Description
In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to use basic chord shapes (that you already know) to create harmonized 3rds that you can use when you improvise blues lead or rhythm.
Part 1 - Free Guitar Lesson
Part 2 - For Premium Members
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Slow Walkthrough
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Video Tablature Breakdown
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JohnStrat says
Brian ,
Your cookin with this one love it.
JohnStrat
jimbostrat says
Hey, JohnStrat!! How’s jolly old England been treating you!!?? Hopefully things are gradually reopening again over there!! Jim C.
Tim P says
Got ya head right mate?
richard t says
I needed a little help with this. Thank you.
JohnStrat says
Looks to be a Gibson 175 that I don’t think we’ve seen before and a very nice one too, it sounds great. What vintage is she?
Brian says
1962
MICHAEL C says
Same vintage as me .. lol.. Looks and sounds great.
Gerald M says
Brian, playing two notes is that called double stop?
Brian says
Yep!
Michael Allen says
Sounds like fun! Thanks Brian
Drew D says
Once again, Brian , you’ve outdone yourself. Simply excellent lesson.
Robert M says
Wow I’m the first? Great lesson, I love it. I love that old blues vibe……with a dash of Chuck Berry!
parsonblue says
I’m always on the hunt for great little riffs…and just the first bar of this tune is a winner! Thanks.
BRENDAN G says
Love the lesson, can you teach that rhythm.
Brendan
Anthony L says
always the the tricky part!
Phil G says
Ditto Brian! Your teaching of the notes, double stops, 6th, 3rd, and chord pieces, and where everything comes from is excellent! I’m actually starting to “see” things. BUT, I always have serious problems with your timing. Things I would put on a beat, your putting off beat. Things would put on a 1 beat, you might put on a 4 or 4& of a previous measure, or 1&. Sometimes your 2, 4 beat notes I want to put on the 1 or 3 beat. I don’t know if you can teach timing? But it would sure be nice.
phil
San Luis Rey says
Love It Brian! Good to see the 175 again.
drutgat says
I loved this lesson, Brian.
Extremely useful stuff, very well explained.
Many thanks.
One of those descending riffs is almost identical to the one John used for ‘Yer Blues’ – a chestnut.
Thanks again.
Barry Marsden says
Brian, is it possible in the video tablature to turn of the lead track and just have the rythum track playing but see the lead tablature moving with the rythum?
Glenn W says
This is such a good lesson. Two years ago I wouldn’t have been able to follow the theory explanations but now I can and it really helps to be able to. But (and it’s a big but) I don’t practice enough to get my theory knowledge to become “instinctive” and I think this lesson will help me do that. I will be playing this one again and again. You really are one on the best tutors on the Internet by quite a margin and getting your lessons every Saturday morning (UK time) is always a good start to my day especially when it’s a good one like this.
Daniel H says
What you said Glenn! .. Got the theory but practice needed to polish the recall and execution!
patmac says
Added this to my favorites within 5 seconds.
Malcolm M says
Great lesson Brian so many takeaways
david h says
Great lesson and very helpful. learning how to best use the video to my advantage with space repetition.
Dale C says
Thanks to lessons like this I’m Slowly getting it. Awesome lesson.
Darren F says
Just signed up and I really should have done this years ago. I totally agree with you on learning the mechanics (set pieces) I don’t believe you can teach how to improvise because good improvisation is about reacting to the moment, to the atmosphere the musicians (you are playing with) and the audience is creating and these pieces fly out then in a less calculated but spontaneous fashion. That’s what makes it exciting. Sometimes we impress ourselves and sometimes things can go wrong! When they do it’s good to have some anchor points to steady the ship and slip back into the main stream. I think you teach great Brian, you have a really friendly open approach and also make great sounds with great feeling. It’s a joy to learn from you. Many thanks. Darren
Jim M says
Always into expanding my journey into Triads (The sweet notes within the chord ). Thanks Brian.
KEVIN F says
Good lesson Brian. A good practical application of stuff that is the basic building blocks of The blues. Tying licks to chord shapes was one of my biggest quantum leap forward in playing guitar.
Raymond P says
Great lesson Brian I really appreciate the way you explain how you get your leads out of the cord shapes. It make everything so much easier to understand.
Thanks
Ray P
Steve M says
Very fun and useful lesson Brian!
