Wednesday, April 15, 2015

How to play blues guitar - Lightnin' Hopkins



 

FREE Blues Guitar Lessons

Lightnin's guitar style could be quite basic or quite complex, but it was never out of place, or awkward. He used the damped bass style of thumb picking, in the am way as Mance Lipscomb, and master like Broonzy, more often than not preferring to play in E.

For ‘Baby Please Don’t Go’ the tune picked on the higher strings roughly mirrors the vocal line, sometimes not a very bright idea, but of course Lightnin' s shows how it's done! Hopkins' guitar guitar was usually tuned down a step or two, probably to suit his low voice, and maybe to help bend those strings around.

A throbbing bass line drives the music and the results are almost supernatural. A master playing moderate to slow blues songs in E or A, he could show his complete control of his thumb action by creating syncopation while singing along at the same time!. (Check out 'Mojo Hand' and try it out yourself - you need good chops!)

The best tip for playing the Hopkins way is go nice and steady, all the while trying to make it sound 'real'. When we think about acoustic blues guitar, its very often music from the Mississippi played in E, the high trebles notes underscored by the driving bass line of that monotonic thumb stroke.

Of course, we can make blues as complex as it can be, but it's true that the most attractive and effective music is frequently simple – it’s the approach and feeling that separates them. An expert such as Texas blues man Lightnin Hopkins, could of course play complicated arrangements, but was best known for making music with an incredible deep and bluesy sound.

 When beginning to look around for those ideal acoustic blues guitar lessons, many folks use the omnipresent 'G', and Google it, as they say. Increasingly more searches for just about anything you could imagine are carried out on Youtube - as a matter of fact it's the 2nd most used search engine after Google itself. Similar to Google, the amount of results found for a term such as 'acoustic' is formidable - how do you pick the tuition that suits you, and how to play blues guitar in the authentic style?

Youtube guitar videos feature all kinds of techniques and skill levels, both paid and for free. Blues guitar tabs of course are the basis of the most effective guitar lessons. It doesn't have to be that complex in the least, with only simple indications of finger movements and blues chord progressions. Many blues tabs have too much complexity, attempting to encapsulate the overall style of the old blues playing, a task not really plausible!

This directs us to the second attribute of great blues guitar courses - the instructor has to be able to play the guitar very well (and the tablature should show exactly what he is demonstrating.) Guitar tab itself isn't enough to translate that delicate pause, or the monotonic thumb strike that hits off-beat when required to complement the song style.

Sure, the tab can indicate the fact that one movement should be damped with the heel of the picking hand, but can't indicate that action itself doesn't continue, but changes in sound as the pressure of the hand in contact with the guitar strings is constantly being varied according to the flow of the music. It's best not to rush when searching for instruction, of any kind.

The Orientals say 'a year or two spent doing little else but finding the right teacher is very well spent'. This is a good observation. You don't need to take a year in your search, but choose with care and take no notice of the hype. Don't expect to improve in two weeks, take it easy, don't push yourself too hard and above all, enjoy the ride and the music.

Looking on the world wide web for guitar tuition in video format can be a time consuming activity, especially for the new student with hardly any experience. What are some of the things to look for in the most effective packages on offer? As you could imagine, we can identify desirable features that could assist in choosing the right instructor.

Lessons should be painless To Follow

Although it just about stands without saying, any lesson for whatever subject should progress in a logical way and be simple to absorb. First steps need to be properly described, and grow into further tuition. Of course music notation has it's place, but the new guitar player is basically impatient to start the learning process - he just wants to play some guitar! This should be the primary step, presenting the fundamental things that can be put into practice right away. When it comes down to it, a deep understanding of the buidling blocks will give huge advantages later on in the instruction.

