Description
In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play a classic 12 bar blues composition that you can play by yourself (no accompaniment needed) on electric or acoustic guitar. There are no open strings in this composition so that means you can easily transpose this and play it in any key (I’ll show you how in the video).
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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I love New lesson Fridays!
Brian, another terrific bunch of take-a-ways! Thank you.
Hi
Great lesson again Brian. I know you’re a blues player and I love the blues but would you ever consider doing something a bit more jazzy (I’m ok with that word) in the future.
Eamon
Hey Brian!! Here’s a thought………..maybe this guitar once belonged to Bob Segar or a member of his band………….get it???!! OK…………the best I could come up with late Friday night!! Jim C.
Wow…an early comment! It’s10:30 AM here in Chiang Mai, Thailand and I’m loving this lesson. Blues with no open strings, gets me away from keys E and A.
The Slow Walk Through makes me want to spring for a resonator guitar, but I guess I should try to rein in my guitar acquisition syndrome.
Many thanks for the great tunes and awesome lessons.
Nice Lesson Brian! Always like the little extra bits and side notes! Any chance you could do some slide???
I just love Saturday afternoons here in New Zealand when another awsome lesson appears,
Great syuff Brian, AGAIN !!!
Brian,
If any of us on Active Melody decide to shoot our guitars what caliber do you recomend?
Great lesson BTW. Enjoyed the story behind the guitar.
Another great acoustic blues Brian, but this lesson is screaming for soundtrack by my opinion. Maybe I would do it with my bandmates.
Thanks, Brian!
Well I think you will have to rename EP328 to 45 Blues! That’s a large calibre bullet hole! More importantly it’s a great lesson Brian
Thanks as Always
JohnStrat
Totally agree. That looks like .45 ACP if it’s a pistol which it almost surely is. But if it was decades ago, could be .45 long colt or even .44 I guess. Crazy. What kind of trip to the bar ends with, “And then I shot the guitar”? Hilarious. Unless you’re the guitar, I guess . 😂
Well shoot! That was a great reinforcement of so many concepts you have touched on in the past. I think they might be starting to sink in. Thanks, Brian.
John
I was noodling yesterday afternoon in the same key, a 12 bar blues, between 4 and 5 pm EST. I guess we were shooting for the same thing! I did add open strings at times, but I think your composition will help spice mine up. Thank you!
Don’t say you are SHOOTING!
Thanks Brian! G is my guitar’s favorite key.
Nice Silvertone!
I love the lesson and the Silvertone. Thanks Brian
I see first time the tab indicator for the muted up /down on the shuffle .. some sites use the up down v indicators especially for blue grass flatpicking tutorials.. but you explain it well enough in the intro..
I caught it naturally after watching you explain it as a SRV shuffle..works for me!
Great lesson Brian, lots of take aways!
Thanks again
Ray P
WOW.. what a great lesson… really helps an old guy like me progress by playing an entire composition that I fully understand why I am playing specific notes over chords….
Thanks…. Great Teacher…
Love the lesson and the guitar/story. By the way, does Nipper get along with Arlo?
I keep them separated 😉
Well let’s just say you are a high “caliber” player pilgrim!.. Best highlight of this lesson is the SVR strum measures everything is also great to holster
You could rename it your Magnum Opus in memory of the possible weapon!
hah – i like it!
very nice Brian, thank you!
I am enjoying this much tonight.. so bluesy and cool double stops and all them cool blues licks in between. helps not only beginners to really focus on learning the positions/box shapes of the pentatonic scales with some bluesy chromatic notes too.. great to add to any serious players long term favorites!
Awesome lesson Brian! You are like the guitar rescue!
Love the lesson Brian !!!
Nice lesson Brian – really enjoyed it.
Question.
You start off this lesson using the G7 shape at the 7th fret, using your middle finger (fret 7, string 3) (and index finger (fret 6, string 2) to play the two notes moving down to the G shape at the 3rd fret before playing the 5 chord (D7). At other times I’ve noticed you will do a similar run down using the middle and ring finger, both on the 7th fret (strings 3 and 1), moving down to form the G shape at the 3rd fret before playing the 4 chord (C). Just wondering if there is a rationale for doing it that way specifically, or would you also interchange those rundowns in going to either the 4 or 5 chord? As well, would you also do a rundown using the other two notes of the G7 shape starting at the 7th fret. i.e. ring finger on 7th fret, 1st string and middle finger on 6th fret 2nd string for the rundown. Just wondering if these are all interchangeable, or . . .
Thanks Brian
Pat, not really a rationale, and yes they’re all interchangeable
Makes sense – thanks for the confirmation
Be good feature if you could set up some kind of self search for one of your existing jamtracks,, I’m going to see if I can search up a jamtrack for ep328 on this site
Might be a good blues tune here.
“I shot a man in Memphis in the back room of a whiskey bar. Oh, I shot a man in Memphis in the back room of a whiskey bar. I thought I got him good, but I missed and hit his guitar.”
I thought he’d shoot me back but he thanked me for what I’d done
he went off down the road to a pawn shop in the sun
he sold the guitar for ten times the price he’d paid in sixty one
and that’s the story of this old guitar they call the Smoking Gun
Way cool!!!!
Brian, maybe you should take it to your local police dept and have forensics check the back for blood, maybe it wasn’t sitting? Could be more interesting history?😂😎
Every Guitar you hold I want to hold. I first started with purchased Alvarz AP 90.
I wonder how many guitars you might own?
you said you where going to post video on your guitars soon maybe on your Blog.
A bullet hole!!!???
Maybe the bullet actually was fired, while he was playing it? It mast have hurt!
I taught in H.S. For 30 years. I can recognize a great teacher when I find one!!! I salute you.
What a bargain. Your lessons are superb. The way you tie things together, relate to previous knowledge, encourage future applications in new situations, it is not memorization but applied knowledge that becomes permanent. These lessons are just what I needed. Thanks
Great lesson. It would be great to add a few more sections in the future.
This lesson alone to me Is well worth another year premium members subscription ! thank you too all the hundreds of lessons too!