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Solo Acoustic Blues Guitar Lesson – Rhythm with Fill Licks – EP169

Description

In this blues guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play a stand-alone blues composition that requires no jam track or accompaniment. This works great on acoustic or electric guitar. This lesson primarily focuses on strumming and rhythm, although it does include some fill licks as well. I’ve also included arrows in the tablature to help break down the strum pattern.

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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Comments

  1. Strykerward says

    September 9, 2016 at 5:28 pm

    Oh Ya, Another fun lesson Brian. I don’t know how you keep creating these amazing lessons week after week.
    Thanks

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  2. San Luis Rey says

    September 9, 2016 at 5:45 pm

    Thanks so much Brian! Going to dig right in on this one. The acoustic has been getting a little lonesome. Guess it’s time to dust it off.
    Mike

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  3. Jeem says

    September 9, 2016 at 5:54 pm

    Brian,

    I for one GREATLY appreciate your adding of the strum direction arrows! There have been a few rhythm lessons where I’m driven my self crazy trying to match your strumming visually while listening to, “up-up-up-down-up” Etc..

    At this point, I like you holding my hand too!

    Jim

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    • Michael R says

      September 21, 2016 at 11:43 am

      YES! I totally agree with you … SOOOOO HELPFUL!! Thanks Brian 🙂

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  4. strattastic says

    September 9, 2016 at 5:55 pm

    Love it, love it, love it.

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  5. JohnStrat says

    September 9, 2016 at 6:03 pm

    I second Jeem strum direction arrows are a clarity thanks for this one Brian…JohnStrat

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  6. Tim Lee says

    September 9, 2016 at 6:08 pm

    Brian,
    Great lesson. I agree with Jeem – adding the arrows for the strum pattern is a really helpful addition. Hopefully you can continue to have the arrows for future strum related lessons.
    Thanks so much!
    Tim

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  7. SugarmillMan says

    September 9, 2016 at 6:18 pm

    Brian,
    I love to learn your stand-alone Blues compositions that can be played with just one guitar.

    These kind of lessons are exactly the ones I wait for each Friday night ( and the reason I initially became a regular.)

    Please keep these kind of lessons going. These are wonderful to learn and play!

    Dan

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  8. blues46 says

    September 9, 2016 at 6:39 pm

    Hey Brian, FYI. I appreciate you explaining things during the lessons. This is why I have been a member for a couple years. It provides me with a complete package and understanding that can be carried on to learning other songs. It makes me think rather than just copying you.
    Joe

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  9. swane@sbcglobal.net says

    September 9, 2016 at 7:07 pm

    Thanks so much Brian. These are so good I always feel like its in my reach when you teach a lesson.

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  10. sunburst says

    September 9, 2016 at 7:41 pm

    this is great , I’m up at a lake in Catskills NY with the ap 70 so this is perfect for me! Going to dig into this now!

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  11. john O says

    September 9, 2016 at 7:45 pm

    Brian…….you talk to much from now on!!! please use sign langauge going forward to explain urself… Someone actually said you talk to much!!!!!!! Too Funny!!!!!

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  12. Michael H. says

    September 9, 2016 at 8:20 pm

    What a fun song. Immediately added this one to my long list of favorites. Now if I could just retire I’d have enough time to learn them all. Soon…

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    • ZagerGuitarFan says

      September 13, 2016 at 2:53 pm

      I am retired and still don’t have time to learn them all! I just keep pluggin’ away at it.

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  13. Maradonagol says

    September 9, 2016 at 9:52 pm

    excellence week after week…….great Brian…liked that ending…..

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  14. orient2k says

    September 10, 2016 at 6:55 am

    Brian
    Yet another great lesson!! You never too much.

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  15. rogermx5 says

    September 10, 2016 at 6:57 am

    great lesson as usualBrian, and you don’t talk to much , its fine, the more explanaton the better.

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  16. Mikeatmartel says

    September 10, 2016 at 10:23 am

    Absolutely cool, it is a really fun piece to play and sounds great. Wonderful job. Explanations are welcome here, the more times something is the heard the better.

