Active Melody

Learn to play blues guitar.

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

Ragtime Blues Guitar Lesson (On Acoustic Guitar) EP148

Description

In this acoustic blues guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play a ragtime blues in the key of E with no accompaniment. The structure of this song is just 2 chords (and E and a B) and it alternates back and forth between those 2 chords (starting on the 5 chord). In addition to learning this composition note for note, you’ll also learn the “why” behind the notes so that you can improvise and continue this structure for as long as you want. It isn’t as difficult as it might seem!

Part 1: Free Guitar Lesson

Part 1: For Premium Members

Only available to premium members.
Register for premium access

Slow Walk-Through

Only available to premium members.
Register for premium access

Video Tablature Breakdown

Only available to premium members.
Register for premium access
Curious about the benefits of
Premium Membership?
Try it for FREE!
arrow_downYou need to be logged in as a premium member to access the tab, MP3 jam tracks, and other assets. Learn More

Add to "My Favorites"

You need to login or register to bookmark/favorite this content.

Comments

  1. jimbostrat says

    April 15, 2016 at 3:08 pm

    Wow!! First again here, Brian!! It was pure coincidence last week too……….but love that ending chord here!! This will certainly give our left (most of us that is……….84%???!!) forefinger quite a workout with the barre chords……….plus timing…………the important basic thing here is how not to sound boring when jamming over two nice chords………..plus those cool sliding (9th?) chords…..very cool and instructional. I detest studying too many scales or basic chord progressions and this lesson definitely encompasses nicely all of this study whilst keeping our interest!!

    Jim C.

    Log in to Reply
  2. smilefred says

    April 15, 2016 at 3:41 pm

    Mamma mia ..what a lesson ??

    Log in to Reply
  3. barry says

    April 15, 2016 at 4:25 pm

    Awesome again Brian Wonderful Playing Creativity & Excellent Concepts!!

    Log in to Reply
  4. Doug T says

    April 15, 2016 at 4:33 pm

    Very sweet can’t wait to dig into this…thanks Brain

    Log in to Reply
  5. Alex V says

    April 15, 2016 at 5:44 pm

    Great! I love it!

    Log in to Reply
  6. sunburst says

    April 15, 2016 at 7:03 pm

    Very well done Brian,it sounds great! going to learn this too ty much !!!

    Log in to Reply
  7. coreyman97 says

    April 16, 2016 at 10:42 am

    Another great lesson, thank you. I love ragtime, and look forward to working on this.

    Log in to Reply
  8. brian-belsey says

    April 16, 2016 at 11:44 am

    I like ragtime very much too. This is a lot of fun to work on! I think Brian is wise to include so much variety in the lessons and I also guess that mixing up the lessons must help his creativity. Also why shouldn’t he show off his versatility!

    Log in to Reply
  9. bri-uklefty says

    April 16, 2016 at 12:38 pm

    Fantastic and love this groove also enjoy working on the theory is a great bonus; I know where I’m going next and look forward to working this one………………….cheers Bri

    Log in to Reply
  10. Doug Harrison says

    April 17, 2016 at 6:37 am

    Thanks man, another one of those great tunes you can play when someone says ” so you play guitar eh?, show me something”. I’m always at a loss when that happens. Can’t wait to get into this one!

    Log in to Reply
  11. Jimmy James says

    April 17, 2016 at 8:56 am

    Wonderful Brian! Love your ragtime style lessons!

    Log in to Reply
  12. Bill W2 says

    April 17, 2016 at 6:18 pm

    Brian… every lesson is a “take away”. Great blending of scales, style and technique

    Log in to Reply
  13. Larry G says

    April 17, 2016 at 7:01 pm

    Brian, first I want to say…..learning the WHY has helped me be a more rounded player! I’m sure you can clear this up for me. Is the A6 chord voicing in EP148 a movable chord? I ask because the Am chord in EP045 bar 18 has the similar fingering except played starting at the 8th fret.
    My chord chart book doesn’t have the A6 chord fingering you use. Or have I missed something. I enjoy learning the alternate voicing.

    Log in to Reply
  14. Allan says

    April 18, 2016 at 12:09 pm

    Hi Brian, yes another gem another style and another one with great theory to absorb and learn, cheers mate.

    Log in to Reply
  15. Boobby Bluses says

    April 19, 2016 at 9:31 am

    It is nice to have a good mix of sound and songs in my background; you rock Dude ,you will have me as a life time member always ! keep up the good work. thanks Brian.

    Log in to Reply
  16. Dorothy S Guinn says

    April 19, 2016 at 6:07 pm

    Hi Brian, I put this to my new tenor banjo that I tune in Chicago tuning. It sounds great in a jazzy kind of way.

    Log in to Reply
  17. Larry G says

    April 19, 2016 at 7:33 pm

    Brian, another question. EP148, bar 28, is that an E6 or E9? An E9 I think….

    Log in to Reply
    • Larry G says

      April 20, 2016 at 5:46 pm

      Brian, I answered my own question. Sorry, I watched the last half several days ago and forgot it is an E69 when I was examining the tab.

      Log in to Reply
  18. Harry P says

    April 20, 2016 at 4:57 am

    Brian, I can’t tell you how much your lessons/site have put me on the right path. I’ve purchased more lessons than I care to admit, some I’ve done beginning to end and after 4 years I can’t say as I can play guitar. Granted more practice is key, but I wanted to be able to play without only memorizing songs. Each of your lessons make so much sense and provide such broad insight in to what is going on, why and the techniques. I wasn’t going to watch this one (working on 2 others of yours and ragtime isn’t my favorite) but put it on while working and kept going back to it because of the lesson value of the chord shapes, transitions and soling technique. Great Job on this and the site in total.

