Hey folks, I wanted to give you a quick update on the next batch of lessons that are in the works. Thus far, I've been spending a decent amount of time with lessons that show how to play blues lead guitar which is really and endless supply of material. I'd like to switch gears now based on a comment made by saskstrum (an ActiveMelody member) and start focusing on how to play blues / rock rhythm. He mentioned that people tend to overlook the importance of playing good rhythm and he's right - there are a lot more people out there showing how to play lead guitar, but in a lot of respects, rhythm guitar is even MORE important because it really helps to define the song, so that will be my focus on the next few lessons. Trust me, these won't be the boring "up / down" strumming patterns or anything - I'm talking about creative / interesting rhythms that accompany the band.

In addition to the upcoming rhythm lessons (which I plan on having one up on the site late this evening or early tomorrow morning), I'm working on putting together some premium, deep-dive lessons that will be for sale in download format. Thus far, my videos are all hosted on YouTube which is great because there is a large number of people out there on YouTube, but the downside is that you're only allowed 10 minutes per video.. so it's REALLY hard to cram everything into a 10 minute session - I think having these deep dives will be very beneficial for those that are really interested in digging in at the root level of this stuff.. and I'm going to pour everything I know and have learned over the years into these. So be on the look out - and as always feel free to hit me with comments / questions.

-brian

I was responding to a post in the forum on this site in which someone asked what they should be focusing on in regards to learning to play the guitar and the first thing that immediately popped into my head was the John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers album featuring Eric Clapton. That album was the one that did it for me with the guitar - the Crown Jewel of guitar albums. If you're interested in the lessons I've been putting up recently on electric blues lead guitar, then you really HAVE to add this album to your collection. I love the fact that these tracks were recorded live in the studio and that Clapton was only 20 years old - there aren't many seasoned guitar players that can play with that intricate level of tone / vibrato / phrasing... it's simply amazing that he was sounding that good at that young of an age. I think the guitar tone he has for this album is incredible... the perfect amount of overdrive (all played on a Les Paul too I believe).

Anyway, if the Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton album is the THE album for guitar players to own and study, the song "Hideaway" is THE song off that album to learn. It tooks me years to be able to stumble through it and to this day it still doesn't sound good enough. If you look around on YouTube you'll see a lot of shoddy versions of people trying to play it, some of them can hit all of the notes.. but to me playing a song like Hideaway is so much more than just hitting the notes, it's making them sound right as well. So to sum up, if you aren't familiar with this album - get familiar with it!

As a reference, here's the version of Hideaway from the John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers album featuring Eric Clapton.