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Slow, Minor Key Blues in A – Both Rhythm and Lead Guitar Parts – EP184

Description

In this blues guitar lesson, you’ll learn how play along with a slow, minor key jam track that is missing any guitar tracks. The jam track consists of a piano, bass, and drums and it’ll be up to you to fill in both rhythm and lead parts. I’ll show you how to alternate back and forth between rhythm and lead using the “call and response” technique.

Part 1 - Free Guitar Lesson

Part 2 - For Premium Members

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Slow Walkthrough

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Video Tablature Breakdown

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Comments

  1. Jeem says

    December 23, 2016 at 3:54 pm

    Well isn’t this just a nice one just ahead of Christmas!

    I was all set to start on another and then this! Plans change, one adapts!

    Thanks Brian!

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    • William D says

      December 27, 2016 at 2:27 pm

      I hope he ‘adds on’ with more solos with this track in the future!!!

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  2. Maradonagol says

    December 23, 2016 at 4:17 pm

    Perfect for holiday practice…..very nice…love the stabs….

    Merry Christmas Brian…all the best and thank you!!!

    Roberto

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  3. San Luis Rey says

    December 23, 2016 at 4:38 pm

    Thanks for a great minor blues for Christmas. Your lessons are truly a gift Brian. Also, I get to dust off the Fender. Have a Merry Christmas!
    Mike

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  4. vicman says

    December 23, 2016 at 4:42 pm

    Merry Christmas Brian. You give us a gift of music every week. Thank you.

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  5. Don D. says

    December 23, 2016 at 5:09 pm

    Merry Christmas, Brian! Thank you for another great lesson!

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  6. barry says

    December 23, 2016 at 5:45 pm

    Another Brilliant Piece of Creativity Brian! I Just knew there was a Great lesson Brewing on your Demo of your new Guitar You have an Awesome Talent We thank you for Sharing it!Wishing you and all the Family a Merry Xmas and Healthy 2017
    Bsrry

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  7. Michael S says

    December 23, 2016 at 6:45 pm

    Thanks Brian for a lovely bluesy Xmas present. Have a great Xmas.

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  8. scott d says

    December 23, 2016 at 6:50 pm

    Merry Christmas Brian…I love that one!

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  9. JohnStrat says

    December 23, 2016 at 8:23 pm

    Very nice yet again Brian, I don’t know how you manage to keep it up so consistently but a fine Christmas lesson for us

    Happy Christmas to All

    JohnSrat

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  10. Aussie Rick says

    December 23, 2016 at 8:48 pm

    A great lesson thanks Brian. Has a nice laid-back feel to it. I’ll be getting stuck straight into this one.

    Wishing you and your family all the very best for Christmas and the New Year.

    Rick

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  11. justin N says

    December 23, 2016 at 11:32 pm

    Excellent. Love the string bending. And interesting minor chords. Lots of nuggets in this one. You make it look easy…until I try to do it myself. I guess that kind of finesse only comes from years of practice! Happy Holidays Brian.

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  12. Allan says

    December 24, 2016 at 11:21 am

    Hi Brian, Love the feel of this one love the minor key very cool, great with the backing track. You have given us so much over this past year thank you and hope you and yours have a wonderful Christmas and look forward to the New year with yet more great and uplifting guitar lessons. Cheers mate.

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  13. sunburst says

    December 24, 2016 at 2:55 pm

    Another very good slow blues lesson.enjoying this today Christmas eve! Merry Christmas Brian, I enjoy practicing and learn a bit of something new from each of your tutorials!

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  14. charleydelta says

    December 24, 2016 at 5:20 pm

    Love the Robben Ford lick. He was named one of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of the 20th Century” by Musician magazine for good reason. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you, Joan and the kids. Hope you never run out of good ideas to share with your fellow musicians, Brian!

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  15. Michael D says

    December 24, 2016 at 5:41 pm

    Great playing and another great tune to learn, Merry Christmas Michael

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  16. Bill W2 says

    December 24, 2016 at 8:08 pm

    Brian a warm wish to you your family.. and All here on AM. A really nice soulful sound !! Thank you Brian.

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  17. James H says

    December 24, 2016 at 9:49 pm

    I think its safe to say Brian is the man!! keepin it fresh and clean! Happy Holidays.

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  18. Fender nut says

    December 25, 2016 at 12:11 am

    Great lesson again Brian.
    I picked this up at 4am Christmas Day it’s now six am .
    Merry Xmas.

