Active Melody

Learn to play blues guitar.

Blues lead by YOURSELF! Slow blues lead that works in any key (no jam track needed) – Guitar Lesson EP561

Description

In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn a slow blues lead in the key of C that you can play by yourself (no jam track needed). I’ll be playing out of different positions of the CAGED System as well.

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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Comments

    • Ovi V says

      So did I. I’ve been practicing a whole CAGED pathway on another popular guitar lessons site but kept dragging my feed when it came to applying it to their practice songs.
      I always come back to Brian, listen to his simplified take on it and then practive one of his songs instead. It just gives these concepts so much more purpose to play his songs AND learn them ‘in the style of’ at the same time.

  12. gary r says

    Absolutely fantastic lesson Brian. For us folks not really focused on lead playing and not so much into playing against a backing track, this is gold. It really forces you to think about where you are in the progression and as you said, spelling out the progression and chords with the note choices and appropriate scale. And nice to get away from E and A for the blues but because it’s all closed position, it is movable to any key. All around great lesson. Many many thanks !

  14. Rob N says

    I really appreciate these unaccompanied pieces. I wonder how many other Active Melody members play alone as opposed to in a group? I played in a band for years and am not seeking to do that anymore, so these unaccompanied guitar tracks are my favourites. I realise you can play alone against a backing track but there’s something special about a single guitar producing rhythm and melody.

  16. Michael H says

    Ditto to all the previous comments.
    An excellent follow-up and application of the SERIES work you just provided and at a very approachable skill level to include all your students and followers.
    Great key selection. Gets us out of the E and A boxes we wear out.

  17. Daniel H says

    Brian, here is the barrier I am trying to break through: your playing sounds so effortless, but when I examine it on the tab and try to piece it together note by note it seems so calculated and structured and difficult to memorize. Is it really just as simple as knowing the appropriate chord shapes and arpeggiating them, and adding some pentatonic licks that flow with the chord progression? I believe you said as much in the lesson. So… as a student, should my focus primarily be the chord shapes in the I, IV, V positions and cool sounding ways to arpeggiate the chords rather than trying to memorize your tab and trying to recall that when I am playing? This blues style feels right at my finger tips (no pun intended) but still just slightly out of reach. I think I am getting lost in the tablature.

    • Bruce G says

      I have a similar challenge—I just end up playing the tab and not really understanding the musicality and thinking of the piece. I’m still struggling along, but I’ve found if I DON”T follow the tab …but force myself to just listen to Brian and think about the chord progression and Brian’s approach it keeps me from falling back on the TAB crutch…

      • Steven B says

        I found the same thing as both of you so I have spent time learning the notes of the fretboard. That way when the chord changes I can go straight to that root note and depending on which location you have chosen you can use the relevant chord shape. It then follows that knowing the arpeggio for that shape is the next step to actually understanding the musicality and not just following the tab. Don’t worry I waited forty years before I acknowledged the fact that until you learn these two fundamentals (every note on the fretboard and how to arpeggiate each chord) it’s really hard to keep pace with the flow. Anyway I keep struggling along too but its a happy struggle.

    • Brian says

      I think the bigger value is understanding why it works – and then trying to do something similar. Start simple, just a few notes – and build from there. I repeat myself a lot in these leads… so you’ll notice things in this solo that i’ve done many times. That’s part of it too – having stock licks that you can fall back on

      • KEVIN F says

        This hits the nail in the head. Just learn the chords and then start to hit a couple of notes in between them. Learn a couple of Brian‘s licks, but don’t get too stressed about doing exactly what he’s doing. It’s more about the feeling of it, and learning how to do embellishments. we’ve all been exactly where a lot of you are and being overwhelmed about trying to copy the exact licks. Just have fun with it and make it your own and learn bits and pieces for your own repertoire.

      • Aj M says

        Brian, thanks for the great education – I listen to the first part of the lesson the pull up the tab and go to work, however; like Steve, Bruce and Daniel before me alluded to, as a seasoned beginner I look at the tab and for ex. the 2nd bar reads “C”, but in the lesson you explain how you are really playing a “C6th”. Then in the next bar the tab reads F7 but your verbiage states F9.
        As a seasoned beginner I get confused, am I missing something, let me know.
        I really want to get to the “marginal intermediate” level before my time expires.
        Thank you

  22. Sean K says

    Brian,

    I accidentally came across your videos on YouTube by chance when I first picked the guitar back up from playing as a teenager. Your style of music fits mine to the “T”. Whether it’s the blues or the Grateful Dead. At first I looked at other learning options but I ended up canceling them all relatively quickly. I look forward to Saturday mornings to learn something new. I’m also a web/graphic/video guy so I like your presentation of your content. But more than great lessons or good content….I like that you are real. I don’t think you get that much anymore. Any way I wanted to say thank you and keep up the good work! 😊

  25. SubmarinerJim says

    Awesome lesson Brian, for me, a perfect follow on from the deep dive CAGED system. These past 4 or 5 weeks have really swept away the cobwebs from my mind. I can now see clearly where I am and where I need to go. Thank you so much!

  30. Peter R says

    “and then the song is going back to the key of the song, probably because I got lost” are the type of comments that keep me going. I just love to learn and play these stand alone compositions where I can just pick up my guitar and forget about everything else, including the talent I lack to become a decent guitar player.

