Active Melody

Learn to play blues guitar.

Blues guitar ideas you should know! Learn several easy blues guitar concepts in this lesson – EP516

Description

In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn several classic (must know) blues concepts that are easy to play and can be applied to any key.

Part 1 - Free Guitar Lesson

Part 2 - For Premium Members

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Slow Walkthrough

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Comments

  4. Kiwi Rowan L says

    So sorry to hear that you are under the weather – take care and we hope you are feeling better real soon.
    You give out so much to all of us every week thank you. This is another absolute gem for jamming.
    I don’t know where my guitar playing might have been without you man – I’m progressing so fast with your teaching thank you !

  7. San Luis Rey says

    This is perfect to follow lesson 515. This sounds great and will allow me to learn and play it while continuing on last weeks fast tempo number that has a million takeaways! You are the best even when not feeling 100%. Hope you feel better soon.
    Mike

  8. Joseph B says

    Great lesson, learnt so much from this one. Looking for some input here. I am now 80 years old and a reasonable player, however I am struggling to remember lessons learnt. I will master EP 516 in a week but if I come back to it 2-3 weeks later large chunks of it are totally gone. This is applying to all songs I have learned . I now find that my only competency is improvising over backing tracks using muscle memory skills. Any suggestions on how to improve my ability to retain musical knowledge …….or am I just to old ?

    • Brian says

      That’s fairly normal for most of us – I learn stuff all the time and will totally forget how to do it verbatim, but what I find is that little pieces will stick. Maybe just a note or two, or maybe even just the knowledge of where it came from – but those little things add up over time. I’d say to just keep doing it and keep soaking up new stuff. Oh, and record yourself playing so that you can listen back and see if there is any improvement. Hearing even small improvement will give you the motivation you need.

      • Joseph B says

        Thanks Brian, I definitely can see the benefit in that method. It also reinforces your teaching style of improvise not memorise. I will now settle for learning the licks from the lessons and use them over backing tracks. This will also cure that feeling of frustration . Will definitely record my efforts for comparison.
        Thanks again for taking the time to answer and advise.

        • Matt2d2 says

          thanks for your comment joseph, i am 53 and i have the same problem. I had a bad alcohol problem for about 20 years so my short term memory is pretty bad. it was a huge help to me when in a previous lesson, i think it was the setting up a practice routine one at the first of the year, where brian said that most of the stuff you won’t remember, like he said just now. After that i still go through a whole lesson but i try to find 1 or2 take aways. then i try and play them with different backing tracks and mix them in with my go to stuff. i’m still not remembering those all the time but some are sticking. Anyway after hearing brian say that i no longer get frustrated by the thoughts of “whats the point, i won’t remember this in a week or 2”. Now i get excited about getting 1 or 2 things out of each lesson that i know will stick and become part of my core go to stuff. have a great day, and thanks brian for all you do!

      • houliAK says

        I have experienced the same thing as Joseph B and being an older player myself, Im glad Brian made the comment it’ s fairly normal. Having been a long time member, I find hearing the “repetition” of ideas over several lessons helps the little pieces stick and it does add up. For instance, the A6-A9 move sticks and the “T-Bone Walker” moves stick for me. The concept idea of playing the “IV” over the “I” I’ve heard several times but it might have moved into a longer term memory after this lesson…. especially if I use that concept several times over the next few days and weeks. Like Brian says, it adds up!

      • Alex F says

        I’m in the same age group and am overwhelmed at times by the stuff I have forgotten. Just keep playing is good advice…. On this lesson, the challenge for me was to understand how all these partial treble chords are connected to the barre chords. It’s a whole new group of chords but I can hear their value. Brian, don’t believe folks who say you talk too much. You are assisting us to integrate what we are learning. In that sense, your talking may be even more valuable than your playing!

      • Jim L says

        I posted this below but want to add to Brian’s post:
        Jim @ age 75 here and a new member to Brian’s club. Had great anxiety when I put down my guitar for 5 whole months to finish remodeling my kitchen. Thought I’d lost everything and found that when I came back to guitar I had only lost the benefits of practicing every day. Pretty much the mental part was still available but muscle memory needed exercise. Juat started looking at this lesson and find, with delight, that many of the ideas presented here are repreented in other lessons, particularly the stuff from gospal blues lessons, i.e., moving between the 1st and 4ths and then the fourth of the fourth, the ease of accessing the sixth and ninth of thqt chords and on and on. Brian is a great educator, using the tool of building scaffolding in our brains by presenting an idea and reinforcing it by referring to previous lessons. Brilliant. I’ve been looking for this kind of music teacher for a long time.