Livin' With The Blues by Brownie Mchee - Guitar Lesson Preview

Blues Before Sunrise by Scrapper Blackwell - Guitar Lesson Preview

Love In Vain by Robert Johnson - Guitar Lesson Preview

Reap What You Sow by Mance Lipscombe - Guitar Lesson Preview

Blind Blake - Guitar Lesson Preview

Monday, March 30, 2015

Acoustic Blues Guitar Tips - Big Bill Broonzy Swing Blues





Acoustic Blues Guitar Lessons  FREE Blues Guitar Lessons Here

Broonzy's own influences included the folk music, spirituals, work songs, ragtime music, hokum and country blues he heard growing up, and the styles of his contemporaries, including Jimmie Rodgers, Blind Blake, Son House, and Blind Lemon Jefferson. Broonzy combined all these influences into his own style of the blues that foreshadowed the post-war Chicago blues sound, later refined and popularized by artists such as Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon.

Although he had been a pioneer of the Chicago blues style and had employed electric instruments as early as 1942, his new, white audiences wanted to hear him playing his earliest songs accompanied only by his own acoustic guitar, since this was considered to be more "authentic". A considerable part of his early ARC/CBS recordings have been reissued in anthology collections by CBS-Sony, and other earlier recordings have been collected on blues reissue labels, as have his later European and Chicago recordings of the 1950s.

The Smithsonian's Folkways Records has also released several albums featuring Big Bill Broonzy. In 1980, he was inducted into the first class of the Blues Hall of Fame along with 20 other of the world's greatest blues legends. In 2007, he was inducted into the first class of the Gennett Records Walk of Fame along with 11 other musical greats including Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Gene Autry,
Lawrence Welk and others.

Broonzy as an acoustic guitar player, inspired Muddy Waters, Memphis Slim, Ray Davies, John Renbourn, Rory Gallagher, and Ben Taylor. In Q Magazine (September 2007) it is reported that Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones claims that Bill Broonzy's track, "Guitar Shuffle", is his favorite guitar music. Wood said, "It was one of the first tracks I learnt to play, but even to this day I can't play it exactly right."

During the benediction at the 2009 inauguration ceremony of President Barack Obama, the civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery paraphrased Broonzy's song "Black, Brown and White Blues". Broonzy recorded over 350 compositions.

  FREE Blues Guitar Lessons Here

Weeping Willow by Blind Boy Fuller - Guitar Lesson Preview



 

Acoustic Blues Guitar Lessons  FREE Blues Guitar Lessons Here

Friday, March 27, 2015

Acoustic Blues Guitar Lessons Online - Rev Gary Davis - Learn Blues Guitar Fingerpicking



 

Acoustic Blues Guitar Lessons  FREE Blues Guitar Lessons Here

Blues Guitar Tips - Rev Gary Davis - Learn Blues Guitar Fingerpicking

The Reverend favored a big body Gibson - great rich, profound bass notes and distinctive treble sound (probably good for slicing through traffic noise as he played on the streets.) He wore finger picks to protect his fingers he said, which amplify the guitar sound naturally but additionally save the fingers becoming sore from performing for many hours, as blues men did in those days.

He wore a big plastic Dunlop-type pick worn high on his thumb, and on is forefinger he wore a steel pick. Amazingly, he picked the strings with just one finger, which scarcely seems feasible with such complicated syncopation. That magic thumb could bounce all round the fret board, not happy with playing just the bass strings.

The thumb might also pull out of regular timing doubling the beat, which demnstrates formidable mastery of the guitar. Another Gary Davis characteristic were his finger pickingruns on single strings. He'd hit one string string in an alternate pattern with thumb and finger in quick succession very fast, while singing!

 FREE Blues Guitar Lessons Here

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Acoustic Blues Guitar lesson - Kentucky Blues #2 - Fingerpicking Guitar



 

Free Broonzy Lessons Here https://www.udemy.com/swing-acoustic-blues-guitar-lessons/

This is the second video in which I look at the mysterious Kentucky Blues by Dennis Little Hat Jones. I add some tab to make it more interesting - enjoy!

