Description
This lesson is designed to show you how to play a relatively easy delta blues fingerstyle composition. I realize that the word “easy” is totally subjective and will mean different things for different players, but the truth is that fingerstyle playing is just awkward when you first try it. It’s awkward for everyone though. This composition has a droning bass line which fall right on the beat, so you’re not trying to deal with an alternating bass line like you would if you tried to play Chet Atkins style. Even if you’ve been frustrated with fingerstyle in the past, I’d encourage you to give this one a try!
This lesson was re-named in honor of site member Brian (BriUK Lefty) who is no longer with us but was a big part of the ActiveMelody community. Brian used this lesson for his last site member challenge. R.I.P Brian.
Part 1 - Free Guitar Lesson
Part 2 - For Premium Members
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Slow Walk-through
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Video Tablature Breakdown
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Love the Delta Blues!
Great, and would be even more helpful if your guitar had dots on the fretboard we could see?
Yeah but those Alvarez parlos sound SOO sweet and are SOO much fun to play!!
I agree!!
Nah, that Guitar is super sweet as it is! In fact I logged in to see if anyone knew what it was? It seems someone suggested an Alvarez parlor. I originally thought it was a nylon string ‘cuz the strings are so far apart. But the chime on the high strings sounds steely to me.
Love it
Brian, What is your reason for forming the entire E7 chord in the second half of bar 8 when you only need those two notes on the 5th and 6th strings? Seems to make it more difficult to grab the whole chord.
You dont have to make the chords. But for me, it’s a good habit and I prefer forming the chords even though i might be using a note or two from it. It also looks better.
Very nice sound for acoustic guitar
I love this song because it’s so playable. Thanks for the effort! I had some difficulty with the 1st half, but the second half was almost a slam dunk. I love this on an acoustic, but it also sounds pretty sweet on a hollow body with a little reverb and chorus.
Two constructive comments on the member content:
– You show the music/tab score for member online, but not on the download. I have trouble making musing sense with just the tabs.
– I understand the need to protect your content, but it’s disappointing not to be able to view the 2nd half of the lessons offline.
– Maybe make the content more accessible to yearly membership?
Love this one Brian Im hooked the delta is such great stuff cant wait to get this under my belt its another beauty! JohnStrat
Brian,
I feel it necessary to lodge a complaint after this one.
You’re on such a good roll here lately with lesson creations that I just cannot catch up!
‘nother good one!
Thankin’ you!
Jim
This is what I have been waiting for! A Delta piece to absorb and work on. Thanks Brian.
Nice! Now maybe I can stop yelling at my fingers to behave.
Really nice one Brian! I’m going all in on this and will spam the forum with my progress! 🙂
And I wholeheartedly recommend lesson #13 to anybody reading this!
I guess I’ll have to sit this one out. Can’t seem to coordinate the delta thing. Kinda like chewing gum and walking!
Anyway I’ll keep working on other lessons that you have posted. See you next week.
Thanks Jim
Dude, don’t sit it out – now is the time to get on your horse and boogie. and practice. Just play an E Major chord and alternate the Low E string pluck with the two high strings pluck (Low, High, Low, High) etc, Then try alternating the low Open E string with a low open A string. Anything that repeats is good. Get that thumb to think on it’s own so you can think about the lead part. You have your whole life to learn, why not start now! Cheers!
Hi, can’t belive so few recent posts on this great piece. Just two this year. I joined AM basically in appreciation of this piece, commented on May 5th that I was barely denting it, but now feel that I has worked though both part 1 and 2. The tabs have really helped with the benefit of sound slice. Thank you Brian, if you read these posts. I have learned so much in a fairly short time. Any suggestions for other lessons with finger style blues.
Alan M
G/day Brian,
This is so interesting. Coordination of both hands is the key to this. Love the tune. Gunna give it a red hot hot go.
Best wishes for now.
M.J.
I love the delta blues a lot (it takes me a long time to learn)
thanks Brian
Fingerstyle is always welcome. I am really looking forward to learning this one. Thanks again Brian.
Another great lesson, need to work on fingerstyle, but impossible to keep up with the lessons or decide which to work on, but don’t slow down on my account 🙂
I Need Some Help – The MP3 isn’t playing and won’t download, although it may not matter with the slow walk-thru video and no backing track needed?
Thanks,
Harry
Sorry Harry – You can download and play the MP3 now.
concidering this “easy”? I’m struggling on this one – but I’ll Keep on trying 🙂 – nice lesson Brian !!!
Really going to enjoy this one,,always a pleasure being a premium member,,having the soundslice these days makes it all the more fun and easy to learn:)
Will not let me download the audio file…says it is forbidden ? I am logged in and everything SO….?? 🙁
Sorry – I’ve fixed this. You can download now.
Hi Brian, what key is this in? I’d like to work on soloing over this and play with a friend. I really appreaciate your inspiring lessons and very affordable Premium subscription.
Lyle, this is in the key of E
To those who think this fingerstyle lesson is too difficult: I found that after I learned one fingerstyle delta blues lesson (there have been several), all the subsequent delta blues lessons were quite easy to learn. It’s a style. So I recommend that you knuckle down and practice this one until you have it totally under control. It will take you to a new level.