    • Bern F says

      I am in my sixties Joseph and took up the guitar 3 years ago because my memory was so bad and I was getting trigger finger sporadically, my memory has improved leaps and bounds and haven’t had trigger finger since….what you are experiencing may be frustrating but it’s keeping your brain and memory active all the same

    • david h says

      Just my humble thoughts ..we’re about the same age, I get it. I purchased a looper recorded my practice ,listened , played again,repeat…seem to really help me. Found Brian to be the best on line for sure

      • Jim L says

        Jim @ age 75 here and a new member to Brian’s club. Had great anxiety when I put down my guitar for 5 whole months to finish remodeling my kitchen. Thought I’d lost everything and found that when I came back to guitar I had only lost the benefits of practicing every day. Pretty much the mental part was still available but muscle memory needed exercise. Juat started looking at this lesson and find, with delight, that many of the ideas presented here are repreented in other lessons, particularly the stuff from gospal blues lessons, i.e., moving between the 1st and 4ths and then the fourth of the fourth, the ease of accessing the sixth and ninth of thqt chords and on and on. Brian is a great educator, using the tool of building scaffolding in our brains by presenting an idea and reinforcing it by referring to previous lessons. Brilliant. I’ve been looking for this kind of music teacher for a long time.

    • John B says

      Hey Joseph, I think you are doing good. Im 73 and only been here a month and takes me longer than a week to get a lesson down. To retain something I have to go over it every other day and then once a week to keep it in my memory. Later I will forget a lot of it but can review and get it back. Since getting back to guitar learning working on good practice habits. These lessons are a struggle and take me out of my comfort zone. So important for me getting older. Feels rewarding to finally get a lesson down and stay mentally sharp. John

  11. Pierre L says

    Hey Brian, always looking forward to your lessons every week. I’m at the stage I’d like to try to play with backing tracks “minus guitar”. My problem I can usually play most pieces at ~80% speed, but no faster, even for the “easy” lessons. It would be great if you could make MP3 backing tracks available at slower speed for all lessons.

    Thanks for another great lesson!

  13. Mark H says

    Thanks Brian, this lesson reveals some very useful insights. Hard to express but I’ll give it a go. I feel it demonstrates the power of theory when applied with intent.

    For example, it’s very nice to finally know why briefly modulating a harmonized double stop to its IV works. Although I sort of sensed that through years of, er, semi-mindless noodling, now I can put it in play with much more confidence and in my chosen context. Great for lick- and riff building I reckon.

    Also I appreciate the deeper dive into the two fret 6th to 9th chord thing. You’ve touched on it before but this lesson complements those earlier lessons and will help move me toward “owning” the material better, so to speak.

    And then there’s the two fret move in parallel across the fretboard, strings 1 to 5 and excluding the 6th string, creating a major- to minor lick (or vice versa) without even having to think about it. Brilliant! 🙂

    Thanks again,

    Mark

  14. Burton M says

    Your last two lessons have been outstanding explaining where all the notes come from and linking them with the chord shapes and the pent. scales. You make it seem so simple the way you explain it all, just have to make my fingers get there quicker. The price for your annual subscription is not much more than one private lesson, but I wouldn’t get as much information in ten private lessons as you give in one lesson. Keep them coming, it just is so easy to understand the way you teach it. Thanks, you are a very talented instructor with that special knack to explain things.

  17. Mike R says

    Thanks for another simple lesson that teaches so much. This does remind me a little of EP215, which is another great lesson to help learn to improvise. Sorry your not feeling well, we all appreciate you putting so much into these lessons. Your turning me into a pretty good guitar player. Would love to hear you do another Soul type lesson along the lines of EP481. I also would like to see, if possible, the ability to regulate the speed of the jam tracks. Lots of these tunes sound great a little slower and sometimes a little faster. But I guess that is just personal preference. Get Well Soon!!

  18. JimD says

    I love the sound of this one. Plus, I t’s a nice breather after last week’s barn burner of a lesson (which I’m still enjoying working on). My renewal is coming up soon and I’ve not once considering dropping off. Your lessons just get better and better.

  20. Jeff H says

    What a Cool lesson! Sounds Jazzy and Cool, love it. You do it every week Brian, we always get our money’s worth, and more. I love how it is easy to play, and has such a great feel. On a cold grey day in Melbourne, you just brightened up my day and inspired us all. Thanks Brian, and thanks for being so Genuine.

