George Barnes, “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” and ii–V Licks, Part 1

from: Swing Guitar Soloing with Matt Munisteri

This lesson is part of the course Swing Guitar Soloing with Matt Munisteri.

Get immediate access to this lesson and all of the lessons in this course when you subscribe.

Start Course
Browse Courses

About This Course

Study classic swing solos from Charlie Christian, Louis Armstrong, Django Reinhardt, and Lester Young, and learn key guitar techniques that will help you create a voice of your own.

Try a Sample Lesson

SESSION 6: George Barnes, “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” and ii–V licks.

In Part 2, Matt uses the three- and four-note arpeggios he’s given you in previous weeks to explore the mysteries of the ii–V progression and construct licks that are built to provide resolution.

Try a sample lesson

The Swing Guitar Soloing Subscription Includes:

Eight one-hour sessions on soloing in a swing style
Solos and ideas for playing eight songs or tunes
Analysis of classic swing solos from jazz legends like Louis Armstrong, Lester Young, Charlie Christian, and Django Reinhardt
Advice on adapting swing vocabulary to the guitar and beginning to create a voice of your own
Instruction on key techniques like downstroke picking patterns and position shifts
High-quality video recordings of each session so you can review what you've learned and revisit them
Transcriptions of classic solos in notation and tablature for each session

$20/Month For One Course

Additional courses only $10/month each! • Save 20% with an annual subscription

Start Course

Get started now!
Use promo code MattLand at checkout

and get your first month free or $20 off an annual subscription.

SESSION 6: George Barnes, “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” and ii–V licks.

George Barnes, “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” and ii–V Licks, Part 1

George Barnes, “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” and ii–V licks, Part 2

Session 6 Q&A

Suckling, a George Barnes–style Etude

George Barnes, “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” and ii–V Licks, Part 1

In Part 1 of Session 6, Matt looks at ways that a soloist can embellish a song’s melody, as he deconstructs George Barnes’s masterful version of “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” from the late 1940s, a particularly incendiary example of the art.

“I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” George Barnes Notation/Tab (Available to subscribers)

ii-V Licks in F Notation/Tab (Available to subscribers)

"Suckling" An Etude (Available to subscribers)

Previous Lesson

← Session 5 Q&A

Next Lesson

George Barnes, “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” and ii–V licks, Part 2 →

Previous Lesson

← Session 5 Q&A

Next Lesson

George Barnes, “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” and ii–V licks, Part 2 →

Previous Lesson

← Session 5 Q&A

Next Lesson

George Barnes, “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” and ii–V licks, Part 2 →

Guitar Articles

Derk’s Discoveries: The New Cosmic Cowboy

Bluegrass and honky-tonk star Marty Stuart takes a Left Coast turn and goes on a vision quest Way Out West.

Orville Johnson: “You’ll Work Down to Me Someday”

The song “You’ll Work Down to Me Someday” was recorded by Memphis bluesman John Henry Barbee in the late 1920s. Peghead Nation instructor Orville Johnson teaches you how to play the fingerstyle guitar part (including two different solos) in his Blues Guitar course, but in this video Orville just lets loose and sings the song in his own inimitable style. To learn more blues guitar techniques, including fingerstyle, lead guitar, and slide soloing, enroll in Orville’s Blues Guitar course on Peghead Nation today.

George Barnes, “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” and ii–V Licks, Part 1

About This Course

Guitar Articles

Guitar Videos