Phil G says
Really like this lesson!! Learning how, when, where, to use double stops is the thing I really want to work on. This lesson will definitely help me with that!
phil
flamejob says
This one is a winner, so many lovely little phrases to learn, thanks Brian.
Robert K says
When you think of Howlin Wolf & guitar, you’re actually thinking of the great Hubert Sumlin.
Daniel H says
Please keep the lessons like this one coming! Awesome…Thank you for your teaching Brian!
Rafa says
Learning music theory without knowing the many ways to apply it and make real soulful music is not useful. And you always bring us so many awesome ways to apply theory and make real music.
Always awesome to hear and watch your compositions and performance!
Best wishes Brian!
RYAN S says
Great lesson! I’ve spent the last few weeks working on a few of your other e blues lessons. It really helps to see the same techniques used in a slightly different setting.
drlknstein says
I know we not suppose to focus on the guitar… but that looks like the one you bought that was for slow hand…
.and this is why you should keep repeating these concepts…, I just got the relative minor/6 chord thing..I’ve seen you teach it before but i finally got it..i carry a relative minor chart in my jam book..gonna add this note to it and try to remember to use it at the next jam..
brian-belsey says
Another very interesting and useful lesson!
The ES175 sounds and looks really good, but I hope you also still have the older one with the single P90, Brian!
Brian says
I do! You might be the only person that remembers that one 🙂
JohnStrat says
308, had that 125 jazz… was that is first appearance?
Brian how does it compare to have the 125d does it obsolete the single pickup?
tonylolli says
A bit of reflection: When I first decided to take lessons, years ago, in 2009, I was lucky to find Dave Keller (davekeller.com), an award winning soul and blues musician. First meeting, he asked what I wanted to learn. I recall telling him I wanted to learn the same way the old blues men learned. I didn’t want to play Twinkle Twinkle and I didn’t want to learn to read music (I didn’t know about guitar TAB at that point). I studied with Dave for 5 years until I moved away. Shortly after that I found your website and was struck by your teaching style being so similar to Dave’s. It works for me and I appreciate your method.
Drannen L says
love the video, do you have a lesson on playing over chords as expressed half way through part 2 lesson?
Paul S says
Love this lesson! I notice the Little Walter amp in the back. Do you ever use it and how do you like it? Paul S.
Greg H says
It’s been a long wait for me but this lesson I can spend some time with. Not sure what my problem has been but haven’t been into the last dozen or so lessons. Glad to pick up my guitar again.
Tom D says
Hi Brian,
It took me a while to get it all together, but I find that I am enjoying this style of playing a bit more than using single notes. This lesson and EP421 I nave enjoyed playing very much.
madams says
Yay! An extra lesson for Premium Members! I feel special again 🙂
Michael
TONY S says
Great lesson Brian.Picking up little gems (Light Bulb Moments).I dont sound like you but I can use all the different ideas during playing other things.Great lesson every week not had chance yet to investigate all your back catalogue its work in progress.
Joel F says
Brian, I may eventually forget the sliding blues lick you showed us but I’ll for sure remember that Buddy Guy comment! Great lesson.
Bill B says
Fantastic lesson here, Brian!
Roger C says
Great lesson. I particularly like the way you tie your ideas to the scale boxes and chord shapes. It definitely helps me take these licks with me and apply them in different keys. I would ignore the criticism, there is no better teacher in this style on line. Thanks again. Roger C
Gale Y says
Thanks so much for this great lesson! I am working on applying these tricks and tips to E Blues everywhere I can.
Would love to have the option of controlling the tempo of the practice track minus the guitar. The ‘up to speed’ minus guitar track is a little too fast and the slow version is a little too slow!
Thanks again for all your great work and explanations 🙂
Brian says
you can always download the MP3 file and then play it in VLC Player (free app / software) it allow you to slowdown playback
Gale Y says
Thanks again! downloaded VLC for Mac-That works
Lynne R says
Your comment at the end of part 2 about taking the E A E sequence and just playing variations against the backing track was very helpful. .
I also found combining lessons 362 and 363 over the G backing track was an excellent way to inter weave these licks.
I am focusing in depth on lessons like these instead of just bouncing around from one new thing to another and just skimming the surface . What seemed difficult in the past is now easier. Thank you for constantly repeating teaching points in your lessons ….this re-enforcement of ideas is very helpful. I am finally able to see the fretboard the way you do based around Caged chord shapes and then tiding these into pentatonic and scale shapes . You are a born teacher !