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  19. Charles G says

    December 25, 2016 at 3:11 pm

    Hi Brian Just want to wish you a merry Christmas. Been a member for awhile but haven’t introduced myself. Working on allman mixolydian lesson. Love the site. Would love an in depth jerry Garcia lesson. Thanks for the lessons. Just retired and really into playing.

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  20. MYRX says

    December 25, 2016 at 5:18 pm

    Another pleasant surprise. Good Xmas lesson

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  21. Angelo I says

    December 25, 2016 at 7:47 pm

    Another huge light bulb went off with this lesson. m7 chord progressions and learning to follow the chords with the A, D, and E minor pentatonic scales. had a blast just jaming along improvising with the backing track and the tips you had for us. so cool. m7 chords sound so sweet!. usually just play major and minor progressions

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  22. Ian L says

    December 26, 2016 at 11:38 am

    I signed up at last .. Been watching Brian for a while but his annual subscription price was too good to miss and I love the way he puts these videos together and provides great context. I might not get all the context and application first time but it’s great to try and play the stuff he puts together, and eventaully some of the other stuff will go in.

    Many thanks for all you hard work Brian .. Happy Holidays .. you have inspired me to make 2017 the bext year of my guitar journey.

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  23. Xolile G says

    December 27, 2016 at 2:06 pm

    Hi Brian

    I would like to know if its possible for me as a premium member to download a part 2 premium, because ever since i joined i’m only able to download part 1 lessons.

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  24. Jonesy Wales says

    December 27, 2016 at 3:09 pm

    These ‘rhythm and lead’ lessons the you create are excellent!!!

    Let’s face it, most of us learning guitar aren’t ever going to play in a band, we’re just looking play at home for the sheer joy of making music.

    These lessons perfect for creating a full sound that’s really satisfying to the ear. Who needs a band!

    This kind of info is pretty rear in find in this depth and quality. Well worth the monthly subscription. Looking forward to the next one, they’re great!

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  25. Bmoflaz says

    December 27, 2016 at 4:18 pm

    Great Lesson Brian. I look forward very much to the insight you give during the lessons… I learn more from listening to your thought process than by learning the parts note-for note. Keep up the great work!

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  26. Dorothy S Guinn says

    December 27, 2016 at 4:41 pm

    Santa brought me a Les Paul, this is a perfect break in, I love minor blues.

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  27. gregd says

    December 27, 2016 at 5:42 pm

    I,ve got so much to do at present,but hey it will just have to wait -there,s something far more pressing -EP -184

    Thanks Brian just love the groove

    cheers greg

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  28. TonyM says

    December 28, 2016 at 1:22 pm

    I always notice that the mp3 jamtrack with guitar is slight different than the slow walk through. Anyone ever catch that. Not that it makes a huge difference when you play with the non guitar jam track. I just get worked up when I can’t hit the same note and can’t figure out why :). Great lesson though.

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  29. Robert J says

    December 28, 2016 at 11:37 pm

    Cool lesson. reminds me lot of Steely Dan. Thanks!

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  30. drlknstein says

    December 29, 2016 at 9:54 am

    another great rhythm vibe for the arsenal and the licks are pretty cool too

    thanks

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  31. joedge says

    December 30, 2016 at 11:56 am

    Brian,
    Best in the new year. Hope you know how much we appreciate the effort you put into your lessons, particularly the theory behind them, and your affable teaching style.

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  32. jlg says

    December 31, 2016 at 7:20 pm

    Cool fun one.

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  33. william k says

    January 1, 2017 at 1:32 pm

    this idea is great works well with my trio plus pedal if you are aguitar player buy this pedal make your own jam tracks

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  34. James W says

    January 1, 2017 at 7:07 pm

    Brian you made a mistake on about 3 minutes into the part 2 video. I am not going to tell what it was because you make so few and I am sure this was a failed swoop of the tongue …maybe a “swell Poop of the tongue” and not because you didn’t know better….I thought it might be fun to let your bloggers try to find it…thanks for all the great material…looking forward to 2017 with activemelody.

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  35. micler says

    January 2, 2017 at 2:49 am

    Hi Brian. First of all happy new year. I love this lesson and cant wait to learn it. Just wanna to ask if there is a possibility to get the piano notes of the backing track. My wife plays piano and it would be awsome to play along to her. TIA and best regards. Michael

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  36. Rev Bob says

    January 6, 2017 at 8:26 am

    Hey Brian, an awesome lesson, thank you.