I tried it for a couple of hours this morning but just am not a finger style guy. I’ve always played with a pick and it seems very difficult to pick up at my age. I wish I had learned to fingerpick as a teenager-it would be so much easier.
Love delta blues, Brian, and I always welcome a really nice tune as this one. It may be easy (although there are some difficulties) but the most inpiring difficulty is the feeling you have to put in. I think it’s like the big river flowing into the sea. I really appreciate this one and looking forward to more like this. Thanks a lot, Brian.
This was a very hard lesson for me. Fingerpicking is tough for me. I have to push myself through it and I appreciate the challenge, but this was not “easy”.
This is all but my debut into finger picking ( I did the JJ cale challenge) and it will very likely take quite some time to get there. I am heartened by Sunjamr’s comments and will persevere with this entirely because it is such wonderful blues.
Brain,
What brand guitar is this,?
Scott, that’s an Alvarez MPA70
Great composition Brian. Like a lot of older flatpickers I struggle with fingerpicking but want to get some proficiency to expand my repertory. Some songs and instrumental pieces are just meant to be finger-picked. I love the Delta style blues so this lesson is inspiring me to put down my flatpick. Thanks!
Love the delta blues Brian not much of a picker myself hard at first but once you get into the groove it does become easier love the variety as well cheers.
I am new here and joined because of a few Delta Blues I learned from ActiveMelody on youtube. I am learning this and really don’t think slower is easier , but the slower Delta/Texas/Mississippi style sounds better on my electric blues guitar (es 335). I love this one, thanks.
Hi, Brian
Just want to let you know I subscribe just for this type lesson. Love fingerstyle blues! Appreciate your work in this genre.
A beautiful melodic and soulful Delta blues, it doesn’t get much better than this, does it? Well done, Brian, you just keep on rolling them off!
excellent lesson….. slow and easy, -like me..
.I too struggle with finger picking..but I always work thru your lessons and come out with some new things…
I use my own style of finger picking- my fingers go where they want…. old habits die hard. (which is probably simplistic) – …. and your ideas are great
and..it all sounds good to me…
I just sold my acoustic so i m playin on 335 too..like paul B…..enjoying it!
thanks
to continue playing the base note is where i’m struggling but try to cross this difficulty and nail it.Thanks Brian for this delta blues its awesome
GREAT tune.! Love the Delta Blues, especially the slow ones. Thanks.
Brian for President. I’d vote for you if I was an American : )
Woohoo! There’s 1 vote! 🙂
Brian,
Love the delta blues but having big problems with the constant base line. I seem to stop the base line when picking with other fingers.
Great, love it, thanks!!!
You keep mentioning the pentatonic scale patterns and that we can find them is a blues lesson; I have looked and can’t seem to locate them; could tell us exactly what lesson number they are in?
Bob
Hey Bob, it’s under My Account > My Courses
Must admit that I was secretly hoping for an acoustic blues when I looked up this week’s lesson and there it was! ..and a finger-style too! Love the finger-style lessons. Always a challenge but very rewarding to learn and great fun to play.
I love the sound of this lesson, I would not say it is easy though. I am new to finger style so its a bit of a struggle, I will keep at it. Thanks for the great lesson.
Hi Brian and everyone else of course,
I really love this tune. Great work.
One question, since I’m new to the site….
Could you tell me which guitar you’re playing? Love the sound of it.
Kind regards from Belgium.
Delta blues is my favourite! Thanks!
tried to sign on on iPad NO JOY !
Why is my email not being recognized on my iPad I want to take my lessons with me ? Hey Brian can you do some Davey Graham some day ? thanks Stewart.
This lesson keeps getting better and better each time I practice it. There’s loads of places to go using this as a base!
Wow!! This sounds great! I am just about to start day one of this lesson …I’ve been finger-picking for years, just by ear no real discipline … Time to see if this old mind and my old fingers can learn something new … very excited. Thanks for the lessons Brian
many thanks Brian, finally an easy picking lesson again. I love this stuff
Josef
Hey Brian what gauge strings do you use on your acoustic guitar?
Light gauge
by light gauge do you mean 10s or 9s
Thank you Brian. This one is wonderful. I love it. Can´t stop playing it! I love the blues.
You played and explained it wonderfully.
I bought myself a Alvarez AD60CE,
just to learn finger picking delta blues,
thanks for this lesson Brian
I love it
Great lesson as always. Your premium lessons are such a good deal. I have been a member for years. I am very new to finger picking and this is not so easy for me. But please use a quitar with fret markers. Brian your the best !!!
Love, Love, Love this. Plenty more delta stuff please. This has really helped me move on with my fingerstyle/blues and I need lots more practice. Also loved EP076 and EP145. Thanks Brian, keep em coming.
Hi Brian.
Thank you very much for the Delta blues lesson.
Would you happen to have backing without guitar for that lesson, too?
Have a nice day
Thnak you.
Thomas
Love the delta blues! Thanks a lot! Gr. from Amsterdam.
2 hours and still stuck at 3rd compass !!!!!
