Jerry Cherry | Pitting The Cherry

Hello Cherries! What seems like an easy topic can get a little confusing. In the graphs you have a G Major and G Minor pentatonic scale. Both pattern 1. You have 4 more patterns all starting from the G root "parallel pent scales." If you play the G Maj pent pattern 1 starting on the 6th degree and play the same notes within that pattern you have the "E relative min." That's E min pent "pattern 2." The same is true for the G Minor Pentatonic. You can play the same scale from b3rd degree and play the same notes within that pattern you have the "Bb relative maj." That's Bb maj pent "pattern 5." This seems a little tricky but good to understand. What I think is easier and more useful for actually playing is to see both maj and min patterns as part of the CAGED chord shapes. Both shapes of the graphs fit perfectly over it's respective E major or minor shaped G chord. In this video I show easy examples of all of this. "Let...

Hello Cherries! This is really great to know. I just realized it's importance last week when I was learning songs for a gig. It was the guitar solo in "Maggie May" by Rod Stewart. I believe Ronnie Wood played on it. What's cool about it is that the chord progression starts with an Em. I think most players would have just jumped on the E minor pentatonic scale. He goes right to the D Major Pent. That is the scale for the tonic chord D. He continues to play D Maj Pent over all the chords. I've been caught up in playing chord tones from all the chords so long now that I miscalculated the cool sound you get from one pent scale over the whole progression. The magic though in this is that it's a different scale then what the first chord is. You have to try it. Learn about this as well as two more example in this video and have a great week Everybody 😊🎸  

Hello Cherries! Thank you for your service on this Memorial Day! Centering your improvisation around the tonic while playing through a chord progression is an excellent way to create tension and release. By sustaining or targeting the tonic, you generate dissonance against changing chords, which resolves beautifully when your lines return to stable chord tones. We always tend to follow the changes or play the changes or play through the changes. Some of the best players actually only played one scale through the changes. Playing this way gives a certain rub over the chords that you don’t get when you’re playing all the chord tones from a progression. Check out 3 examples of this in the video. Also, I'm playing an acoustic duo gig with Shannon Conley at The Red Lion on Bleecker St, NYC today from 4-7pm. Love to see ya. Enjoy the video and have a great Memorial weekend.  

Hello Cherries! Switching pentatonic scales using the CAGED system means playing the pentatonic scale that matches the underlying chord of the progression, while keeping your hand in the same position on the fretboard. Instead of jumping across the neck, you change the scale by targeting the specific chord tones nested inside the five familiar scale patterns. Check out the video at YouTube/JerryCherryBand to learn more and have a great week Everybody 🎸  

Most people will show you the Mixolydian and Dorian modes and how to switch between them. I’m going to show you the chords of the two modes and how to switch between them. This way you’ll fully understand how and when you can use these modes, and to create more interesting chord progressions. It’s also good to have a deeper understanding of where these modes come from. Enjoy the video and have a great week Everybody 🎸😊

John Mayer coined the phrase "The Pentatonic Equator" to describe a specific approach to navigating the guitar fretboard. When I first heard him explain this I didn't pay much attention to it. I recently heard someone else talk about it and I realized that it's the same exact thing that I've been teaching for a while now 🤨 This isn't a new concept just the phrase is. This works for any key and position. Here's a popular one. If you play the minor pentatonic starting on the 12th fret key of E, move it down 3 frets to the 9th fret and play the same thing thats an E Major Pentatonic. Mixing those two scales together make for some great stuff especially in the blues. You can make it as happy or sad depending on where you take it. The punchline is that without moving 3 frets down to play the major pent you can superimpose the scale right over the minor pent on the 12th fret. Same thing 3 frets down you can play the major and superimpose the minor right over th...