The Barney Miller Theme from season 3 of this award winning sit-com could be considered the hippest theme song of any television show. One of the first that featured solo bass guitar and is chock full of tasty guitar licks.
In this episode of Ray Plays Guitar, Ray Kainz demonstrates how to play the bass intro, all the cool guitar licks, and even the horn parts too also as well! The guitar and horn lines utilize a mixture of major and minor pentatonic scales over dominant chords. These are cool licks that can also be easily adapted to rock, blues, jazz and country contexts
TAB LINKS!!!!!
Guitar TAB: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/lundvr...
Bass TAB: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/wsh5og...
Horn TAB: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/horu0w...
0:00 - Music/Intro
1:20 - The BASS Line
3:09 - CHORDS for Guitar Solo
5:19 - Guitar Solo
11:33 - CHORDS for Horn Melody
12:14 - Horn Melody for Guitar
18:12 - Slowed Down with TAB
19:10 - Thanks / Call to Action
BACKING TRACK USED IN THIS VIDEO
Ever wonder how pros craft solos that actually sound melodic — not just like scales? In this episode of Ray Plays Guitar, Ray Kainz breaks down diatonic triads and shows how to use them to build expressive, singable melodies across the fretboard. You’ll learn how to find triads on two and three strings, connect them smoothly, and use them to outline chord changes in your solos.
This lesson includes detailed examples, jam track demonstrations, and a play-along section to lock everything in. Perfect for intermediate players who want to sound more musical — not just technical.
🎸 Topics Covered:
• What diatonic triads are and how to build them
• Using triads to outline A Dorian (G Major)
• Connecting triads across string sets
• Creating licks over Am7 and D9 chords
• Adding tension and release with major/minor 2nds
• Play-along section at 80% speed
👇 Timestamps / Chapters
0:00 – Intro Jam
0:42 – What Are Diatonic Triads?
1:34 – Jam Track Chords (Am7 → D9 → E7)
2:37 – Dorian Tonality Explained
2:45 – Building Triads on 2 Strings
5:34 – Building Triads on 3 Strings
6:20 – Am7 Lick Breakdown
9:16 – D9 Lick Breakdown
13:04 – Play-Along (80% Speed)
13:54 – Recap & Call to Action
14:36 – Outro Jam
🎧 Practice Tip: Try isolating each triad pair (Am–Bm, D–E, etc.) and loop them over a backing track in A Dorian. You’ll start to hear the harmony in your solos!
🎵 Chord Progression
Am7 for 8 measures
D9 for 7 measures
E9 for 1 measure
The Am7 and D9 chords place this progression in A Dorian (parent key: G Major). E9, though not part of A Dorian, functions as a dominant V chord, creating a turnaround back to Am7.
The Dorian mode is very forgiving — meaning you can play triads of chords that aren’t necessarily happening at the time and they’ll still sound good.
For example:
🎸 Over D9 (D–F#–A–C–E) → play Am (A–C–E) for 5th, 7th, and 9th extensions
🎸 Over D9 → play C major (C–E–G) for 7th, 9th, and 11th
🎸 Over D9 → play E minor (E–G–B) for 9th, 11th, and 13th
That’s the magic of diatonic triads — they naturally outline beautiful chord extensions that sound musical and sophisticated.
