Active Melody

Learn to play blues guitar.

Drop D Blues – Acoustic Solo Blues in Drop D Tuning – Blues Guitar Lesson EP354

Description

In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn an acoustic blues in Drop D tuning, along with some general tips for playing blues in this tuning. This sounds great on acoustic or electric guitar (especially with a little overdrive and tremolo), and is a solo composition (no jam track needed).

Drop D - Main Part

Slow Walkthrough - Intro

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Slow Walkthrough - Main

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Video Tablature Breakdown

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Comments

  2. Cary says

    Every time my daughter sees me eat a different chocolate bar she asks if that is my new favourite, and of course it is. Your lessons are just like that, every week is my new fave, but this one may be tough to ever beat Brian!

  4. JohnStrat says

    Sorry Typos above perhaps you could delete the previous post thanks

    Wow Brian,

    I really Like this. You sure keep piling on the pressure to keep learning. I just love the Blues sounds of this from top to bottom. Its a must learn now!
    JohnStrat

  8. Brent C says

    LUV Drop-D!! All over the notes, timing & runs. The challenge for me here to play it as clean & smooth as you do (well, close anyway….), to sound good.
    Thanks Brian. Perfect lesson for me!

  10. Blaine L says

    Whoa, Brian, this is great! This really reminds me of some of the soundtracks that Ry Cooder did back in the day, maybe “Paris, Texas” or “Crossroads”. Spooky – perfect for the mood these days. Excellent!

  17. Phil B says

    It’s 7a.m. on Saturday here in the U.K. and I’m watching this and thinking what a great way to start the weekend. You truly are a talented bloke and I can’t wait to have a go at this. Thanks Brian, it’s difficult to estimate how much your lessons have enriched my life over the past couple of years, but it’s a lot! Please don’t stop.

  24. Laurel C says

    It’s a Super Saturday when a new lesson arrives each week and the anticipation of what it will be is revealed. Just recently found the Drop D urge when learning EP085, so good to see another one as it is an interesting concept to venture out of standard tuning.

  25. Blaine H says

    Always wait each week in anticipation of the next lesson and not knowing a thing about Drop D tuning my first reaction was OH NO who wants to play this.. me being a newbie when it comes to guitar playing. But having taken it on …WHAT A TREAT… love it …… Thanks, Brian… keep taking us down new and exciting paths…

  26. drlknstein says

    very helpful info indeed , on how to find pattern 4 minor pent scale from the D chord (a shape)..I have been struggling with that ..I can find the major pattern 4 easy and use it all the time.
    welldone
    thanks

  29. Raymond P says

    A funny thing about this lesson, at first I dreaded learning a lesson in Drop D, but once you showed us how easy it is to get into Drop D tuning I completely enjoyed the entire lesson and have learned how useful and cool sounding drop D is.

    Thank you very much Brian, for another great lesson.

    Ray P

  35. Gary Roberts says

    Thank you for making dry D accessible. tried before and lost interest. Been wanting to attempt some of Stephen Stills or David Crosby pieces but were too daunting. I feel I have a finger tip grasp of this now. Hope you develop altered tuning further. I know you can’t cover specific songs but would it be possible to have a series of lessons (perhaps over couple of months so others don’t feel left out) that explore the style/theory/etc. illustrating a theme of music/song that provides the basic tools/info to mimic/copy a piece. Essentially a roadmap towards Suite:Judy Blue Eyes for instance.

  38. Roy M says

    Thank you Brian! Your thoughts to change to drop d very inspiring… Allowed me to explore and thus created a way to unlock creative actions that were immediate. Very timely.

  39. Barrie E says

    Can be played with a double dropped D ( one of Neil Young’s favourite tunings) and sounds great with the extra D on top. It also prevents misplaying any top Es. Enjoying this one as always! Stay well wishes from Canada.

