Active Melody

Learn to play blues guitar.

Lead Blues Guitar Lesson In The Style of Buddy Guy – EP116

In this blues guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play a lead part on electric guitar in the style of the great Buddy Guy. Buddy is famous for his stage presence and showmanship, but underneath all of that is an excellent blues guitar player who has influenced just about everyone.   If you haven’t had a chance to see Buddy play live, be sure to check his calendar on his website and go see him, as of this writing, he’s 79 years old. He typically does a series of shows at his bar in Chicago in … [Read more...]

Mark Knopfler Rhythm and Lead Guitar Lesson – EP110

I've done a few Mark Knopfler style lessons in the past, but I wanted to create one that shows his very unique way of playing fingerstyle (using 3 fingers). This lesson has a repeating rhythm and every other time a 1 bar lead is introduced (playing within the A minor pentatonic scale). The Part 1 video shows you how to play the rhythm (and includes a version played with a pick for those of you that aren't comfortable with fingerstyle). Part 2 shows how to play the 3 lead parts. … [Read more...]

Jimmie Vaughan Style Lead Guitar Lesson – EP109

In this guitar lesson, you'll learn how to play a Jimmie Vaughan style lead using a hybrid picking technique. Although Jimmie primarily plays with only his fingers, this style allows you to use both the pick and fingers to get a similar tone. This lesson also includes 2 versions of the MP3 jam track, one in the key of E, and one in the key of G, so that you can capo the 3rd fret and play those same licks in a higher position (the way that Jimmie often does). … [Read more...]

Surf Guitar Lesson (Dick Dale meets The Ventures) – EP107

In this guitar lesson, learn how to play a simple surf style lead and rhythm. This lesson has some licks from the great Dick Dale and some licks from The Ventures. This lesson is also a great exercise for those that are interested in improving your picking technique and speed with your right hand. I've also included two versions of the MP3 jam track (one at a slower tempo) to practice with. … [Read more...]

Keith Richards Style Rhythm and Lead Guitar Lesson – EP106

This guitar lesson is split into 2 parts. In the first part, you'll learn how to play a Keith Richard's inspired rhythm (this rhythm works on either electric or acoustic guitar). Part 2 takes that same rhythm that you learned in the first half and introduces a Keith Richard's style lead on top of it. Even though Keith often plays in open G tuning (minus the 6th string), this is all played in standard tuning so that it's more accessible. … [Read more...]

David Gilmour Guitar Lesson (Pink Floyd) – EP105

David Gilmour (guitar player and vocalist for Pink Floyd) is one of my all-time favorite guitar players and I’m actually surprised it’s taken me this long to put together a lesson showcasing his style. One of the reasons it’s taken me so long is because he has SO much depth, it’s actually overwhelming to try and boil things down to a single lesson. I suppose I’ll just have to do others. In this lesson you’ll learn how to play a David Gilmour style lead in the key of C, using the C major … [Read more...]

J.J. Cale Style Simple Blues Guitar Lesson – EP103

J.J. Cale was probably best known as being a great singer / songwriter, but his unique approach to playing lead and rhythm (without a pick) has influenced thousands of guitarists. His style was simple and elegant, and always seemed to perfectly compliment the music. This guitar lesson showcases some of J.J. Cale’s style of lead and is perfect for even beginner guitar players. As a bonus, I’ve included a breakdown (with tab and video) of the fingerstyle rhythm. … [Read more...]

T-Bone Walker Style Lead and Rhythm Guitar Lesson – EP102 – A

In this blues guitar lesson you’ll learn how to play a T-Bone Walker style lead and rhythm. This can be played on either electric or acoustic guitar (although some of the lead parts might be challenging on acoustic guitar). T-Bone Walker was a huge influence on B.B. King, and so in honor of his passing I wanted to create 2 lessons this week. One on T-Bone’s style and the other on B.B. King’s style – both played using the same MP3 jam track. Here’s a link to the B.B. King guitar lesson (only … [Read more...]

Albert King Style Blues Guitar Lesson – EP101

Learn how to play an Albert King style lead in this slow electric blues guitar lesson (in the key of G). I try to make most of these lessons in a way that they can work on electric or acoustic, but when you're dealing with some of the Chicago blues guys (like Albert King), a large part of their sound is made up of bending strings, which is really hard to do on acoustic. This one will wear the tips of your fingers out for sure, but trust me it's worth it! … [Read more...]

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