Blues Lead Guitar

Whenever you want to learn to play a style of music, the most important thing to do is to listen to it and imitate what you hear. But in order for you to be able to imitate what you hear, you need a basic understanding of the notes and techniques that are used. The good thing about the blues is that it ultimately comes down to just a handful of notes, played in different octaves and places on the neck, and in this tutorial I will break that down for you.

In this tutorial we'll explore different "micro positions" or "blues boxes" all over the neck and make some music with the notes that we find. Aside from claiming new territory on the neck, you'll be introduced to the concept of improvising and some useful things to keep in mind when you do this! Whether you wanna play blues, rock, funk, jazz, or even polka this is a great place to start.

In these lessons I will introduce you to some really useful techniques like bending, vibrato and hammer-ons and pull-offs, so that you can start working on your feel. Great feel doesn't come from these techniques alone, but learning them will help you get in touch with that side of blues playing.

The old blues guys made music history with just a handful of notes, so there are obviously a lot of other elements to a great blues solo than just great note choice. There is the "feel" that we covered earlier, the tone of your gear, which you will learn about later, but most importantly there is the rhythm and timing of your licks and notes. This is the concept that, above all the others, will make you sound like a blues guy. So in this tutorial we're going to experiment with the sound of different "subdivisions" and timing concepts.

In this series of blues course lessons, we'll take a simple A minor pentatonic scale and explore how much music can be made with one lick. We'll break down the lick, work on making it your own, then try trading fours with a backing track!

In this tutorial we're going to "up the ante" a bit. We'll take another blues lick that's slightly more challenging and go through a similar process as in the previous tutorial, changing the lick up and playing it along with a backing track.

In this blues level 2 tutorial, we'll take a look at some basic building blocks to get you started on creating your own licks and building a blues vocabulary. We'll look at the importance of the root note, adding hammer-ons and pull-offs, a bend, combining these ideas, and playing them with backing tracks.

In this second "building blocks" tutorial on blues, we'll take longer fragments of licks and how to creatively put them together. Then we'll look at how to change up the rhythm and timing, repeating notes, and other variations and play them along with a backing track. We'll also look at playing in different keys, and how the same note can be played different places on the neck.

Learn what you can do to start finding your own voice in your soloing, using the minor scale.

Bring your blues scale into a performance context.

In this tutorial, Anders Mouridsen will reveal some of the secrets in the style of blues legend Albert King. We'll start off with an introduction to Albert's approach, then look at his touch, tone, and use of the pentatonic "box". Next we'll examine his aggressive bending style, then break down three licks: one fill lick between vocal phrases, a typical King-style soulful lick, and a turnaround lick. We'll conclude with a jam.

B.B. King is one of the true all-time greats of the guitar; his style is synonymous with the blues! In these lessons we are going to show you some techniques and approaches in the style of B.B. King: starting off a blues tune, using space and phrasing, bending strings, the use of turnarounds, and some soloing approaches. Take these elements and work them into your own sound!

Freddie King is another essential figure in blues history, who's style has inspired many of the blues and rock greats that we know today! In this tutorial, we'll take a look at some ways that we can work some basic components of Freddie's style into our own playing by using double stops, outlining the IV and V chords, turnarounds, using a thumb pick and a metal pick on your first finger, and we'll jam with a backing track too!

While it is always important to learn licks and better your soloing ability, it is also important to figure out what you want to say with those skills. This is called "phrasing," and it can take a lifetime to truly get this concept down; communicating a unique voice on the instrument. In this tutorial, we are going to teach you how you can assemble all of those licks and skills into a meaningful vocabulary on the instrument that is unique to you. Let's get started.

The use of vibrato is an effect that is unique to all string instruments and all the more effective when used on the guitar. In blues playing, the use of vibrato is key and each blues player has his or her own vibrato. When used wisely, it can make even the simplest phrases and solos sound very effective. In this tutorial we are going to take a look at a few different types of vibrato that are both artist specific and usable by any guitarist at any level. Let's get started!