Description
In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play several classic Lonnie Johnson style blues licks in a standalone composition. Lots of ideas to steal in this one!
Part 1 - Free Guitar Lesson
Part 2 - For Premium Members
Only available to premium members.
Register for premium access
Register for premium access
Slow Walkthrough
Only available to premium members.
Register for premium access
Register for premium access
Video Tablature Breakdown
Only available to premium members.
Register for premium access
Register for premium access
You need to be logged in as a premium member to access the tab, MP3 jam tracks, and other assets.
Learn MoreAdd to "My Favorites"
You need to login or register to bookmark/favorite this content.
Sounds fantastic! I can’t wait to learn to play it. Thanks Brian
Brian, are you using a heavy delay on this piece?
no delay – tremolo
Love this lesson! Love Lonnie Johnson. So I immediately recognized the guitar. Very cool. Thank you for a very faithful Lonnie tribute!! I’m ready to tear into this one!!
progreso es progreso a mejor profesor mejor alumno
A request/idea for future lessons: Scrapper Blackwell!
Interesting style.
I love this lesson! Simple enough but with these elegant sounding half step fills and triplet runs. You are the best Brian for pointing out all these artists and what they each brought to the table. If we can just digest some of their style and adapt in in our playing it will be a huge step!
Oh, please keep these blues comin’, Brian. This is fun!
Must have missed it on last weeks video but really like the scrolling tab on the slow walk thru video. I can slow the playback down to 75% and it makes it easier for to practice and get it up to speed. Thanks Brian
First: Brian, you’re reminding me of one of your heroes, Ry Cooder. Thanks so much for reminding folks about Lonnie Johnson. Second: that album you mention is $80 on Amazon! Luckily, the mp3 download is much cheaper. Another great lesson.
This makes me wonder: was Charlie Christian hearing Lonnie Johnson back in the day? I’ve heard Eddie Lang and Lonnie Johnson playing together, but what you’re doing here seems to be heading toward Charlie Christian. Great stuff.
simply wonderful lesson, thanks Brian!!
Great Lesson. Love Lonnie Johnson. I remember watching Lonnie Johnson on old black & white footage from the UK in the early 1960’s. Great footage on Youtube
Love this lesson and glad to see you playing the Value Leader again…I deliberated on one about a year ago and missed the boat on one that was in fantastic shape. Sounds so good!
for me, what was the best part? when you noodle around at the end of the last video. i am so jealous you can just do that right off the top of your head like that….is there a lesson idea there? i dont know. perhaps you cant teach that. but for someone that grew up on pub rock here in australia, all these other musicians you relate to of who i have never heard of, is increasing my own musical listening pleasure too…thank you.
Like it! Thanks
Nice job spicing-up the Pentatonic Minor scale to add a little jazzy flavor. Love the IV to minor IV to I move at 13:47. I’ll be taking that with me.
On a side note: I read in the AARP magazine about Hot Air Balloon Rides in Franklin TN. Have you ever gone on a balloon ride?
Maybe do a lesson from a balloon? Imagine how many YouTube Views you would get with that.
Just kidding, Brian. You already use the oldest trick in the book: TALENT
My fear of heights would definitely prevent that one!
Brian, this lesson is brilliant. Thank you very much. Love all your Lonnie Johnson lessons – always great. In fact, I at first heard of Lonnie from you a few years back and I am a fan since then. So also thanks für the tipp regarding the Folkways Recordings – I heart a lot of his albums via Apple Music but did not yet stumble over this one. This weekend is gonna be really great! (By the way yesterday I get myself a new guitar … can it get any better?)
Thanks Brian, great lesson, fits well with your EP140 , Lonnie Johnson of years gone by..
Great Lonnie Johnson Blues lesson Brian. And it’s always fun to hear you bring out the beautiful sounding music from these old guitars.
Thanks Brian
This is really nice, I can’t wait to work on this!
Hey, that’s fun!
Great lesson and I love the scrolling tab below the video! I usually have to set up my iPad for the tab and my laptop for the video. The rolling tab is way more convenient. Hope it’s a permanent feature!
Good one Brian. Keep them coming!
Looking forward to checking out the Lonnie Johnson album later tonight too,
Brian, last 2 lessons’ PDF tab files are missing the EP numbers…
These last two lessons (Dicky Betts and Lonnie Johnson) have been really fun. Both of these artists have a unique sound and it was very beneficial to hear your analysis of their style as well as seeing you play it. In the future, additional lessons focusing on unique blues masters would be pretty cool.
Really enjoy this one and EP140 which is your other Lonnie Johnson style.
Hey Brian – that lesson was brilliant – been a member for a year or so now (lockdown pursuit) and you’ve really helped bring up my overall playing and blue knowledge levels! Thanks so much 😄
Brilliant to see you highlighting Lonnie Johnson, Brian. I’ve hosted a weekly Blues radio show since 2003 and, for the first 13 years, used Lonnie’s Guitar Blues as my intro tune. (After this lesson, I’m thinking of returning to it). I’ve been a member for just a couple of months and can’t believe how (after a lifetime of just knocking about with pentatonics) I’m now beginning to actually understand why things work. Thank you!
Another good one, Brian. As always, great technical, intellectual, and artistic content. I’ve been a member for a few years now, and you get better all the time!
I grew up in Toronto where Lonnie Johnson spent the last ten years of his life.. He owned a club where he and other blues legends played. The sad irony was that his club didn’t do well because people were too busy listening to local bands who were covering the Rolling Stones covers of real blues guys.
I went to see him once and remember being struck by how different his style was. More sophisticated and uptown than the cover bands. More melody than groove. I’ve always thought that your take on the blues reminded me of Lonnie.
Beautiful playing.
Nice piece ! Don’t even know Johnson…
Thank you Brian, this is another lesson I’ve taken a few “sidebars” from. This is only my 3rd week on AM and have fallen back in love with my guitar, just wish I’d joined a year ago at the beginning of lock down.
Membership in Active Melody is an excellent deal. When I started here three years ago as a beginner, a tune like this would take me two months to figure out how to play. Now, having progressed all the way to advanced beginner, I got the first half in couple of hours, and I’ll tackle the second half tomorrow. You have been a great help on my very slow and belated guitar journey – destination unknown, but likely well short of aspirations. Nonetheless, playing in the style of Lonnie Johnson is a pretty cool stop along the way. Thanks for that introduction, I love that style of playing. Lastly, if you happen to think about it in a future video, you might mention the cool places to hear great guitarists in Franklin – I live in California but go to Franklin once in a while because my daughter lives there.
Your lessons on Lonnie Johnson was the original reason i signed up years ago. See you are still doing lessons on his style. Keep up the great work.
Must be one of favorite lessons!!! thanks for this one:)
Nice lesson. I love the sound of the Kay Value leader. I still have mine. My first electric guitar back in 1967, its the 3 pickup version. Still sounds great.
Like the format with the tab!
I was just reading about Lonnie Johnson and here we go….<3
It's taking a while to nail all those notes.. lol…but so love it!!!