In this week's guitar lesson, you'll learn how to play a blues shuffle by yourself on guitar. I'll start by showing you how to play a classic blues shuffle rhythm, and then layer in the lead licks in a "call & response" style. No accompaniment is needed when playing this composition. … [Read more...]
Driving Blues Rhythm Created with Triads – Blues Guitar Lesson – EP255
In this week's guitar lesson, you'll learn how to play a driving blues rhythm by playing triads and double stops. I'll show you where these triads come from so that you can start to use them when you improvise. Strum patterns are included. The MP3 jam track with this lesson is available in multiple tempos as well. … [Read more...]
Vintage Rock Blues Rhythm Guitar Lesson – EP239
In this week's guitar lesson, you'll learn how to play a driving, rock, blues rhythm with only a drum track. This was done intentionally to help you concentrate on the kick and snare drum and accent those beats with your strum technique. I've included 2 tempos of the MP3 jam track for this lesson as well. … [Read more...]
Bluegrass Style Lead Guitar Lesson – Designed to Help Coordination and Speed – EP234
In this week's guitar lesson, you'll be learning a fun bluegrass lead that includes elements of country and blues as well. This lesson serves 2 purposes. 1) You'll learn several new licks and how use them when improvising. 2) You'll learn a couple of fast runs that are designed to help improve overall speed and coordination. Much more fun than practicing a boring a drill :) … [Read more...]
Soulful Rhythm Guitar Lesson With Fill Licks – EP225
In this week's guitar lesson, you'll learn how to play a slow, soulful rhythm that includes several bluesy fill licks. This lesson is designed to help you improvise in this style, by learning how these licks are created and to help you with timing. Even though this song is technically very easy to play, it can still be very difficult to play a slow song like this because you'll often find yourself playing ahead of the beat. Practice playing along with the included jam track to help improve your … [Read more...]
Have a Jam Session By Yourself – Funky Jam on Acoustic Guitar – EP193
In this week's guitar lesson you'll learn how to have a jam session with yourself, alternating back and forth between 2 chords for the verse, and then switching to a 3rd chord every so often to break things up. In between those chords you'll be playing fill licks while never breaking the rhythm! Lessons like this are great for both your strumming and for improvising, and they allow you to become a virtual one-man-band. … [Read more...]
Ragtime Blues Guitar Lesson – Solo Guitar Lesson – EP189
In this ragtime blues guitar lesson, you'll benefit in two ways. 1) You'll learn a fun composition that requires no accompaniment, a composition that you can play on your own at whatever tempo you want which works on acoustic or electric guitar. 2) I'll explain how to play the chord changes and where all of the notes come from so that you can start to improvise in this style and even write your own compositions like this. Lots of takeaways! … [Read more...]
Boogie Woogie Style Rhythm Guitar Lesson (Includes 3 Levels) – EP186
This week's guitar lesson features 3 boogie woogie style rhythms that can be played over the same MP3 jam track. Each rhythm is slightly more difficult than the previous in that the first one (Level 1) is the easiest and Level 3 is the most difficult. This lesson gives you 3 variations on how to play boogie woogie rhythm as well as the theory behind the boogie woogie root position. This lesson will also help improve your timing and alternate picking with the right hand. Different tempos of the … [Read more...]
Blues Guitar With a Tempo Change – Rhythm and Lead – EP182
In this blues guitar lesson, you'll learn how to play a I, IV, V blues chord progression with a dramatic tempo change. The I chord is always played in a faster tempo. Going back and forth between these two tempos and learning how to slow down between them will help develop your sense of timing. You'll also be playing both rhythm and lead parts in this. … [Read more...]
Solo Acoustic Blues Guitar Lesson – Rhythm with Fill Licks – EP169
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. … [Read more...]