Active Melody

Learn to play blues guitar.

  • Log In
  • Weekly Lessons
  • Take The Tour
  • Forum
  • Hear From Our Members
  • Membership Sign Up

EP103 – JJ Cale Style Lead & Rhythm Blues

Home › Forums › Showcase Your Playing › EP103 – JJ Cale Style Lead & Rhythm Blues

Tagged: Fender Nashville Player Plus Telecaster, Fender Player Stratocaster, JJ Cale, Supro Delta King 10 Amp

  • This topic has 19 replies, 19 voices, and was last updated 4 months, 2 weeks ago by Lights.
Viewing 19 reply threads
  • Author
    Posts
    • October 31, 2025 at 6:44 am #402695
      Garry
      Participant

        Hi All,

        A shout out to Geoff for recommending this one a while back. As Geoff said, not a difficult solo but definitely a fun one to learn and play. I’m playing both parts and add my own cycle to follow Brian’s.

        All the best!

        Garry

      • October 31, 2025 at 7:16 am #402696
        charjo
        Moderator

          Well played, Garry. Your solo really fit well with the J.J. style.
          I have a soft spot for that EP. It was a monthly challenge way back in my early AM days.
          John

        • October 31, 2025 at 8:43 am #402697
          JoeD1
          Participant

            Really nicely done Garry. Your part blended nicely with Brians. You played very smoothly too.

            Joe

            The sight of a touch, or the scent of a sound,
            Or the strength of an Oak with roots deep in the ground.
            --Graeme Edge

          • October 31, 2025 at 10:54 am #402698
            David L
            Participant

              Very Mark Knopfler-esque. Technique and tone are spot-on. Impressive improv. Well-done, as always, Garry.

            • October 31, 2025 at 12:16 pm #402699
              Geoff
              Participant

                That is excellent work from you as always Garry 👏 👍.

                Interesting that you chose finger style on this. What I like is the softer tone you get with this and it those plucked third progressions sound so clear.

                Thoroughly enjoyed listening. The more I play the more I think simpler leads sound the best 👌.

              • October 31, 2025 at 4:30 pm #402704
                James B
                Participant

                  So nice, Garry. Great job on both parts. Played like a pro. Love this one.

                  James

                • October 31, 2025 at 5:23 pm #402709
                  Dieter
                  Participant

                    Wonderful song, excellently played. You could listen to it for hours.

                    Dieter

                  • November 1, 2025 at 2:55 am #402713
                    Guido
                    Participant

                      Brilliant work Garry! Steady and spotless rhythm part and excellent leads: your own second part flows seamlessly and beautifully and the finger picking technique is perfect for this piece!

                      Guido

                    • November 1, 2025 at 4:36 pm #402726
                      San Luis Rey
                      Participant

                        Nice picking on both parts Garry! Your playing and recordings are top of the line.

                        Mike

                      • November 2, 2025 at 6:34 am #402736
                        Helen Lazaridou
                        Participant

                          Absolutely wonderful Garry ❤️ 😊 It’s so impressive that you played both parts and you used fingerstyle technique!!!!And your own cycle fits seamlessly as always!!!I love your smooth style💞💖💕and what a great lesson you’ve chosen!!!💞💖

                        • November 3, 2025 at 12:57 pm #402759
                          sunjamr
                          Participant

                            Nice one, Garry. That’s one of my favorite lessons. Good job on the improv.

                            Sunjamr Steve

                          • November 4, 2025 at 2:23 pm #402777
                            Denise
                            Participant

                              I am a big fan of J.J. Cale and this one is one of my favorite lesson. I think that the rhythm part is quite tricky to play with these single notes. It took me a while to get it under my fingers.
                              Well, you played both rhythm and lead in perfection. Your own cycle sounded great and fitted very well.
                              Great tone on both guitars.
                              Denise

                              More Blues!

                            • November 5, 2025 at 3:41 pm #402783
                              John H
                              Participant

                                Fantastic job Garry. You are right on the mark. Love your tone all across the board.

                                John

                              • November 6, 2025 at 5:10 am #402784
                                Andy N
                                Participant

                                  Smooth, laid back and in the groove. Classic J.J. Cale 👍. Love this lesson too and find it hard to say if I like the lead, with it’s restraint or the addictive rhythm part the best. Needless to say you played both flawlessly and the finger style lead was superb with your extra cycle staying right in the mood of the first. Couldn’t help noticing that you have some Knopfler traits in your picking hand which likely explains the touch and feel you infused into the performance.
                                  Love the T-shirt too 😎!

                                • November 7, 2025 at 5:42 am #402811
                                  Ivan
                                  Participant

                                    I’m liking everything about this…rhythm, touch, feel and tone. Nicely done Garry.

                                    Ivan

                                  • November 8, 2025 at 1:10 am #402953
                                    Wayne Nunez
                                    Participant

                                      Great job Garry very well played!

                                    • November 8, 2025 at 6:04 am #402980
                                      Liam Innes
                                      Participant

                                        Having a second listen Garry.

                                        Again the finger style on this was impressive.

                                        You know the rest 😉

                                        Liam.

                                        “We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams. “

                                      • November 13, 2025 at 4:15 pm #403530
                                        Garry
                                        Participant

                                          A big THANKS to all who had a listen. A fun one to play and definitely an easier lesson than most. All the best! 😎🎸😎

                                        • November 14, 2025 at 4:08 am #403540
                                          Richard G
                                          Participant

                                            A cool performance Garry, your improvised part fitted seamlessly. These JJ Cale routines are just fabulous to play with some of the best grooves.

                                            Richard

                                          • November 20, 2025 at 8:57 am #403702
                                            Lights
                                            Participant

                                              One of the coolest lessons again, Garry! Great fingerpicking and the rhythm take as well.
                                              Guitars ring as heaven, man!
                                              Lights.

                                          • Author
                                            Posts
                                          Viewing 19 reply threads
                                          • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
                                          Log In

                                          Search Forums

                                          Quick Links

                                          • Latest posts
                                          • Most popular posts
                                          • Posts Freshness
                                          • Posts with most replies
                                          • My active posts
                                          • All my posts
                                          • Posts with my reply

                                          Links

                                          • Blog
                                          • Resources
                                          • About
                                          • Contact
                                          • FAQ
                                          • Refunds & Cancellations
                                          • Sitemap

                                          Recent Lessons

                                          Fingerstyle Blues Ideas – Blues you can play by yourself on acoustic guitar – Guitar Lesson EP633

                                          Easily remember and use minor licks by connecting them to basic chord shapes – Guitar Lesson – EP632

                                          Blues lead played across the fretboard using shapes from the C.A.G.E.D. System Guitar Lesson – EP631

                                          Contact

                                          For all support questions email: support@activemelody.com
                                          For all other inquires email: brian@activemelody.com
                                          • Facebook
                                          • Twitter
                                          • YouTube

                                          © 2026 · Active Melody. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

                                          Free Weekly Guitar Lessons

                                          Enter your email address below to have the weekly guitar lesson delivered to your email address. I take privacy very seriously and will not share your email address.

                                          • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

                                          Active MelodyLogo Header Menu
                                          • Weekly Lessons
                                          • Take The Tour
                                          • Forum
                                          • Hear From Our Members
                                          • Membership Sign Up
                                          • Log In

                                          Insert/edit link

                                          Enter the destination URL

                                          Or link to existing content

                                            No search term specified. Showing recent items. Search or use up and down arrow keys to select an item.