  27. Mike P says

    Thanks for another great lesson and I’m grateful for a slower one after last week’s! This is a great vibe and blues is my first love. I’m excited that bits from each lesson are starting to stick now and be useful for jamming and general improvising. Get well soon Brian.

  32. Daniel H says

    Brian, I love your new “barnacle” metaphor of attaching licks to chords shapes! As a boater, it can’t get anymore visual. But the power of that concept has been HUGE for me. Metaphors used in teaching, especially when they are selective and not over-used, are such powerful memory devices. Thank you for another great lesson.

  34. Bob B says

    Not quite sure why some of us are asking for slower jam tracks – click the ‘download the mp3’ link, then click on the 3-dots menu and select a lower % than 100.

  37. Keith S says

    Very nice. After 2 years as Premium I can say all these information is starting to come together nicely finding it’s easier now to go thru each week. Starting to see the keyboard as a whole unit. I don’t save as many lessons as I used to finding it all comes back around and makes more sense the second time. Thx!

  38. David R says

    OMG I’ve been wanting to use more triads and this is perfect lesson and blues to boot!!! Hope you do one thats more uplifting and driving in the future! Learned a lot Thank you!!!
    Feel better!

  41. Raymond P says

    Another great lesson Brian. And as always thanks for sharing your knowledge and insights with us. Each week always adds more to my every growing knowledge how to understand and play the guitar.

    Ray

  44. ts says

    Brian,

    Thanks for all that you do.

    Is that a Gordon Smith strat that you are playing for this lesson? I really like it and believe it should be mandatory that you report to us any new equipment that you might have.

    Not a complaint, mind you; just curious.

    TS

  51. KIRK E says

    If you can manage last weeks lesson, and then “feel” your way through this one…you got everything. I know nothing of music theory, BUT, this lesson on the heels of the last…no “cowinkidink” I’m sure. GOOD STUFF Hey just for fun, Listen to “Sample” of last weeks lesson, then immediately this week’s…maybe it’s just me.

  52. Bill B says

    Great video Brian, I like to learn and play old blues standards with acoustic guitar. I learn songs mainly from lead sheets, so these type of lessons give me ammunition to help fill in around blues melodies. Also, it seams, it’s easiest for me to find and reach the notes of a melody in the key of “A”.
    Keep them coming and thanks!!

  55. Ralph B says

    Great episode!

    At approx. 02:46 of the 2nd video, in Measure 14 Brian shows an alternate of playing the A7 triad, sliding into it from below on Frets 8/9. He does it the first time and the pitch increases as it should. But he then does it a 2nd time and it sounds like the pitch is lowering instead of increasing. Is he doing something different the 2nd time? Thanks for any help provided.

  56. Jeff B says

    Nice Lesson Brian. I especially liked the ending where you tie the arpeggio to the “T-Bone Walker chords”. BTW, I always focus on your cassette tape deck on your shelf which (if I’m not mistaken) is the last high-end Pioneer before the CD came out. I had the Pioneer 707 reel to reel to match. It’s a blast back to the 70’s to see it.

  63. chris m says

    I am baffled how D6 becomes a true D9 by sliding down two frets – though I do get where the ‘9’ note (E) appears two frets down. Specifically, if in the D6 shape:
    With strings 1-4 represented L to R, we have:
    D6: 10(D-1) 12 (B-6) 11(F#-3) 12(D-1) – i.e. the 1st, 3rd, and 6th of D major are represented.
    D9: 8(C -7b) 10(A-5) 9(E-2) 8(C-7b) – i.e. the 5th, 7b, and 9th of D are represented, but no 1st or 3rd.

    The move produced a musical-sounding result, but although the 2nd (9th) of D is represented, the only other note of D major present is the 5th. Kind of thin missing both root and 3rd…

    • Brian says

      it has a D9 sound though. It has 3 of the 5 notes of a 9 chord and gives enough color to give that 9 chord sound. You could even play the flat 7 and the 9 and that also would represent a 9 chord. Don’t overthink this stuff. If it sounds bad – don’t play it… but it if it works sonically, then use it.

  64. alasdair L says

    A most excellent lesson from a sick guy. I get most of it, tho 6th and 9th chords confuse me, but I do have difficulty moving from the licks to some of the chords, like the T-Bone ones at the end. More practice, I guess…

  65. Peter H says

    Great lesson, Brian! I have been subscribed to Active Melody for at least a year now and I’ve only been playing guitar for about 2-3 years but your lessons have taken me well beyond the beginner level. I have always loved how you break down the ideas behind what you’re playing and lead us through some of your thought processes while writing music. That’s what keeps me engaged and has helped me to improve my playing. Keep up the great work!

