This melody is from the Jamzone.
Now we move away from relying on the alternating bassline and let the other backing / lead guitars concentrate on that. We'll still be using the same tricks as previously, but use them more for creating the main melody rather than just as fills and turnarounds. Listen to the normal speed audio first to get an idea of the melody at a faster tempo then work on each melody part in order in the ActionTab (use the Bookmark feature to help you).
All we do here is ascend through each major scale along with the backing chords. So, as E major is strummed in the background we ascend through the E major scale in the lead. When the backing chord switches to A major, we switch to playing the A major scale - and so on.
NB, Although we ascend through each major scale (E, A, F# and B major), we don't stick strictly to using each successive note in the scale. After all, we're concerned with melody-making, not just scale practice!
The Crucial thing is that we use the passing minor 3rd note again! This gives us the Country twang, and is the one thing you should concentrate on picking up if you are a serious Country music fan. Read up on the previous Country melody if you haven't already for more information on that passing minor 3rd note.
The only exception is when we play the F# scale we don't play a passing minor 3rd, we play a passing blue note instead. It just sounds good so why not. It is perfectly alright to use blue notes in country music too - but the more you do it the more your lead will start to sound bluesy which probably isn't what you want. For now, we'll use the minor 3rds more, and blue notes less.
On bar 15 we ascend through the B major scale. We also include the passing minor 3rd again, but...This time we don't pick it, we slide through it. This is a common country technique and it works really well. Make sure you learn it!
In the last bar (bar 16) we play the same turnaround as in Melody 1, except higher (an octave higher, to be precise). This turnaround synchronises all the guitar parts together and tells the listener that this section of the tune is ending, another is beginning.
Minor 3rds
Don't worry if this seems quite technical. The execution is surprisingly simple as you'll see in the ActionTab. Just follow the notes and wherever you see 3 notes played together on successive frets - the middle note will be either a minor 3rd or a blue note.
If you'd like to know more about music theory and minor 3rds - click here. You will need to start fresh in the scales section if you don't know the difference between major and minor scales (the most important difference is whether you use a major 3rd or minor 3rd).
When you've got this tune tight, you should see if you can play it over any of the previous Country 1 backing tracks. This will test your memory, and help you learn to jam on your own. When you can do that, use the same scale notes we've shown you in this ActionTab to construct your own lead melody lines.