Hope one day will sound. This is a whole-2017 challenge for me 😉
thanks for this fantastic material Brian!!!
David B.
Nice lesson. Took me a while to get the base line consistent, but it wasn’t overwhelming. Really like how I can play with the notes and transitions too. A lot of good stuff to work with in this lesson.
when you play a open a or e and fret the string next to it.is it possible to dappen just the open? It dossent seem like there is enough space. Thanks, C b
I love delta blues and also really liking finger picking. My alvarez knocks this sound out nicely. Thanks a bunch Brian
I love Deltablues, but fingerstyle……..I shall never learn. 🙂
can not download part 2 any ideas
Great Lesson, need the dots.
I actually went out and bought an electro acoustic for the odd FS lessons that pop up on AM i Love this tune , fingerpicking is hard spent a a lot of time on this to get over the line so to speak . I would like to suggest Brian FS course from scratch (idea for the future perhaps ) or loads of little section type loopers exercise’s that can be achieved fast , sections that can be linked together further down the road to make a whole song before you hit the give up i’ll never get this mark lol . Im digging in finding the repetitive short practice sessions produces better improvement rather than one long marathon session all night and.I find your advice very helpful. Eat your heart out Chet i’m coming up on the outside fast .
Great lesson. I’ve gotten through almost all of it and having lots of fun with it. Thanks!
https://soundcloud.com/david-carrico-1/delta-blues
Finally recorded something. Thank you!!
The key to learning the thumb is tapping your foot to the beat, plucking the thumb with every foot tap. Foot taps also help with timing.
love this kind of music, joined up to learn this one. Been working on this piece now for about 2 weeks and hardly dented it. Great music and thanks for the great lesson.
Wow, wish I found this site years ago. Feeding my soul!! Hopefully I can master my base thumb. Needing to fade in and out of the beat with that…spent too much time on flamingo guitar, can work the bottom e string like a champ with my ring finger
In the beginning this lesson seemed impossible, actually its the 3rd time ive returned to it…..now ive got the bass notes going nicely along with the melody….just started to click, cant wait for more like this! Ive read some post others have also had trouble, just keep at it and it will click.
Thanks Brian, really enjoy the lessons, keep at it mate!
Nice blues. Could even be Texas style. Mance Lipscomb used the thumping bass line on the low E string like this. Pretty cool way to get into this sort of thing. Not too hard to play. Really nice lesson Brian. Thanks. Mance L has some songs on YT. If you haven’t heard him, check him out. Great player.
More!!! Haha. Sorry! I shouldn’t be so demanding. But I eat this fingerstyle Delta sound up. I love learning and playing. So….. MORE ,,,,,,,, PLEASE!!!! I’m not sure I’d exactly call this one easy. Took me about 4-5 days to lay down. But a great one nonetheless. Many thx
Now that right there is some back porch blues, I don’t care who ya are. Another one on my list of stuff to learn on my acoustic guitar.
I came back to this piece and it seems to be falling into place …. the concepts are gelling in my jelly brain and fingers ! Absolutely love this style of blues, never thought I’d be able to play it but here I am…. thanks Brian!
Hey Brian,
This is great! Mance Lipscomb from Texas used the thumping E bass. John Hurt was more complex rag time style. Listen to Mance on YT if you never have he was an awesome player. This is a nice and fairly easy blues piece. Thanks for all the great lessons.
Hvordan kan jeg købe og betale tablatur til part 1 EP 177?
Venlig hilsen
Jens Avlund.
I’m deeply sorry! When did Brian pass away? He was so appasionate teacher and guitar lover! We’ll miss him but his sign will remain forever thanks these internet lessons!! R.I.P. Brian
Another fantastic lesson from Brian.
This man is a genius teacher
Thank you so much for all your hard work and effort making this the best online teaching site by far in my opinion
Love delta blues. Thank you for this. My Alvarez is my favorite guitar. I like yours too. Parlor? Mine is an M FA70.
What is the trick or best exercise to get the steady bass with the thumb and play the melody with the other fingers?
I can finger pick decently with thumb and three fingers, with thumb as beat one, index/middle/ring on beats 2/3/4 with decent speed and dexterity
but that steady thumb bass on this song (ep177) or Robert Johnson style songs eludes me. Guessing it’s just tying those passages together slowly, over and over.
My left hand is good, my flat picking is much improved, but that steady bass thumb is driving me crazy.
Robbie
in Colorado
By the way Brian, I’ve never been comfortable with a thumb pick either and I’m a lot older than you, but I started using the Black Mountain thumb picks. They are spring loaded, stay in place, comfortable and don’t pinch or slip. Actually, I use the Black Mountain thumb pick on your Chet Atkins Fingerstyle Lesson: Very Basic – LEG031. I can play this decently, and the alternating bass is one of my flatpicking strengths and can do this well with the thumb pick. ep177 just needs my full patience…..
I struggle with most of these compositions but I seem to be making some progress with this. However, the tablature seems to be a completely different song. It would be helpful to see this as some of the video explanation went over my head.
Strike that comment. I can see there is a pick up chord at the start. Duh.