The Secret Third Key Most Guitarists Have Never Heard Of

If you're sick of how you sound when you go to take a solo, today's lesson is for you.

Most guitar players know there are two keys, major and minor. But there's actually one more, a secret third key that most players have never heard of, and not knowing it is holding you back. Here's the thing: most of the pros you listen to are using it constantly.

The third key is a blend

We're in the key of E. When most people hear that, they immediately reach for the E minor pentatonic box, even over a major chord. That instinct comes from our blues heritage, and minor can sound good. But it's only half the picture.

Most of the songs you love, especially in blues and funk, are not purely major or purely minor. They're a blend of the two. That blend is the third secret key. You hear this sound all the time. Nobody ever put a name on it for you.

How to get it: add one note

So instead of asking where's my minor pentatonic box, start asking where's my minor pentatonic box plus this one note.

Take the pentatonic scale you already know and slide one note up a step to reach the major third of E. That's it. One note, and suddenly you have a blend of major and minor under your fingers. Your entire musical vocabulary shifts.

The trick is how you play that note. Don't just hit it outright. Slide into it from the note below. Or go from the major third down to the minor third and land on the chord. And it works in both octaves, so you can use it down low and up high.

I call this whole family of moves flirting with the third. Then copy and paste the box all the way up the neck, the same way Stevie Ray Vaughan would, adding that one note in every position.

The one rule: only over dominant chords

Now let me be crystal clear about when this works, because this is where a lot of people mess up.

This blend lives over dominant chords. A funky dominant vamp, a bluesy shuffle, that Sweet Home Chicago kind of sound. That's the home of the third key.

If the chord is strictly minor, do not do it. That's a big no no. If it's a plain major chord, you might get away with it, but you're risking some sour notes. When the progression is dominant, the door is wide open. Blend away.

The takeaway

Mixing major and minor is the key to unlocking the guitar over dominant progressions. And you can start with literally one note. Add it to your pentatonic box tonight, put on a funky vamp, and listen to what happens to your sound.

This idea scales all the way up. To see it as a full system over a 12 bar blues, read the four levels of blues.

Watch the original video: Add This One Note to Your Pentatonics. Trust Me.

Want to go deeper?

Grab the free Blues Bootcamp. It walks through these concepts with tabs, downloadable PDFs, backing tracks, and a jam with me section.

And if you feel like your solos should be better by now, check out The Blues Guitar System, my full course. You can learn all about flirting with the third in there.