionian mode.

‘C’ Ionian mode = C – D – E – F – G – A – B – C

If I began on the second note of our parent scale (the note ‘D’)
and continued alphabetically until I reached the letter ‘D’ again
I would be playing the ‘D’ Dorian mode.

The Greeks called this scale beginning on the second degree the
Dorian mode.

Parent scale beginning on the second note ‘D’ indicated as []

C – [D] – [E] – [F] – [G] – [A] – [B] – [C] – [D]

Creates the D” Dorian mode

‘D’ Dorian mode = D – E – F – G – A – B – C – D

Basically the idea is that each sub-scale (mode) has it’s own
name, like this:

Scale from 1 – 1 is the Ionian mode;

2 – 2 = Dorian

3 – 3 = Phrygian

4 – 4 = Lydian

5 – 5 = Mixo-Lydian

6 – 6 = Aeolian

7 – 7 = Locrian

In each of these examples 2 – 2 refers to playing the original
parent scale from the second note and continuing alphabetically
until we arrive at a note of the scale name.

3 – 3 would refer to playing

E – F – G – A – B – C – D – E (‘E’ Phrygian)

4 – 4 would refer to playing

F – G – A – B – C – D – E – F (‘F’ Lydian)

Now let’s transfer our modes to the guitar fretboard for some
interesting country pickin’.

I’m going to use the ‘A’ Aeolian mode to create a cool run that
I’ll use in a country chord progression (see below).

Aeolian mode means start on the sixth note of the original parent
scale.

‘A’ Aeolian mode = A – B – C – D – E – F – G – A

I’m going to play the notes of the mode in this order to create a
melody:

A – B – C – B – A – G – F – E – D – C – B – G (Am chord)

Here’s one way you could play this melody on your guitar using
hammer-on’s; pull-off’s and open strings to give it a country
guitar ‘feel’.

step 1:

–5-h-7-h-8-p-7-p5——-
——————————-
——————————-
——————————-
——————————-
——————————-

A – B – C – B – A

step 2:
————0————
–8-p-6—————–
————————-
————————-
————————-
————————-

G – F – E

step 3:
————————–
———-  -0————-
–7-p-5——  -0——–
—————————
—————————
—————————

D – C – B – G

Notice how I broke this long run into tiny sections, the idea is
to learn in groups of four to six notes sections. (six note
maximum).

After you have practiced your run try this chord progression
derived from the Aeolian mode, I think you will like it!

Am /// | G /// | Am /// | G /// |

I played some of the notes ascending then played the scale
descending to create a simple (Aeolian) melody; try making your
own melodies using this scale on your guitar.

Obviously the application of the Mixo-Lydian mode is different
in country guitar playing than the blues guitarist’s approach
however the notes in the scale are still the same so that’s
exactly where we will start.

The Mixo-Lydian mode is a scale created by beginning on the fifth
note of a major diatonic scale, here is how that works.

C major scale:

C – D – E – F – G – A – B – C

If I began on the fifth note “G” and continued to play
alphabetically until I reached the letter “G” again I will have
played the “G” Mixo-Lydian mode.

To demonstrate I’ll use a two octave C major scale

C – D – E – F – G – A – B – C – D – E – F – G – A – B – C

Begin on the note “G” to create the “G” Mixo-Lydian mode
indicated by []

C – D – E – F – [G] – [A] – [B] – [C] – [D] – [E] – [F] – [G] – A

When you play these notes the scale will neither sound country or
bluesy it will just sound like a scale; it’s a combination of the
type of chord progression that is being played in the background
and the unique stylistic moves the individual country or blues
guitarist employs i.e., hammer-on’s; pull off; bends and slides
etc., that gives the mode a ‘country’ or ‘blues’ flavor.

Moving the Mixo-Lydian mode over to the guitar fretboard.

Here’s one way you could play the mode.

standard version
——————————–
——————————–
——————————–
———————-2–3–5–
———-2–3–5————–
–3–5————————-

Next we’ll add some hammer-on’s and open strings for our country
guitar version of the same Mixo-Lydian mode.

country version
——————————————–
——————————————–
————————————–0—-
———————–0-h-2-h3———-
——-0-h-2-h-3————————-
–3—————————————–

This country version of the Mixo-Lydian will sound great with a
country chord progression like this:

G /// | G /// | F2 /// | F2 /// |

G
–x—
–3—
–0—
–5—
–5—
–x—

F2
–x—
–1—
–0—
–3—
–3—
–x—

I’m going to extend the range of our mode another octave.

standard version
—————————–
———————-5–6–
———-4–5–7———-
–5—7——————–
—————————-
—————————-

country version
—————————0————-
————0——————-6-h-8–
–0-h-2——–5-h-7——————
——————————————
——————————————
——————————————

Try playing both country versions of the mode as one long run;
notice how the last note in the first scale is exactly the same
as the first note in the second octave, that’s fine you can play
the same note twice and it will sound great.

country version (first octave)
——————————————–
——————————————–
—————————————0—-
————————0-h-2-h3———-
——-0-h-2-h-3————————–
–3—————————————–

country version (second octave)
——————————0————-
————-0———————6-h-8–
–0-h-2———-5-h-7——————-
———————————————
———————————————
———————————————

Don’t forget to pre-record some chords to have playing in the
background as you experiment with this cool country scale on your
guitar.

