FULL COURSE, TAB, JAM TRACKS: truefire.at More Free Guitar Lessons: bit.ly On Twitter – www.twitter.com On Facebook – www.truefire.com The first piece we’ll study is “Down the Dirt Road Blues” by Charley Patton (Paramount, Richmond 1928). Charlie Patton, better known as Charley Patton was born in 1891 or 1894. He died on the Heathman-Dedham plantation near Indianola, Mississippi, from heart disease on April 28, 1934. Compare the guitar accompaniment to Patton’s “34 Blues,” which is slower but virtually the same. Just about every Charley Patton song has a really cool guitar part in it. “Down the Dirt Road Blues” is no exception – this little 2-bar turnaround riff is a great example of how much fun it can be to play the guitar this way. We’re capoed up one fret and we’re in the key of C. The turnaround should be played in an expressive style, snapping the bass strings (played with the thumb) against the fretboard.
FULL COURSE, TAB, JAM TRACKS: truefire.at More free guitar lessons – bit.ly On Twitter – www.twitter.com On Facebook – www.truefire.com There are lots of ways to strike the strings on your bass to get different sound. Pulling with your fingers, using a pick, and using your thump to slap the bass and pulling your fingers up from underneath the strings to pop them. The slap and pop techniques are a fun way to get that unique sound, so in this segment Ill show you the basic techniques needed to play in this style. When slapping, the idea is to hit the string from the top/side and with your thumb and then to get it away so that the strings can freely vibrate. When popping, youve got to learn to use your wrist to open up your hand, and by doing so have your fingers pop the strings to get that sounds. We end with a couple of exercises using octaves in an E minor pentatonic scale and introduce the bounce technique to get a double hit with your thumb.
FULL COURSE, TAB, JAM TRACKS: truefire.at More free guitar lessons – bit.ly On Twitter – www.twitter.com On Facebook – www.truefire.com Alrighty thennow that we know the basic blues chord progression and how to read and follow a basic chord chart let’s talk about different grooves, or styles of music. Its one of the wonderful things about music that the same thing can be played and interpreted in so many different ways, and convey totally different feelings. So lets start out playing example #2 with a straight 8ths groove. Straight 8ths means that we will be playing a steady stream of 8th notes with no syncopation. Well start just pumping out the root and then use the pentatonic scale to construct a bass line that will certainly sound familiar. Let your fingers do the walkin!
FULL COURSE, TAB, JAM TRACKS: bit.ly Bass Basics: bit.ly More guitar lessons: bit.ly Stu Hamm’s Fretboard Fitness digs deep into bass guitar fretboard navigation, finger agility and the theoretical knowledge necessary to play all styles of music. If you consider yourself an intermediate bass guitar player, Stu Hamm’s Fretboard Fitness is the bass boot camp you need to take your skills to the next level. Stu Hamm first came to prominence after playing on Steve Vai’s Flex-Able disc. Going on to become the bassist of choice to lay down the low-end for virtuoso guitarists like Frank Gambale, Joe Satriani and many others on the stage and in the studio. Fortunately for students of bass guitar, Stu’s teaching skills match his musicianship providing a rare opportunity to learn bass guitar from one of the very best on the planet. “These are the bass guitar lessons I wish I had when I was coming up. I’ve distilled the curriculum in Fretboard Fitness to the essential nuts and bolts of playing bass guitar; navigating the fretboard, building hand strength, and understanding the essential principles of music theory and harmony. All of the video bass guitar lessons, exercises and workouts that I’ve included in Fretboard Fitness are designed to form a strong bond between your hands, ears and mind.” The best quality of this course is how you work with it; you’ll play your way through Fretboard Fitness. No tedious, boring routines or theoretical math here. Stu designed each workout to …
FULL COURSE, TAB, JAM TRACKS: truefire.at More Free Guitar Lessons: bit.ly On Twitter – www.twitter.com On Facebook – www.truefire.com This is a popular shuffle rhythm that has been heard on countless recordings throughout the years. From BB King to Stevie Ray Vaughn, all the great blues guitarist have put their own stamp on this pattern. The bass plays quarter notes to lay down a strong groove with the drums, while the guitar doubles the bass playing shuffle using eighth notes. This rhythm will work at any speed and, by experimenting, you can change the feel by changing the tempo. Visit Stevie Ray Vaughn at www.sonymusic.com
FULL COURSE, TAB, JAM TRACKS: truefire.at More Free Guitar Lessons: bit.ly On Twitter – www.twitter.com On Facebook – www.truefire.com Annie joins me here on “Custard Pie” by Blind Boy Fuller (Vocalion, Memphis 1939). Originally recorded as “I want some of your Pie” in 1939, this is another great example of Piedmont style blues, which is both “uptown” and “raggy”. We’re capoed up on the 1st fret in standard tuning. All references in the breakdown are made relative to the capo. The song is in the key of E and starts off with a slide up to a barred E chord with the root E on top (12 frets up from the capo). Video two contains the breaks; the parts that are played beneath the harmonica part. These are a series of single line bass riffs followed by the chords from the original progression.
FULL COURSE, TAB, JAM TRACKS: truefire.at More Free Guitar Lessons: bit.ly On Twitter – www.twitter.com On Facebook – www.truefire.com The first two volumes will get you up and running lickety split. We’ll cover 10 blues feels and teach you both rhythm and solo parts. While the base examples are fairly easy, the real meat of this course is in the detailed video presentations so please make sure you watch the entire video segments. Let’s start with an uptempo interpretation of Allman Brothers southern-style shuffle rhythm. Visit the Allman Brothers at www.allmanbrothersband.com.
FULL COURSE, TAB, JAM TRACKS: truefire.at More guitar lessons: bit.ly On Twitter – www.twitter.com On Faceboook – www.truefire.com A large part of becoming a good player and improviser is about expanding your vocabulary. This is true for every genre of music, but let’s talk blues. Some people feel that Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan or Albert King were playing as if the gods were speaking through them. Well, OK they do sound like that, but I’m sure they would have a different take on it if you asked them. I am sure they would tell you that they learned solos from other people and practiced their butts off. Although they were improvising at that moment, the licks they were playing are based on licks, patterns and ideas they have in their musical vocabulary and they were simply drawing on them. That is not to say they aren’t masters of the instrument and unique. My point is; learn as many licks as you can! What I tried to do is supply you with 50 Blues Licks You Must Know that will expand your vocabulary and make you a better player. Poke around and start with the ones that jump out at you, get them under your fingers and go to the next. Let’s get started!