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  37. Scott G says

    January 6, 2017 at 9:43 pm

    Brian, got a chance to work on this one, enjoy your presentations. You have helped me look for ways to improve my playing. thank you

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  38. harry9000 says

    January 7, 2017 at 7:51 pm

    Finding transitioning to the Em7 from the 5th to the 8th measure extremely difficult

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    • harry9000 says

      January 7, 2017 at 7:52 pm

      7th to the 8th measure

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  39. Lawrence M says

    January 12, 2017 at 4:45 pm

    Hi Brian,
    I heard you reference another lesson re: patterns and I’m interested in learning more.
    I searched through the lesson inventory and could not find it.
    Could you please provide the Lesson #?
    Thanks!

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    • Brian says

      January 12, 2017 at 6:28 pm

      That was the Blues Lead Course – available under My Account > My Courses

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      • Lawrence M says

        January 14, 2017 at 6:25 am

        Thanks so much! Your lessons are excellent!

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  40. jimberna says

    January 21, 2017 at 4:35 am

    One of your best -and there are so many to choose from. Thank you

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  41. Mark C says

    January 21, 2017 at 10:38 pm

    { + Awesome Guitar lesson Brian, Rock On.! + }

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  42. Rev Bob says

    February 2, 2017 at 3:54 pm

    Love it.

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  43. Filippo C says

    February 17, 2017 at 12:29 pm

    Very very nice. Bravo
    Filippo

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  44. FRANCK V says

    February 28, 2017 at 5:08 am

    Bonjour Brian,

    French Franck here. Thank you for this fantastic lesson, I find you are really helpfull and inspiring!
    I have a question though and I don’t mean to sound fuzzy I just need to understand.
    In this lesson (EP184) at the beginning of the song after the first turn around of A chord you show us a Blues slide on string 2 and 3 that takes us from Blues Pattern 1 to Pattern 2. I understand this well (only thanks to you) but when I look at your middle finger on string 2 it does not seem to be hitting a note from Pattern 1. However it hits a note from the Dorian mode, I think. I would be grateful to you if you could confirm that I am I right and making sense, or explain where this note comes from.
    Merci Brian!

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    • Brian says

      February 28, 2017 at 8:41 am

      Franck, you’re correct, that note is technically not in the minor pentatonic scale but is in the minor scale (or Dorian mode as you point out)

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  45. Huub L says

    March 4, 2017 at 3:31 pm

    Thank you so much Brian,
    Huub

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  46. Edward S says

    March 30, 2017 at 11:09 pm

    Just joined – pretty cool lesson – spent a couple of hours playing around – have it down and love the sound – thank you so much!!

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  47. Tom l says

    April 28, 2017 at 2:49 pm

    great groove here ! by coincidence I just finished ep 069, so this is a super addition. Thanks again and greatings from Belgium

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  48. jose s says

    May 22, 2017 at 2:37 pm

    Brian loved this lesson, but man to much useless talking about stuff that has nothing to do with lesson we wait and wait for lesson to continue some what Boring. sorry just had to let you know.

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  49. Vince J says

    November 13, 2017 at 10:36 pm

    Working on this lesson. I find the rhythm quite a challenge as I think it is a bit syncopated. Also I prefer plucking the strings with all my 4 fingers rather than using a pick.

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  50. Siegfried M says

    December 27, 2018 at 11:55 am

    Brian,

    I just joined Active Melody, one of the reasons is this great lesson, love it and hope to be able to play it soon. But not only that, these kind of lessons give me more insight into blues music.

    Best
    sigi

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  51. Alexandre F says

    February 22, 2019 at 11:21 am

    Awsome smooth vibe this song and a great exercise to work your fingers, balance and rhythm though I can´t wait to play with the piano , drum and bass which require much more effort or skill to accomplish… This is one more of those kind of songs that put you in above the clouds

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  52. Ken Sheppard says

    July 15, 2019 at 4:30 pm

    This a great lesson for me Brian and will enable me to jam with a friend who is essentially a jazz but loves playing a bit of creative blues!

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  53. Robert P says

    January 1, 2020 at 2:19 pm

    Yes, absolutely great lesson! I would wish more of these lessons about rhythm concepts over a basic blues chord progression

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