  42. Phil G says

    Hey Brian. A special thanks for this lesson. But, for a different reason. I wrote this song where the story line is kind of dark. I have been searching for the right rhythm to write a melody too. This lesson just clicked! So, I tuned to drop D and started writing my rhythm and melody. It’s a kind of swampy, blues, rhythm. Simple 5 chords; D Em, E7, A, and G. But that drop D, and some lick ideas I got from this lesson, made all the difference.

    THANKS for all you do for us!!

  44. Alexandre F says

    This kind of western blues in drop D sounds deep to bottom of a jack daniels bottle or maybe not… anyway in other times I used to drink jack daniels whiskey not so often but enough to absorb this feeling so far from everything which I think it´s one of those moments in a life time and my fender dreadnought resurrection 👍

  52. Mary S says

    I like this one too! Can’t wait to get started on it. Brian, thank you for having such a good site and all the work you put into it. Some of the things I really love about your site (there are actually many things) are the way you include theory as we go so I can learn and apply things within the context of songs, I like your explanations, I love the variety of styles, and I love that you put on new lessons every week.

  58. karl s says

    This is my favorite style. I have been trying to play Chris and Morgan Stapleton’s version of “You Are My Sunshine” If you haven’t heard it and you like this lesson check it out.

    If your an experienced player and can give me some tips feel free. I have looked for tabs but have had very little luck.

  59. Douglas O says

    Great explanation of the relevance of notes, chords and how you went about composing the tune. Hope you dont mind if I nickname it ‘Coronavirus Blues’ – I hope to have learned it by the time all this is over (Easter, wasn’t it Donald!).

  65. acqua says

    Thanks Brian for a short sweet lesson ,broke out of the blues down here in lockdown NZ,feel like I’ve been in swamp heaven keep it up let’s defeat this thing together , I can feel a new song coming on !🎶🎸😃

  71. Neil H says

    This is a really great lesson Brian. Really nice greasy, slinky blues riffs that aren’t too difficult to learn. love it! Plenty of room to add in some of my own stuff too 🙂

  77. Robert K says

    G’day Brian.

    Getting back into it again after a bit of time away, I tuned my Strat to drop D, went to the bridge pickup and added some tone and a bit of drive and reverb, damned if I haven’t accidentally found a Waylon Jennings sound, with that slight echo or whatever it is going on. I actually have no idea, but I do know the sound coming out reminds of Waylons sound. LOVING IT

  78. RNArizona says

    At the risk of angering all of your other students, I will honestly tell you that this one didn’t zing me. I really enjoy a lot of your lessons, and I love playing in drop D, so I would appreciate hearing about other lessons that you have posted in drop D tuning. Be well, and have a very Happy Easter.

  79. Lance R says

    Brian, I know I write this about once a month or so, but this one is your best yet! Love it. I tried the intro on an electric and on a 12 string acoustic. Both sound great, but the 12 string is really nice. Thanks! More like this pleeeeeze.

  80. Annie V says

    I just love this kind of lessons . A year and a half ago when I first joined you, it took me 6 months to
    Learn something (I I had only ever played chords) 😳 this only took two days (not polished yet) in another year it’ll only take two hours I hope 😁 thank to the best teacher on the net 🥰

  85. Lance R says

    Brian – ‘On-Screen Tab Viewer” Please get rid of the strange pink dancing background figure. Very distracting and unnecessary. Makes it hard to read the tabs. I can think of no reason why that was put there?

  89. Eric R says

    The coolest part about most of these videos is that when i first hear it I say nope thats way outta my league and then i get into it and practice it and in a couple days I’m playing it. So cool!

  92. Guy l says

    Fun to learn…. Have been having some fun with drop D…. I did want to say that you created a great sound by “where” you choose to play the strings, picking close to the bridge…. Sound changes as you move the picking across the sound hole…. Nasty great sound….

  99. Chris H says

    Brian, I’ve been fooling around with an old Youngbloods tune called “Four in the Morning” … it’s a pretty electric tune, so I have to find a way of doing it acoustically (in a key that works for me) … nothing seemed to click, until I saw this lesson … not that it is the same vibe, but it gave me some ideas to do it in drop D with some of the licks you shared. I think I might be on to something. Thanks, brother!

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