Good question, as a matter of fact you have probably played these
scales or sounds in songs you already know, you will certainly
recognize them when you hear them!

Like everything we learn in music we will want to apply these
scales to our songs as soon as possible so let’s get started.

Modes are really a way of describing or identifying sounds or
moods created by starting traditional scales from different
points (notes) within the traditional scale.

By beginning a scale from a different starting note we alter the
underlying tone/semitone structure of the original scale thereby
creating different types of musical tension.

Country Guitar Scales – the Phrygian Mode

Step 1: Learn the notes in the standard G major scale

G – A – B – C – D – E – F# – G

Using the modal system of identifying sounds it is possible to
create seven different scales (or modes) from this G scale with
each sub-scale having it’s own unique modal name.

Step 2: Learn the names of the modes in C major

G Ionian: G – A – B – C – D – E – F# – G

A Dorian: A – B – C – D – E – F# – G – A

B Phrygian: B – C – D – E – F# – G – A – B

C Lydian: C – D – E – F# – G – A – B – C

D Mixo – Lydian: D – E – F# – G – A – B – C – D

E Aeolian: E – F# – G – A – B – C – D – E

F# Locrian: F# – G – A – B – C – D – E – F#

Points of interest:

(a) All the modes contain the same seven different notes of the
original G major scale.

(b) the G major scale can also be called the G Ionian mode.

(c) each modal name is used to identify a specific point in the
scale e.g., Ionian means begin on note one of the scale; Dorian
begins on note two; Phrygian starts on note three; Lydian begins
on note four of the scale and so on.

Step 3: Select the B Phrygian mode

B Phrygian: B – C – D – E – F# – G – A – B

Here is one way the B Phrygian mode could be played on guitar.

B Phrygian mode
————————
————————
————————
————2–4–5—
-2–3–5————–
————————

That’s the correct notes but it sure doesn’t sound country so we
will have to take it a step further and include some open strings
and hammer-on’s to really get the guitar to come alive.

Step 4: modify scale to get that country guitar sound

B Phrygian: B – C – D – E – F# – G – A – B

——————————————–
—————————————–0–
—————————-0—————
————0———————7——–
—————-7-h-9———————-
–7-h-8————————————

Compare the country version of this scale with the standard way
of playing the mode on the guitar, notice how the country version
has a great ringing quality created by the use of hammer-on’s and
opens strings.

Step 5: Apply this mode to a chord or chord progression

You could use this mode as a cool run to introduce or connect any
chord(s) in the key of G.

Here’s is some ideas to get you started:

B Phrygian mode => Em /// |

or

B Phrygian mode => G /// |

one more example …

B Phrygian mode => C /// |

These are just a few of the many possibilities that begin to come
to mind when you start thinking and playing your scales
creatively on the guitar.

I can’t fault your choice of guitar and amp and the idea of some
chicken pickin’ sounds fine to me, I’d say the problem started
with that country guitar book!

To be honest it doesn’t seem to matter whether it’s a country
guitar book or a rock guitar book most of the information in
either book is pretty much the same but as you know there’s a
whole world of difference in the music.

O.K. it’s time to roll up your selves and sharpen your picks …
let’s get to work on the ‘REAL’ country guitar playing.

Basically most of the information or thinking behind the stock
standard published guitar books available at most music stores
are drawn for the classical guitar text; which means no matter
how much you practice this stuff you ain’t going to sound
country; why? because fundamentally most of the scales in these
books use closed strings, certainly most rock guitar playing
involves playing scales where the notes are closed but for
country guitar you need plenty of open strings.

Country Guitar scales with open strings.

Let’s do a comparison between traditional scale thinking and the
country guitar players’ approach to the exact same material.

Here’s a descending G Mixo-lydian mode the way it might be
presented in your “How To Play Guitar” book.

G Mixo -Lydian mode (descending)

G – F – E – D – C – B – A – G

—————————
-8–6–5——————-
———-7–5–3———-
——————-7–5—-
—————————
—————————

There you have it ‘dull as dishwater’ and it certainly ain’t
country!

Here’s one way a country guitarist might play the exact same
scale.

———-0———————–
-8-p-6————-0————-
————7-p-5———–0—-
————————–7——–
———————————–
———————————–

What do you think? I sure you’ll agree it’s more colorful and
interesting with the inclusion of some pull-off’s and open
strings it certainly has more of a country flavor.

Oh, by the way this descending G Mixo-Lydian mode makes a great
introduction for the key of C; simply strum a G7 chord, play the
descending G Mixo-Lydian mode and into your song in the key of C.

How about another comparison, this time a G major scale

G major scale (descending)

G – F# – E – D – C – B – A – G

—————————
-8–7–5——————-
———-7–5–3———-
——————-7–5—-
—————————
—————————

Notice how we only had to change one note to convert the G Mixo-
Lydian mode over to a G major scale.

Now for a typical country guitar approach.

———–0———————-
-8-p-7—————0———-
————–7-p-5———0—-
————————–7——-
———————————–
———————————-

This descending G major scale will sound great as a lead in to an
Em or G chord, try them out next time you are practicing your
guitar.