The 5.55 (lesson)

Music Lesson: The 555 in E Minor

So, working on the 555, we're in standard tuning and it's in the key of E minor.

Introduction to Chords

We're starting off with:

• E minor chord
• Alternating with C7 chord
• Then moving to a cowboy B7 shape

There's a little bit of a lick in between. I do this two different ways:

1. Coming off the C7 chord
2. Repeating in the second verse

Right Hand Technique

You might just want to look at the right hand here:

• I'm just rolling through the chord like that: B7.

Now, walking up to a G chord (although actually, there's no B in there), transitioning to a:

• G5 to D
• A minor
• E minor

Complex Chords

It gets a little interesting here:

• I've got an A minor A7 chord, but I'm also throwing in the D melody note.

Melody Structure

The melody goes:

• C, D, E, and then moving to a B minor 7 (although that really is actually A; it's more like a G over B).

Next, we have:

• C# minor 7 flat 5.

Voicing Technique

The cool thing about that chord is that you can actually voice it with just one fretted note:

• C# here
• G (the flat 5)
• B (the minor 7)
• E (the minor 3rd)

Because those strings are open, my melody goes: G, F#, E. Everything keeps ringing.

Cascading Patterns

These cascading patterns aren't exclusive to DADGAD tuning at all. You can do this kind of thing in standard tuning as well.

For example:

• There's a little cascade there (kind of a faux cascade) trying to make it smooth.
• Coming down on that B note and then sliding backwards to G major.

Chord Progressions

Then moving on to:

• C major 7.

It's kind of tricky because there's no third in that chord until I articulate it as a melody note.

• B7#9 to flat 9 to B natural.

So there's my melody:

• Now transitioning to E minor to A7.

Melody Integration

In contrast to the section where I'm playing basic cowboy shapes, I incorporate melody notes into a more complex texture:

• Walking up from A minor to D and then to B7 (just a B over D#).

Advanced Chords

Now to a G chord without mentioning any copyright control tunes, but the ones that move around in tenths:

• E flat 9 to D9 to G.

There's also an F#.

Alternative Voicings

Here, C# minor 7 flat 5 can be a straightforward one-note chord. But if I raise the melody notes an octave, I get this voicing:

• F# minor 7 flat 5 to B.

I'm playing around with G major and E minor harmonically.

Returning to E Minor

You might think I'm going to E minor from the B chord, but I actually go to G and then a different voicing of C# minor 7 flat 5, which contains:

• C#
• G
• E
• G on top.

Licks and Solos

I have this little lick that goes in there and then back to the head.

The second turn ends with a little extension. It's actually a C7 chord, voiced a bit differently:

• Normally you'd play it like this.
• Here I'm using a couple of open strings and then a B7 throwing in an open E melody note and transitioning to B flat 7.

Bass Lick and Improvisation

After that:

• Moving down to AB7, then back up again to B and then a bass lick.

Now, I've got an improvised solo where I'm kind of playing off this bass line and some licks in E and E minor.

Favorite Licks

That's one of my favorite swing licks in E minor because it's a cascade:

• E, F#, G, B, D#, E.

So everything kind of rings, alternating between an E minor chord and a C7 chord.

Solo Section

The solo section might go something like this:

• Notice I'm muting using the palm of my hand to mute with the right hand to give that kind of upright bass feel.

It's a bit challenging to mute and keep the melody going simultaneously, but once I get the melody worked in, I kind of come off of that.

Returning to the B Section

Now I'm going to go back to the B section with the simple cowboy chords and the cascades, then back to the top.

After playing the verse through a couple of times, it will return to this pattern:

• Using the pickless pick technique with a little strum here.

Final Chord Progression

It's a little tricky here:

• A7, but with a little F# note thrown in, creating another cascade.
• Then transitioning to a jazzy seventh chord progression up to the top.

Finally, I'll play that last lick for you:

• Also a cascade, ending with a harmonic and a little virtual whammy bar.

So, there's the 555!