Description
In this week’s lesson, you’ll learn some simple (and easy) techniques to enhance the quality of your blues phrasing. Remember to make room for pauses, make simple statements, and don’t be afraid to repeat yourself!
Part 1 - Free Guitar Lesson
Slow Walkthrough
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Video Tablature Breakdown
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Nice like this one
Thanks a lot Brian. This was almost exactly the one-on -one lesson that I needed. Thanks for understanding what exactly is going through the minds of us advancing beginers 🙏🙏
Hi Brian,
Again, thanks a lot for this nice lesson. I like the idea that soloing is not a speed competition.
I’m with you on that Andre.
Hello Brian, yesterday morning I bought a Les Paul Aged dark Cherry Burst (Epiphone ’59) my dream since few month … and you’re here this morning with this guitar !!!! TOP !!!
Helpful lesson, 8rian. I’m glad you had some positive things to say about repetition. By design, your lessons have little repetition. But repetition is useful too. Especially in songwriting. Much appreciated.
Great lesson and informative thanks
Thanks Brian, this is an especially good lesson.
Too much emotion and I’ll be in tears, Brian. Great as usual, but please can we have vibrato marked on the tab. I reckon your tabs are the best going but please, pretty please, with vibrato!
The song with the minor chord triads is originally an Otis Rush song, covered by John Mayall, called “All Your Love (I Miss Loving)”. Great song. Peter Green attributed it as the rhythm inspiration for his “Black Magic Woman”.
Two of my favorite songs!
Good ear guy.
Thank you for refreshing my memory of the background. I have the John Mayall version and the original Otis Rush records that contain this song. But as I age, the catalog indexing system in my brain often gets it’s wires crossed. Recall ain’t as fast and certain as it used to be…
Awesome lesson! The lick at 0:36 sec is worth the price of admission!
The simplicity of phrases is a wonderful springboard for improvisation. Nice explanation of this concept Brian…..
Brian – this video is one of my favorites yet. My biggest issue is I try to rush through everything. I love how you explain how to put emotions into the phrasing. The lightbulb went off for me after watching this. Brilliant and thank you.
I’m with you for about 6 months now and have been doing every lesson since. but my improvisations always sounded a bit disappointing to me. today howewer I tried again, just as a warmup before some other exercises and for the first time I felt good about what I was able to play. much of that Is thanks to you. looking forward for todays lesson. cheers.
Well done Brian! Another great lesson that reinforced things for me and sparked some real creativity. I find no better lesson than one that I can play and then serve as a launch pad.
Great lesson as always. Lots of cool ideas.
Thanks Brian
Ray P
Brian,
For me this is one your most bluesy lessons. The sounds coming over are are so well expressed what you are teaching here is totally the point for me. So many folk just completely loose it by thinking that they have to play all over the neck and end up expressing nothing but overplaying and mess creation, but if this lesson doesn’t educate them them they wont ever get it! Brian one of your best lessons to my mind.
JohnStrat
This one finally did it Brian!!! The light bulb just went off – exploded really…. and for the first time in my life I feel like I can play my own ‘no accompaniment’ stuff – in different positions on the neck, play melodies in the key and/or follow the changes. I think the few minutes you spent showing the different positions/shapes of the chords in the progression and reminding us to slow down is what finally made things click. You definitely made my weekend, if not year… over the years you’ve helped me grow as a guitarist and understand the fretboard and what’s really going on in a composition. Your content and style is pure gold.
Hi Brian
I like this lesson. Lots of light bulbs are going off as I was work my way through your lessons. Still all thumbs, still playing catch up, but having fun getting there. Thanks again.
Ed
Excuse my grammer. I meant to say, “as I work my way through your lessons.”. L O L
Ed
So cool Brian, I am really amazed by how you keep the groove, perfect timing. It is so hard for me play in time, and much more difficult by your own, without any drums or some guide.
You really know how to play soulful melodic, awesome lesson!
Am with you Rafa. I find it also hard to play in time and to know where I am when playing solo. Am amazed at Brian ability to do so effortlessly .