Best, Jim

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Acoustic Blues Guitar - Diddie Wah Diddie - Blind Blake Cover



 

Diddie Wah Diddie Cover

 FREE Blues Guitar Lessons Here

When beginning to search for the perfect acoustic blues guitar lessons, a lot of people use the omnipresent Google search engine, and Google it, as they say. Increasingly more searches for just about anything you could imagine are made on Youtube - as a matter of fact that it's the second most used search service after Google itself. Like Google, the amount of items returned for a term such as 'blues guitar lessons' is enormous - how do you choose the tuition that's best for you, and how to play acoustic blues in the old way? Youtube guitar videos boast all kinds of techniques and teaching levels, both paid but also free.

Blues guitar tabs are recommended for the most effective guitar lessons. Such tablature doesn't have to be that complicated at all, with just simple indications of finger movements and blues guitar chords. Many blues guitar tabs have too much detail, trying to encapsulate the overall style of authentic blues playing, something that isn't plausible! This directs us to the second characteristic of good acoustic guitar courses - the teacher has to be able to perform the music very well (and any tabs should precisely represent what he is demonstrating.)

Guitar tablature in isolation isn't sufficient to impart that imperceptible hesitation, or the thumb stroke that is a little off the beat when required to complement the words. Sure, the tab can show that one movement has to be be damped with the heel of the hand, but can't indicate that action itself isn't continuous, but varies in sound as the force of the hand on the strings is continually being changed depending on the needs of the music.

Take your time when looking for guitar lessons, whatever the style. The Orientals have a saying 'several engaged in doing nothing but finding the right instructor is very well spent'. This is great advice. You don't need to take so much time for your search, but make your choice with care and ignore the marketing ploys. Don't expect to improve in two weeks, take nice and slow, don't push yourself too hard and above all, enjoy the ride and the music.

The Vital Attributes Of Great Video Guitar Lessons

A search on the internet for guitar tuition in video format can be a time consuming activity, particularly for the new player with hardly any experience. What are some of the features of the most effective courses on offer? As you could imagine, its possible to identify common features that could assist in choosing the right teacher.

Tuition must be Easy To Follow

Even though it just about goes without saying, a course for any subject lmatter should progress in a logical way and be easy to take in. First steps should be properly described, and grow into further tuition. Without a doubt musical notation has it's place, but a student guitarist is really impatient to start learning - he just wants to play something!

This must be the primary step, teaching the fundamental techniques that could be put into practice straight from the start. When it comes down to it, a thorough understanding of the first concepts will give massive benefits later on in the instruction.

Music Notation against Tablature

Normally, guitarists in the classical style were taught to understand musical notation and follow the written notes when playing in public or composing new music. Inevitably, this means a progress that is often perceived as too sluggish in today's busy lifestyle. In the 60s, acoustic blues guru Stephan Grossman amongst others,
created a system of guitar notation that depicted the frets and the six strings of the guitar neck.

This abbreviated 'musical' notation quickly became the norm and represents an efficient tool for learning how to play acoustic guitar, for example. A pattern of 6 strings is shown with numbers from the low bass string (1) to the high E string (6) and a number overlayed over a string shows which fretting finger needs to be positioned above. A straight line to the side of the number indicates that the thumb or finger is used.

Image Presentation - Guitar Tab - The Things That Should Be Displayed On The Video Screen

There are many possibilities around for this subject, but its possible to point out important features of this important aid to guitar tuition. The student should know from the start what the aim of the tuition is. If it is to understand and play an entire song, then that the music should be be played in just the same as the demonstrated tuition shown all the way through the entire lesson.

Before going into detailed tuition, any difficult movements should be discussed and important advice given. A close up of both hands are indispensible, and are best shown individually. The chords and tab may be shown on the video sreen, in this way learners can easily follow the finger movements at the same time.