  66. Brad S says

    So sorry you are not feeling well. Thank you especially for this exceptional lesson while you are under the weather.

    Your continuing admonition to focus on the ideas and where they come from rather than on learning the piece by rote may be finally beginning to sink in.

    Brad

  69. Ruthann G says

    Really good video. I get the sound of a 6 chord and 9 chord and I see how they are near one another. What I don’t get is what makes them a 6 or a 9 chord. That might be helpful going forward.

    A thing I do that really helps is I print out the tab and then next to each chord name I write what shape it’s derived from. That’s helped me with fingering and with learning the neck.

    Thank Brian. You do an outstanding job. I’m thankful I’ve found your lessons.

  70. charleydelta says

    As a 79-year-old guy who has been playing guitar since the Pliocene Era, I was encouraged by the comments of some of my fellow old guys. I wish I could remember all of the cool licks I learned over the years. Maybe the Alzheimer germs ate ’em!

  73. Chris H says

    Brilliant, Brian …. Don’t doubt yourself for a moment … you are one of the best internet instructors out there. Your instructional ideas and style are great … I have been playing a long time, and I never walk away from one of your lessons … even the most basic … without picking up something I haven’t seen or thought of before. You always help me see how things are connected. AND you’re a great player … I hope you get some session work, ‘cause you’ve got the chops. Keep up the good work, amigo … the world is a better place with your playing and instruction.

  78. Jim H says

    Brian, great lesson. You’ve covered this before, but I think you’ve finally broken through. You’ve taught me that a 6th slid down two frets is a nine, but finally I get that by adding the 6th note to a 1 cord, not only does it become a 1-6th, but it is also the 6th cord in the progression. Ex- Adding a 6th note to a C makes it a C6th cord, but it’s also the 6th cord in the progression…ie-an Am. That is just amazing. Nobody else talks about this stuff. Thanks!
    Jim

  80. Josef K says

    This has been the most important lesson for me for months. It brings a lot of “logic” to the feeling. With this lesson I understand better what’s going on and what I am playing. So it is far more replicable. Thank you very much, Brain!

  81. Skio C says

    Very helpful, I was thinking about the changes would it be alright to not use chord pieces but instead use a small lick of the pentatonic scale over that chord? ie:
    change to 4 chord use (Dmajor) pentatonic 5 chord pent. then back to the A major and minor licks and chord pieces.

  83. David B says

    Great timing for a lesson like this! I just increased by guitar collection with a new Fender Telecaster, (well slightly used) and getting back into electric playing. This lesson was so spot on and timely as it helped me pull together a lot of the pieces from previous lessons and playing old blues licks. Brian thanks so much for drawing out and putting excitement back into my guitar playing. I’m in my mid 60’s and been playing since a teenager, but have incorporated more knowledge and skill into my playing in the last 3 years since being an Active member. It’s now so much more of a joy playing guitar in a large part to your lessons! Hope you’re feeling better and keep up with the good work and teaching style. Excellent.

  85. Stephanie S says

    Great lesson. You can never emphasize the theory part of it enough. AND reviewing it is necesssary.
    Is there a way to show both the tabs and the note names at the same time when you’re walking through
    all of these chords/licks. Having a classical musician background, I really think that’s what would make the
    connection to the chords alot faster and understandable.
    Perhaps have the tab and note names to each chord next to each other OR
    even just have the chord structure with note names off to the side.
    I say this because its just to much to think through “where am I on the fret board and what are the
    names of all these notes?”. By the time I figure it out, you have moved on.
    Let me know what you think. Thanks.
    Again, great lesson. Good to have something a little different.
    Feel Better Soon.

  88. Peter R says

    Initially thought I would not like it because it is slow but once I started practicing I really started to appreciate all the hidden treasures that you put into this. Now it is one of the first things that will come out of my fingers when I grab a guitar. Thanks for this.

  89. Alex P says

    Love the blues Brian. It would be great if you could also add the tab for your compositions for the rhythm sections or bass lines. This way we can learn all aspects of the great work you do. By getting the rhythm right, I feel I can get the single lines down better and record into my looper

  90. Paul W says

    Paul W from NSW, Australia. Must be very satisfying to know that you are teaching around the world.
    Love your teaching style. Appreciate the balance between theory and practical.