Great lesson as usual!
Really looking forward to this Brian…..It’s exactly what I need for where I’m at.
Great lesson. Love the Chicago blues licks. Bravo!
Brilliant lesson Brian! Looking forward to trying this later after my working day!
Showing us the minor chord shapes and triads in different positions… wonderful! Light bulbs exploding everywhere fir me!
Rafa and Buster… you are right about the difficulty with timing… a cool lesson that you might like to look at (a lesson that I love) is EP094: standalone slow electric blues. Lovely jazzy chords there: great slow phrasing with nice space and timing… and the opening lick there is worth the price of admission!
Brian you always seem to know what needs to be taught. “Don’t nuke the fridge” (https://youtu.be/jn4Vhkmb4Lw?t=106) is great advice and you made an excellent lesson out of it.
Slow jammin’ in Juneau, Alaska. Thanks, Brain!
Mark
LIKE
Very nice. Still, a backing track would be nice to have.
Thanks so much Brian. I really appreciate your encouraging words at the beginning of the lesson. Words of wisdom. You are a terrific teacher and you have helped me so much. This lesson is really good for me, as I am concentrating on patterns 1 and 2 of the A minor pentatonic. Thank You!
Thanks Brian, I rellay enjoyed this lesson.
Some of those chords are in the intro to Stairway to Heaven!
This, go me took me back to the 60’s and listening to the late GREAT Peter Green it’s really fantastic that you’re teaching this now. Where were you when I was trying to emulate this 55 years ago? Keep them coming.
Cool lesson. Minor key slide up trick nicely defined
This to me was pure Peter Green at his best, thank you Brian for keeping this music alive.
I had paid for premium memberships with other guys and was still stuck playing the same corny, boring stuff. There was a ton of theory, scales, modes, etc., but nothing about how to use it, tie it all together, and MAKE GREAT MUSIC!
I just finished the third Active Melody video on blues phrasing and the light finally came on! The “a-ha!” moment that I’d been awaiting for so long!
Thank you so much, Brian!
This to me could almost be a Jimmy Page lesson as some of the chords I really recognise and some Bowie as well.
get job Brian,
This is gold. 🙂
What a great lesson Brian. This one was the proverbial “light bulb” moment in several spots for me. Thanks!!
Brian
Just got around to this lesson – very bright –
many wonderful take aways for keeping my play in a minor slow blues zone
Great work.
This is exactly what I needed to get motivated this week. Simply fantastic. I would love for you to do more of the slow blues techniques and phrasing ideas so we can learn from your examples and then build our own stuff based on your foundation. You are an excellent teacher.
Love this!
Really help me understand how to connect cords to the scales. And transpose it …
Brian you dirty rascal ! Haha
You are obviously really creative. It’s so cool that you have produced these lessons by yourself for 10 years. I knew about your site about 8 years ago but didn’t get on board because I didn’t have the chops. But not anymore. I have the capability to grasp almost everything you teach so it is extremely fun. I love that you teach in a musical context over musical progressions. It’s no fun to just learn licks without a place to apply it. Although these days there are million free blues backing tracks to do just that, but that wasn’t always the case.
Btw – It would be cool if you could show off your guitars one day. Thanks!
I watched several of your videos on Youtube but this one spoke to me. Loved the emotion in your playing. My wife and I are big fans of players like Warren Haynes and Buddy Whittington who we see whenever we can here in Dallas. It’s more about what you say, than how quickly you say it! Love you site and lesson, THANKS!!!
Thanks! Lots of good material here.
Incredibile lesson, incredibly useful!
But I can’t see part 2, is it a problem of mine?
Thanks!!
I much like lessons like this that are stand alone and don’t need a backing track. The backing tracks are great but I find that I don’t use them once I have the rhythm in my head. I know I need too but I seem to focus on learning the lead.
While we’re always looking for new lessons, this one is worth going back to. Brian narrates at the beginning why this is important in one’s style and playing. How it communicates to those listening, and what not to play. This adds to your confidence as a guitarist.