Active Melody

Learn to play blues guitar.

Country Blues by yourself! (seeing the chord shapes makes this easier) – Guitar Lesson – EP609

Description

In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play a Country, Blues style composition by yourself (no jam track needed). Every lick / phrase that you’ll learn will be connected to a basic chord shape, making it easier to visualize what’s going on.

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

  2. slopace says

    Yeah I love these song type lessons. I get what you’re doing and I understand completely (thanks to your teaching) but I just don’t think I have it in me how to come up with these tunes. You just pull them out of the air week after week and it blows me away how you can do that !

    • Michael K says

      How long have you been playing? It comes over time from dedicated time spent learning and working on things you don’t already know. When I first joined the group I had a lot of basics already down, but had a ton more to learn. The method I used to build up chops is to play and analyze the songs that Brian put together already. That’s essentially why he’s doing it. At first its perfectly acceptable to learn the songs he has created already exactly as they are, but you can extend them into longer versions effectively creating your own variations on the template he already gave us. It doesn’t have to be wildly different from his version either. The mores songs you learn and study, the licks you can collect and store in your virtual bucket of licks that associate with each of the CAGED patterns and of course the scales. If you don’t know your scales well, then get working on them. That will enable you to be a lot more creative.

      You say you understand what he is doing but you don’t have it in you to create songs yourself. I never look at it that way. In fact never say anything negative about your current abilities. Instead, say to yourself “I keep learning more and more ideas, licks, and connections that make my playing better every day”. Make up your own list of positive affirmations and keep working at it.

      The only other suggestion I have is to make sure you know all your intervals really well. That’s something that I decided to really make a priority to master. It’s just a matter of time before I reap the benefits of the work in that area. Intervals and scales give you the freedom to do all of that improvising that you want to do. For every chord shape and every scale pattern, know exactly where the Root is all over the neck and all the intervals in between.

      • James G says

        I just joined and nothing is too easy or too hard. I wasted a lot of years trying to speed up the neck of the guitar playing at 160 bpm. I could never get out of the first position. The full lessons have exposed all my weak areas that I need to work on. I love all the talking because it builds muscle memory. It also gives you time to practice the ‘light bulb moments”.

  3. Ralph P. says

    Smokin’…I know it’s hard to Rock Out on an acoustic but you sure did it. Great licks and great sound.

    Your right hand looks like you’re playing pretty forcefully. Are you playing with a very heavy right hand attack on this? Looks and sounds like it. Sounds so clear and articulate and “BIG”.

    Ralph

    • Brian says

      yeah, im playing pretty hard w/ my right hand – something i’ve been trying to work on… i use way too much energy when doing that and with a pickup it’s totally unnecessary!

  6. Bill says

    Such a cool lesson and love that new pickup in the old Gibson!
    Real old bluesy sound there. Perfect for this lesson.
    I think a lot of those old players thought in terms of chord shapes.

  8. Nelson V says

    Great lesson! The idea of licks within chord shapes, along with connecting the shapes with licks gives us wealth of things to work on in developing our improv skills. Including the theory and reasoning behind the note selection and licks is very helpful. Thank you!

  11. Kevin S says

    Nice work Brian! Been coming to your site for years and I love how build. A few years ago I would have passed on this, my eyes and fingers would be tied in knots, but now I can jump right in and get with the program. Gotta send a shout out to a guitar teacher I learned from years ago, Gary B in Willits Ca. He banged on me to learn the major scales in all five positions and it’s finally paying off. Thanks to both you guys, lovin’ it.

  16. Michael K says

    Been working on this one all day. There are definitely connections that I keep making as you keep making us aware of the same concepts over in over inside of different compositions. Today it was the awareness of that B mixolydian (E Maj scale) connection to the D Shape.

    You didn’t mention it in the video, but your precise fingering during that A major pentatonic run that connects back to the E-Shape (A triad) was very important to make a smooth transition. I’m becoming more and more aware that those finer details make all the difference to get good rhythm and timing. You switched from 1st and 3rd finger to 1st and 2nd finger so that the 2nd finder would wind up right on the 3rd interval (C#) in the A triad. After noticing this little detail and practicing like that, I was instantly able to perform it way better than before.

  17. San Luis Rey says

    Great lesson Brian! There is lots of good info in here to unpack so this will be a fun week. Getting up to Bluegrass speed with a sweet composition and lots of chords to follow. Will experiment with the pick because at 72 I need a speed boost for everything. 🙂 That pickup sounds awesome.

  18. Steve says

    Great song, really well composed, fun to play and lots to learn from. I start playing slow, and over the week as I speed it up I don’t try to play note for note but just try and play part of it to accompany. The minor 1 for 4 is a good new one, have to drop that into a future lesson too (as you do) so I don’t forget it.

  19. declan m says

    Lovely piece Brian. So nice working such vibrant runs of licks into my fingers. I’m in danger of overload at the moment as I’m looking at a bunch of pieces at the same time now. I’ll give each of the three it’s space this coming week, and lock them into the fingers and the mind. A great reward from learning from you is the increasing lightness of touch that is developing as I practice your compositions. And I can practice, not quite but almost, endlessly as the compositions are so pleasing to play. It’s raining here in the East African highlands, the house sleeps and I make music. Keep on keepin’ on maestro. Mwalimu Nsuri!

  20. James S says

    .Great lesson. There’s a lot here. This is nerdy, but I thinking there must be some formula to think about how these scales pair up — like E major is B mixolydian. Is there some kind of simple way to connect these pairings, which I imagine work for all the modes?