    Log in to Reply
  19. mishka says

    April 20, 2016 at 7:12 am

    Brian, why can’t we download premium member content to real player anymore. To keep playing these videos takes up valuable megabytes.

    Log in to Reply
    • Brian says

      April 20, 2016 at 9:29 am

      Mishka, the site structure is the same that it’s always been. You can download the MP3 jam tracks and tablature to keep, but the videos aren’t downloadable. You have to watch them online.

      Log in to Reply
      • Brian says

        April 23, 2016 at 8:30 am

        Mishka, I think you need to clarify what you mean when you say downloading videos. If by “downloading” you mean progressive downloading so that you can watch them when you click the play button – that should work on the site.. and I don’t know of anyone else with your particular issue. I can assure you I haven’t changed things on my end (since August of last year). You might try using a different browser to see if the issue is browser related on your end. If by downloading videos you’re referring to downloading the MP4 file so that you can keep it on your hard drive, I do not support that (and never have). The site isn’t structured that way.. the same way that you can’t download and keep movies from Netflix. That said, you can download and keep the MP3 jam tracks or tablature.

        Log in to Reply
  20. MikeG60 says

    April 20, 2016 at 3:34 pm

    Rag Time music is not the Blues.

    Log in to Reply
  21. drlknstein says

    April 20, 2016 at 5:15 pm

    that lil E lick TURNAROUD at 10:30- 11….IS GOLDEN- LUV IT

    Log in to Reply
  22. JamminJim says

    April 20, 2016 at 7:32 pm

    Brian
    maybe its just me but I cannot print the tablature on this lesson. First time I’ve ever had that problem, I tried from two different programs and three different search engines?
    I’m stymied!
    Jammin Jim

    Log in to Reply
    • Brian says

      April 22, 2016 at 8:36 am

      Hey Jim, I’m not sure how a search engine could help? I can’t replicate the printing issue with this lesson. You actually 2 options for printing the tab.. you can print from the tab PDF OR you can print from the on-screen tab viewer, by clicking on the little icon down in the bottom right hand side of the embedded player and choosing the “Print” option. You might try using a different browser to see if that doesn’t solve the issue, or downloading Adobe Reader to print the PDF file from that?

      Log in to Reply
  23. Rajiv D says

    April 20, 2016 at 10:34 pm

    Really enjoyed playing this piece. Awesome lesson

    Log in to Reply
  24. sunburst says

    April 21, 2016 at 6:43 pm

    Really cool lesson. this took a couple days I learned this slowed down and increased the speed..this is definitely a favorite

    Log in to Reply
  25. cheese8800 says

    April 22, 2016 at 3:51 am

    The Sound of the Guitar/Recording is amazing. Does this Guitar (MPA70?) has a build in pick up or is this recorded with an external mic?

    Best Regards from Switzerland
    Cheese8800

    Log in to Reply
    • Brian says

      April 22, 2016 at 8:37 am

      The Alvarez MPA70 doesn’t come with a pickup, so I installed an LR Baggs Anthem pickup (which is what you’re hearing on this video). I’ve got the guitar running through my guitar amp with a little reverb applied as well.

      Log in to Reply
  26. steffejc says

    April 22, 2016 at 9:24 am

    what is the 2nd guitar also Pls really sound good also

    Log in to Reply
  27. cheese8800 says

    April 22, 2016 at 2:25 pm

    It’s a Taylor – but I remember, that Brian doesn’t like that particular Guitar to much 😉

    Log in to Reply
  28. wrightclick says

    April 30, 2016 at 9:57 pm

    Yes this one grew on me loved it just finished nailing it

    Log in to Reply
  29. lajaca says

    May 1, 2016 at 3:51 pm

    Bravo!!!

    Log in to Reply
  30. sunburst says

    May 1, 2016 at 8:24 pm

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAruqJO4MYI&w=420&h=315%5D

    Log in to Reply
  31. webistrator says

    May 3, 2016 at 12:40 pm

    Hi, Brian

    You’ve electrified the Alvarez MPA 70…how did you do that, and with what?

    Thanks again!

    Jack in CO

    Log in to Reply
    • Brian says

      May 3, 2016 at 12:52 pm

      Installed an LR Baggs Anthem pickup

      Log in to Reply
  32. SugarmillMan says

    May 17, 2016 at 2:26 pm

    The Premium Members part is an awful lot to learn! My head is spinning so I will have to break this into much, much smaller bites.

    Log in to Reply
  33. pauljeffrey says

    May 22, 2016 at 10:18 am

    Hey Brian,
    I love this tune. I think it is my favorite.

    Log in to Reply
  34. Christian G says

    November 25, 2016 at 7:42 pm

    Does anyone know where to find part 2 of this lesson?

    Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Don’t have an ActiveMelody account? Sign Up.

Links

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

Recent Lessons

Improvise a Ragtime Blues lead PLUS a fingerstyle rhythm – Guitar Lesson – EP613

Classic Blues by yourself (on acoustic or electric guitar) – Full of Blues lick ideas – Guitar Lesson EP612

Funky Dorian Groove + Swing rhythm strum pattern for your right hand – Guitar Lesson – EP611

Contact

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

© 2025 · 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.