  44. Wade O says

    Good day all!
    This is what made sense in my mind.
    First, from the CAGED Lessons, there is not a wrong note. The wrong note is just a passing note, a walk up/down or a slide into or out of. Train your ear and for me it is running the scales. Great way to start my session.
    Second, where the CAGED Lessons really made sense to me, was in these last two lessons. Picture the 1 4 5 chords in your mind in an efficient manner relative to where you want to play on the neck. Picture the full chords, then diads, then triads. You start on C and know, in time, you have to be on F then G. These are friendly places to land., define them, just like subway stops. The time in between C and F is your free time to explore. Run the rythym in your head, the backing track. That defines the time you have until the F arrives. And so on. To begin, restrict yourself to that area and learn to work there and you can add new areas later.
    This is what I did. I played rythym to Brian’s lead in the last two lessons and this gave me the idea of how much time I had. Then I did the same thing but using only the single notes, C F G, again as rythym. Then I went over it again and added the notes from the chords. Finally, I explored all the notes in the area and tried to create phrasings. I want to be wrong and that provides the challenge as to how to recover. It’s just like using the wrong word in a sentence. Go back home, like was said in the last lesson, C and say it again so it makes sense.
    Finally, The circle came around. You can’t hit a wrong note. That “wrong” note becomes the “right”note on your way to the right note! Brian’s riffs are tasteful and expressive and are great to put into your memory. Build on them for your own expressions, your own feelings.
    Hope this explanation makes sense to one of the crowd!
    Enjoy the music! Thx Wade

  45. Charles M says

    I love this lesson. It’s filled with so many little blues “tricks” that you illustrate so well. It’s going to take me a while to learn this, in small doses. The video tab feature is priceless.
    Coincidentally, I just stumbled across the 2019 podcast you did with Dan Blank. It’s so interesting. I get a kick out of seeing you on your early videos and can appreciate how far you have come. You’re such a relaxed instructor now. Having been with you over a year now and literally seeing you every day, you’ve become my guitar friend. Like you, I’m pretty introverted, and I’m finally taking guitar playing seriously, not to perform, just for myself and my little Spark 40 amp. This is after a lifetime career as a self-employed architect who is not mostly retired. I’m 74 and I’m convinced you’re never too old to learn. In fact, I think it’s great for my mental fitness. Thanks for leading the way and making it so enjoyable. Keep up the good work. I look forward to every new lesson.

  49. Joseph V says

    Brian…You are the man!…EP 291 Slow country blues is the first time I have felt like a real guitarist.
    EP 561 will be my second attempt…I love your dynamic attack on the notes…So tasteful. I really appreciate you and your style.
    Thank you for all you do.

    Thanks
    joev ( Yonkers, NY)

    • Ferry V says

      It depends on so many factors, how long it takes to learn such a lesson, but the truth is: nothing comes from nothing – and it has to be fun to get further and further and see how the skills develop with every hour! It shouldn’t be a torture but it’s hard work, that’s all the mystery man.

  56. Mark G says

    Fantastic – not too technical and the explanations are great. What does confuse me sometimes is keeping track of 4/4 time. I can count a straight forward shuffle or travis packing songs but knowing where you are in a piece like this is a lot hard for me. Any ideas or suggestions?

  58. John C says

    Loved this lesson Brian. Thank you. I feel like you are sitting there answering my questions. Somehow the way you explain what you are doing is exactly what I need to hear to understand how to be able to take these repeating tools and use them without having to follow the tabs. So glad I am a member.

  60. Jack S says

    Thanks for a great lesson. I was out visiting family/friends in SoCal, so just catching up with this one. In addition to your melodic note choices and useful explanations, I find your timing aspirational. At the very start of this piece, in the 4th beat of the second measure, there is a cool triplet that consists of a muted “chunk”, a C6 chord and then a rest–all in one beat. Sometimes I get the feel right away, but I found this rhythm challenging. It’s curious when I don’t capture the feel of it right away and have to break it down S-L-O-W-L-Y into counts and build from there. As much as note choices are important, getting rhythm down is critical. So, I will continue to work on that until it feels natural–at least for part of my lesson practice. Thanks again.

  63. JULIAN C says

    Brian
    I have gone back to this lesson a bunch of times during the last few weeks, incredible game changer for learning and understanding the blues and how it helps me practice and play better. Also, never stop talking through the lesson, the contents of the lesson and how the changes form and come together – it is so key. I go back to listen to all the dialogue that you put into your lessons as it is rewarding and valuable leaning information

  67. grnvlyglfr says

    Absolutely awesome. I’ve always struggled with just memorizing the song rather than actually getting the lesson you’re teaching so this time I really focused on and forced myself to understand the chord voicing for every one of the licks and runs and I’m sure glad I did. Thanks Brian for another great lesson.

  69. james w says

    Eye opening love it. I’m looking forward to trying to apply this same format to other keys. This would be interesting in a minor key . Do you already have one similar in a minor key? Great stuff!.

  71. Dan H says

    Brian, this lesson is just GOLD for us blues students. Not just the awesome stand alone nature of this for those of us that would like to be able to sit down and “play something” for friends but also the amazing teaching behind it. You are the real deal. Just signed up for a year of premium and I know it will be worth every penny.

  72. David says

    As always making it musical instead of just fast a bunch of so-called shred nonsense. Technique wise I can play many of these lessons. It’s the musicality – slowing down and playing something that sounds sweet instead of a clone of some famous player. I always come back here to get myself to calm down and not play every not on the fretboard.

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