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  17. nschlueter says

    September 10, 2016 at 11:03 am

    “Talks too much”?!! I set aside an hour each Saturday morning to sit down with a cup of coffee and chat with my favorite guitar teacher. It is a relaxed, sitting-at-the-kitchen-table conversation that I treasure and I ALWAYS learn something new.

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  18. bstrum says

    September 10, 2016 at 12:41 pm

    I give thumbs for adding the strumming direction

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  19. Aaron R says

    September 10, 2016 at 8:32 pm

    Awesome lesson Brian !! I really like the mix of vintage country with blues. Very catchy and cool groove.

    This would be a great lesson to do a part 2 for. I’d love to know how to add lead licks that lead in to the next chord.

    As always, thanks for all the work you do.

    PS – I don’t feel you talk too much at all. Makes it feel like hanging out with a buddy, pick’n and a grin’n. I really appreciate the in depth explanations. I like learning how and why things work, not just memorizing the notes.

    Aaron

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  20. Forbes says

    September 10, 2016 at 10:17 pm

    Love it! And no way is the Johnny Cash bend corny.

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  21. Badger (4FingerPhil) says

    September 11, 2016 at 4:22 am

    Another Beauty Brian! Look forward to trying this one, but hey! Take a break! We cant keep up with all this fantastic material! ???

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  22. drlknstein says

    September 11, 2016 at 11:42 am

    nice lesson.. a lot of nice tricks for me.I love mssr johhny cash- Folsom Prison is one of my favorites…”shot a man in Rio…….- just to watch him die”…. rich folks drinkin fancy coffee and smoking big cigars..

    great take aways..expecially the walk down back to the one…awesome thanks

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  23. adam-quin says

    September 11, 2016 at 1:10 pm

    Brilliant lesson, love it!

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  24. madams says

    September 11, 2016 at 9:00 pm

    Please don’t change the way you present your lessons. I enjoy and benefit from your explanations and descriptions.

    Learning the theory along with the songs has been key to my improvement.

    Thank you,
    Michael

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  25. GreggC says

    September 11, 2016 at 10:53 pm

    Another great one thanks!
    Regarding the over talking? A non issue, really.
    We have to understand that this might be the first lesson encountered by someone. Any of these might be “the first” and the only way to get across the amount of information that will be available is to treat them as if this was the first meeting.
    I can always learn something!
    Cheers!

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  26. Countryman says

    September 12, 2016 at 3:21 pm

    Hi Brian,

    I for one, disagree with whoever said you talk to much during the lessons. Although I have been been playing, on and off, for more years than I care to remember, I have reached an age, where information doesn’t always embed itself in the old ” Grey Matter,” for very long, like it used to do! The way you talk us through each lesson, maybe repeating things said in previous lessons, is a great help, and is a necessary reminder of the constituents that are so important when attempting to learn new pieces. I am sure I speak for many Old Timers like myself, when I say ” Keep on Chatting” during the lessons. I find it a great help in my efforts to improve my skills.

    Many thanks Brian, you do a really great job.

    Regards.

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  27. Michael Allen says

    September 12, 2016 at 5:04 pm

    I like the way you talk

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  28. Jon G says

    September 12, 2016 at 5:20 pm

    Thank you for your great lessons Brian! So glad I became a member recently. I learned more in two videos than I did in several weeks with a book!

    And that’s down to your style. Please keep the chat going. I tend to try and learn what and why you are doing things rather than maybe learning the lesson note for note. 🙂

    Thank you, Jon

    PS. more Gilmour style please!! 😉

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  29. Guillaume B says

    September 13, 2016 at 8:15 am

    Hello Brian,

    Please keep the same level of explanations, this is SO insightful!!!

    Thanks for your lessons!

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  30. Tom l says

    September 13, 2016 at 2:02 pm

    Love this lesson ! and no, you don’t talk to much,

    Thank you and greatings from Belgium,

    tom

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  31. pat m says

    September 13, 2016 at 10:13 pm

    Hi Brian. Just want to say thank you for all these wonderful lessons. Ive learned soooo much in a short time. The MAIN reason i joined your site is because you explain things very well and i just love your playing. Out of hundreds of video lessons i’ve watched, your playing actually makes me smile when i hear something i like. Tim Pierce has a free lesson on YT, and his playing also makes me smile. I just love the blues and in your BB lesson i smiled a lot with those simple but powerful bends and vibrato you make look so easy. Keep up the awesome work Brian!!