  FREE Blues Guitar Lessons Here

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Acoustic Blues Guitar Lessons - Kentucky Blues - Dennis 'Little Hat' Jones





Acoustic Blues Guitar Lessons  FREE Blues Guitar Lessons Here

We take a look at a catchy little tune here, but from a slightly different perspective. I go through the process I use to learn a new song. This video sketches out the basic chords and an approach to the basic sound. Next video will add some tab and refine the right hand finger tehcniques. 

Enjoy Jim

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Acoustic Blues Guitar Song - Kentucky Blues by George Little Hat Jones



 

Acoustic Blues Guitar Lessons http://www.play-blues-guitar.eu/menu-36-lessons-review.php

Currently working on the tab for this catchy little tune. There are many great covers on the Tube, but not sure that they've got it right ... we'll see.

Very best Jim

Monday, March 2, 2015

Acoustic Blues guitar - Jim Bruce Original - 'Peace'



 

Acoustic Blues Guitar Lessons http://www.play-blues-guitar.eu/menu-36-lessons-review.php

I wrote this piece some years ago (must have been a folky period!). It's called Peace - you need it, you know you do. Go for it!

All the best Jim

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Acoustic Blues Guitar Lessons - 12 String Guitar



 

Acoustic Bllues Guitar Lessons http://ift.tt/1znrrDa

Just can't resist trying something else. I bought a 12 string - let battle commence!

Best Jim

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Blue Day Blues by Scrapper Blackwell - Guitar Lesson Preview



 

Blue Day Blues Guitar Lesson here: http://www.play-blues-guitar.eu/menu-36-lessons-review.php

One of my favorite Scrapper songs, I created this lesson to try and pin down his appealing picking style. It fascinates me how the old blues men from different regions approached a slow blues in the key of A.

Best Jim

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Acoustic Blues Guitar - Livin' With The Blues - Brownie McGhee Cover




Learn this song here: http://ift.tt/1y1aD2O

I'm sure that it's tough to get enough time to play guitar, especially if you are raising a family and have a job to go to. A lot of people playing blues guitar when they are younger with a passion, and then tend to get less and less as we get hooked up with a woman, or decide to develop a 'career' - and when older it's hard to balance a relationship with a significant other, children and work similtaneously!

Little surprise that practising guitar often gets shelved for other things deemed more important. Well, that's what happened to me at any rate. After performing at professional level between my twenties and thirties, and I suddenyl found myself married. Without a doubt, I had to find a great job to keep my new growing family, all of which takes a lot of time, motivation and energy. In short, my playing just kind of fizzled out and I stopped playing for good, for five years or more - this really isn't a good thing to do.

I imagined that I could simply grab the guitar when I wnated to play again and just pick from where I was - I was dead wrong. Many lonths of little practice made a large gap in my previosu expertise and the state of playing 5 years later. I got most of it back after practising regularly for about a year. But - I didn't get all the easiness of playing in exactly the same way that I used to.

If my emails are any judge, there are lots of baby boomers returning to acoustic blues guitar after not playing for many years, and they find it difficult even they used to play well previously. I always give away the same piece of advice - just makesure you play each day, just for a little while. It absolutely makes a huge difference - 2 minutes a day keeps those muscle memories working.

Cheers Jim

Monday, January 19, 2015

Blues Guitar Lesson Preview - Nobody Wants You - Scrapper Blackwell



 

http://www.play-blues-guitar.eu/down-and-out-purchase.php

The link above will take you to the page where you can get this lessn by Scrapper. Blackwell is one of my favorite blues men, with a very rich guitar style full of surprises.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Blues Guitar Lessons Online - Jim Bruce Master Classes




Blues Guitar Lessons Online - I wrote this song some years ago, as I performed on the streets as 'Reverend Jim Bavery' (well, it worked for me!)

Love Gary Davis songs, and I found myself writing one or two in the same style - of course, ripping off licks from the old master and throwing some of my own ideas in there as well. In this week's master class, I'm going to be teaching another Gospel style song I wrote 'Can't Cross here' - everything you need to sign up is here: http://ift.tt/1IqnIZG

Cheers Jim