    • Brian says

      Yes, the Mixolydian mode (scale) is what fits perfectly over the 5 chord of the song…. and it’s the exact same notes as the major scale of the 1 chord. So you can keep playing the major scale of the key of the song to represent that 5 chord (and it will be Mixolydian)

  21. Dustin M says

    Great lesson, Brian! I find it very helpful that you explain how the phrases tie back to the chord shapes. This makes it easier to understand improvising over changes. The chord substitution example V of the V has opened a new door for me. Thank you.

  23. michael f says

    This one was a good one. Some highlights for me: 1. pointing out that you are only one fret away from the third note of the A chord (C formation). I’m always looking for the root of the chord when trying to play the changes which gets me lost a lot. The third of the chord is as stable as landing on the root; I need to be more open to finding that tone rather than just looking for the root. 2: Always love Brian putting in secondary dominants in his arrangements as he does here. The repetition helps immeasurably. I still like to work backwards from the 5 chord (E7) to confirm why the B and F# chord are not minor, but the shortcut 6-2-5-1 formula is more practical once you understand why the 6 and 2 chords are major or dominant (the 5 chord is always dominant)). 3: also not playing the full chords in that 6-2-5-1 progression the second time around was more understandable. Just playing dyad sixths rather than the whole chord is easier than playing the whole chord. Thank you

  24. Richard D says

    Hi Brian,

    I hope you are well. I want to share with you that I like your product and enjoy watching your lessons. You organize them well. However, there is this ongoing battle with technology. It’s not that the technology does not work. It’s more that I don’t appreciate YouTube requiring me to sign in to watch your videos. I’m not paying YouTube for your lessons; I’m sending my subscription monies to you.

    I just want to let you know that our privacy is being attacked from all angles, and if I can’t use your product without Google watching me, I will likely cancel my subscription.

    I thought you would want to know.

    R.

    • Brian says

      this is something new that is caused by Safari (not sure why it’s happening to some people and not others) – it’s caused by 1 of 2 things.. 1) if you’re using a VPN, it will happen… you can just change your VPN location to solve it. or 2) it’s something w/ the version of Safari… the easiest solution is to just use a different browser – Firefox, Chrome, etc.

      Sometimes your antivirus software is the culprit (web root, norton, etc) – if it uses a VPN… you might try disabling and see if it works ok without – then you’ll know it’s the culprit (or the VPN within the software is the culprit).

  26. Jerry P says

    great lesson! A lot of riffs in this song we’ve seen before from you. I love it when you do this! attacking the same thing from a different angle makes it that much easier to understand. I need to spend more time on.the major scale. I know them in all 5 positions but pulling them up at will is a different story. I work a lot on your Jerry Garcia lessons. It seems to me that I might be able to slide these licks in with those . Thanks, Brian.

  27. John A says

    Hi Brian…

    This was a GREAT lesson. I have been wanting you to do some videos using country licks and this was perfect. I love the way you are getting the licks out of the chord shapes. I have been going through your lessons to learn all the CAGED shapes and scales for each shape. It’s great knowing where the b7 is in each shape. I find your teaching so useful and practical. I’ve been a subscriber for 3 years or so. Keep adding more stuff with country licks. Thanks for all your help. John Anderson

  29. lane s says

    Thanks Brian, this tune sounds a lot like Victory in Jesus which is right on time for me because I am learning that song and now I have some ideas and licks to jazz up the song.

    Thanks

  30. Garry H says

    Brian, you probably won’t see this as I have been working on this lesson all week. I’ve learned so much and having so much fun dissecting your composition into the licks you have explained and pointed out. Working on them one at a time has helped me with my speed. Bryan, someone told me that if I can’t do some of the finger stretches, if I just keep trying, eventually I’ll be able to. In your opinion do you think I could do better on a smaller guitar? I’m working on a Handmade Dreadnought my late brother made for me and I would really like to make it sing! But I would consider using a smaller guitar to get more proficient. Your thoughts? Thanks

  31. Michael D says

    This was another great lesson. I started listening, and stopped after the first A_D_E chords and then just started trying this in other keys. Working in other keys seem to reinforce things for me. Can’t wait to spend some serios time on this one… thanks

  32. michael f says

    This isn’t a fingerpick lesson but has anybody tried these spring loaded combination guitar flat/finger picks from black mountain? They were developed by a guitar teacher. Seems like they are more versatile allowing you to switch between styles. I cannot play upstrokes with a thumb pick but I like the pluck that thumb picks provide over just using your thumb.
    https://blackmountainpicks.com/pages/thumb-picks?utm_medium=paid&utm_id=23852892552680220&utm_content=23858232918300220&utm_term=23852892552720220&utm_campaign=23852892552680220

  33. Paul T says

    Thanks for another great lesson, Brian. I’m gradually beginning to grasp the connection between licks, fills, bass runs and basic chord shapes that grow out of the CAGED system. As someone who usually strums or finger picks my way through a song, I’m grateful to learn the tricks and theory needed to use the entire fingerboard. I’m still not sure how to apply this information to the songs that I like to play, but I’m hoping that will come with time and with practice.

  36. Stan says

    usually takes me a few day to complete but on this on i learned several; ez to use new licks in just a few min cant wait to get into the second part thanks Stan

  37. Elisabeth M says

    Finally getting somewhere! Thanks so much for your teachings
    I could use right hand rhythm work… like you do in the second half of this country blues one (down up down up down UP down up down up down UP). Do you have videos with different patterns like that?

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