  91. Chuck S says

    Yet another great lay down there Brian. This lesson is very informative and really helps me see where stuff is coming from. Some of these concepts are actually staring to root ):

  92. Bruce A says

    Hi Brian,
    I feel your lessons are custom made for my interests and level of musical knowledge and playing ability. I’m sure it takes a lot of time to prepare and produce your lessons and they’re much appreciated and I enjoy them a lot! You’ve inspired me to play more.

    • Graeme G says

      new member from north scotland and glad to find your channel and get on board.
      so far very impressed with your set up and playing and teaching.
      grade myself as lower intermediate and not familiar with much of your styles but i have a good knowledge of music and broad range of listening over the years.
      im thinking just jump in but maybe you have an episode path for levels of competency
      thanks bud and looking forward to the musical journey
      im playing a nylon spanish so that will have to be augmented or replaced
      G

  95. Harold V says

    This was a great lesson. Although I took several lessons from you in which you talked about going from the sixth to the ninth chord but for some reason this lesson gave me an A Ha moment. I just realized for example when playing the four chord in the key of A or any Key (using the A Shape) you can also play the four chord by using the A shape on just the 7th fret D 9 or the or 5th fret D 6. I put this lesson on my Practice Daily list. Thanks for all your hard work. You are helping me become a better guitar player.

  98. John H says

    Hi from NZ Brian. Have really enjoyed this lesson. Such a lot of good stuff in it, and I love the way you elaborate on the theory/rationale for your progressions.
    Please keep it up!

  99. Joseph T says

    Thank you as always, Maestro
    Quick question, please in the third measure on the four and carrying over into the one of the fourth measure that looks like a G6 cord is that correct? And is it called something else? And what is the theory behind playing that chord?
    So grateful for all you do, you’re having a big impact on my playing. Thank you again.
    Joe

  101. Mike A says

    Spot on for my level Brian, love these slow blues with the backing track but which could stand alone too. The explanation and theory is so helpful and a fairly enjoyable and painless way to learn it. I see I’m not the only kiwi member so you have a world wide audience. Thanks

  102. Kevin L says

    Great Lesson Brian, lots to digest and remember. I am still struggling with lesson EP 515 the Country Rock Blues licks attempting to get closer to the performance speed! Long way to go but getting there. Sorry to hear that you are under the weather. Hope that you feel better soon.

    Regards Kevin

  106. Dublin Paul says

    Hey Brian – Great lesson.
    Thank you
    I like the ways you give chord contexts to the lessons.
    I’m hoping that some of this will stick!
    I’m not a regular contributor to the comments section here but just wanted to check in and say I really enjoy your lessons

  108. Keith S says

    I’m a guy who can play the dickens out of any blues song, using only the minor pentatonic. This lesson takes it SO much further. I REALLY appreciate the way you elucidated the minor/major pentatonic boxes between 7 and 5. Couching the changes in terms of boxes and cage shapes helps so much! I will annotate the tab printouts with these concepts as I review and pick apart the videos.

  109. Selina R says

    I love this lesson. I really like the way you tie everything back to a cord from the caged system. it makes it so easy to learn and remember, plus you can play it in another key. keep up the good work. thanks Brian.

  110. Clive C says

    Hi Brian, quite new to premium membership, your lessons are unreal, man. Campfire played for about 20 years then didn’t play much at all for about another twenty. Just got back into it with a couple of new guitars, learnt so much already! Thanks mate, greatly appreciated. All the best from way down under, Tasmania.

  111. Paul W says

    Another great lesson Brian. Noticed you admitted to being very insecure at the end of Part 1 video. Definitely no need for that. I find most of your lessons and ideas really helpful. My trouble I try to do too much. But it is fun going back to old lessons.

    My favouritite lesson is probably Rock, blues style rhythm with fill licks that you can improvise with – blues guitar lesson EP286

  113. Bruce A says

    Great lesson Brian. For me, you always include techniques and ideas that are fun and valuable, but not so much so that you lose me (as has often happened with other online lessons).
    A happy subscriber, thanks.

  116. Ed L says

    I am so grateful to you, Brian, for sharing your talent, competence, and enthusiasm that you bring to your guitar lessons. I’m not sure how you pull a rabbit out of the hat each week in supplying those of us with new ways of enjoying the guitar. Thanks so much!

  117. David B says

    Hey Brian, on the turnaround when you got to E7. whats the logic behind that? mainly curious because I am messing around with a 1,4,5 and that never occured to me to incorporate the 5th chord dom 7 on the turn around

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