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  32. nomini says

    September 14, 2016 at 7:41 am

    Brian — thanks for another great one. You sure make this interesting and fun,

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  33. Manley says

    September 14, 2016 at 12:25 pm

    Why can’t I watch the on screen tab viewer? It says check the url. Not only this lesson but on all the lessons it says that. I can watch all the lesson videos the slow walk through and download the tabs and audio track. Just not the on screen tab viewer.

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    • Brian says

      September 15, 2016 at 12:00 pm

      I know that there are some issues with the latest version of IE browser. Try using Chrome or Firefox and it should work.

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  34. Henrik says

    September 14, 2016 at 1:35 pm

    Hey Brian.

    This is supercooooooooooool !!
    🙂

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  35. Clifford H says

    September 15, 2016 at 7:59 pm

    Thanks Brian. I’ve messed around with the guitar for years and years. What’s been missing is to be able to play some songs by myself. I love Gypsy Walz and now this one. Being a premium member is well worth the price.

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  36. rjritt says

    September 17, 2016 at 6:24 am

    Brian, just gotta say I subscribe for exactly this type of lesson. Love the strumming songs with the fill licks, I can sit on my porch and grove to my hearts content. It is a bit harder for even an intermediate to pick up the strum patterns, if you could go through a just a little slower some of us would greatly appreciate it! Highest Regards, Rick

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  37. justin N says

    September 18, 2016 at 12:38 pm

    I always take something usable from these lessons. Even if I’m not playing it exactly the same. There’s always a golden nugget in these lessons that can be used in anything you are playing. Keep up the good work. Glad to be a member!

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  38. Michael R says

    September 21, 2016 at 11:46 am

    This is one of my FAVORITE lessons ever .. Number one being the Delta Blues piece .. Thanks for creating such a fun original composition Brian. Also, the arrows on the tab on INSANELY HELPFUL, please keep adding those it’s saving me so much time and headache

    Lastly, I love your comment to the complainers that are just freeloading and not subscribing .. They want everything handed to them, yet aren’t willing to join your value-packed site.. Sad, I hope they wise up and realize how much great content you have here — your site is SECOND TO NONE!

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  39. olive says

    September 21, 2016 at 1:28 pm

    Hi Brian, great lesson again. I am so much fund of your accoustic blues style.

    One question about the 7th mesure. On which scale is it based ? I don’t recognize the E minor patterns, though I’ve seen you several times playing over these several notes (EP013 Delta blues Original for instance).

    Thanks in advance for your help

    Greetings from Paris

    Olivier

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    • Brian says

      September 21, 2016 at 9:57 pm

      Olivier, at the 7th measure I was going to the E Major pentatonic scale (pattern 2). I started there, and mixed it into the E minor pentatonic scale (pattern 1). I did a whole lesson on how to mix the major and minor pentatonic scales that explains how it’s done.

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  40. Steven D says

    September 25, 2016 at 4:27 pm

    Hi, any members in the Charlotte area interested in getting together and practice please contact me. Thanks

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  41. Johan L says

    October 14, 2016 at 5:30 pm

    This was an awesome lesson! Not technically hard but good for rhythm and really fun to play as well as improvise around!

    Now back to lessons #13. I have two small details I still haven’t got down to an exact replica of the way you play it. 🙂

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  42. Chris M says

    January 2, 2017 at 8:22 pm

    Need more lessons that reference the roots of guitar playing. Nicely played!

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  43. Richard P says

    January 17, 2017 at 7:17 pm

    Great lesson, thanks! Maybe now I can impress my friends.

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  44. Dario R says

    March 29, 2017 at 3:15 am

    Loved it ! This is another great lesson!
    I’ve got a question regarding the Alvarez you’re playing which btw sounds amazing..
    Is the fret width pretty much the standard size ?

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