The Blues Guitar

  In this video, I will show you how to play the guitar part from the famous blues song Smokestack Lightnin' by Howlin' Wolf. The guitar part is actually very small and is only 2 bars long. This 2 bar riff is then repeated throughout the entire song. It is quite easy to play and shouldn't be too hard to learn, but there is some playing advice below to help you. This guitar piece is on the key of E in 4/4 time and is played on a standard tuned guitar.  Smokestack Lightnin' Tab - Power Tab - PDF - TXT Playing Advice Keep the thumb moving - The song is in the key of E and only has one chord which is E. Throught the whole song the guitar plays the E bass note constantly on every beat of the bar. This is done by playing the lowest E string open with the thumb. You have to make sure to keep the thumb moving and keep playing this bass note on every beat of the bar to make it sound true to the original. Its easy to miss some of these bass notes or play them out of time, ...

This is another blues turnaround / ending but this time it is in the Key of D. It is taken from the classic blues song Dust my Broom by Elmore James. The turnaround is played on a guitar tuned to Open D and requires the use of a slide. It usese a descending base line and, when played as a turnaround, it resolves to A. When played as an ending, it resolves back to D. The video shows me playing it at normal speed, and then shows me playing it slower with the tab on the screen. To download the free tabs, click the links below. Blues Turnaround in E - No 2 Tab - Power Tab - PDF - TXT Thanks for Reading, Neil  

  This is my version of the classic song 'Sloop John B'. The song was originally a traditional Nassau folk tune but was made famous when the Beach Boys did their version of it. There have been many subsequent cover versions of it, but the Beach Boys version still remains the most notable. The tune is in 4/4 time in the Key of C and is played on a guitar in standard tuning. The tune is quite straightforward to play if you are familiar with playing fingerstyle guitar, and shouldn't pose too many problems. Below is the tab for the song in various formats, and also some playing tips to help you: Stand By Me Tab - Power Tab - PDF - TXT Playing Advice The Key of C - This tune is played in the Key of C and uses the chords C, F, G and D. Most fingerstyle folk music is played in this key, so if you are familiar with playing that, this should be easy enough to play. It utilises a travis picking pattern with the thumb playing alternating bass strings on most bars. The o...

  This is another blues turnaround / ending in the key of E. It is taken from my version of Key to the Highway which can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/7h7iuB6zEEc The turnaround is played on a standard tuned guitar, and again uses a descending chord structure resolving to B7 when played as a turnaround, and resolving to E when played as an ending. The video shows me playing it at normal speed, and then shows me playing it slower with the tab on the screen. To download the free tabs, click the links below. Blues Turnaround in E - No 2 Tab - Power Tab - PDF - TXT Thanks for Reading, Neil

    This is my blues version of the classic song 'Blueberry Hill'. Although the song is most often associated with Fats Domino's version released in 1956, it was actually written over 10 years earlier in 1940 and first sung by Gene Autry in the film The Singing Hill. A number of other versions were also recorded in 1940 (source:www.jazziz.com). However, it wasn't until 1956 that Fats Domino released his own version of it which, over time, has come to be the most recognised recording of the song. Fats Domino's version had a more upbeat rock n roll feel to it, indicative of the predominant msuical style of the time, and used a 12/8 rhythm to give it that distinctive sound. The notes used in the melody itself were largely unaltered from the original, but the timing and phrasing in Domino's version were markedly different.  My version that I have written can probably be best described as a hybrid between the original and Domino's version. It is in 4/4 time givi...

  I am going to do some short videos with small pieces of music such as turnarounds and licks, which can be incorporated into pieces of blues music. In this first one, I am going to show you a popular turnaround in the Key of E. This is played on a guitar in standard tuning and uses a pattern of descending 7th chords. There are 2 parts to it. The first is when it is played as a turnaround, for when the music loops back on itself. The second is for when it is played as an ending to a piece of music. This turnaround is easy to play and can easily be incorporated into a piece of blues music in the key of E. It works very well with a 12 bar blues in E. The video shows me playing it at normal speed, and then shows me playing it slower with the tab on the screen. To download the tabs, click the links below. Blues Turnaround in E - No 1 Tab - Power Tab - PDF - TXT Thanks for Reading, Neil

  This is my version of the classic song 'Stand By Me'. The song was written by Leiber / Stoller and King, and was originally recorded and made famous in the 60's by Ben E King. In my arrangement, I have written and played it with a slower, country blues feel to it. It is a solo fingerstyle piece played with a travis picking pattern where the thumb plays the bass notes on alternating strings, and the melody line is played on the higher strings. This video and tab just playes through the first two verses of the song and once through the chorus. This incorporates the majority of the musical sections of the song, and can be repeated and varied as necessary if you would like to play more of the original song.  The tune is in 4/4 time and is played on a guitar in standard tuning. The tune is quite straightforward to play if you are familiar with playing fingerstyle guitar, and shouldn't pose too many problems. Below is the tab for the song in various formats, and also...

    This is my blues version of the classic rock song 'Livin' On A Prayer'. The song was originally recorded and made famous in the 80's by Bon Jovi. In my version, I have written and played it with a slower, country blues feel to it. It is a solo fingerstyle piece with the melody line incorporated into the music. This video and tab just playes through the song once, but each section can repeated as necessary for each verse and chorus The tune is in 4/4 time and is played on a guitar in standard tuning. The tune can be quite tricky to play, especially the chorus section, which requires a wide stretch with the left hand and playing over a barre higher up the neck. However, if you are competent at playing fingerstyle guitar you should be able to play this piece with some practise. Below are some playing tips to help you: Livin' On A Prayer Tab - Power Tab - PDF - TXT Playing Advice Blues Bass Line - The original song has one of the most distinctive ba...

  This song was originally recorded by blues pianist Charles Segar, and then recorded for guitar by Big Bill Broonzy a year later. The song has become a blues standard and has been covered many times by famous artists including Little Walter and Eric Clapton. This is a version for a solo guitar based on the Big Bill Broonzy version and incorporates the melody (vocal) line within the guitar piece. It is based on an old tab by TLSpider which I have adapted. The tune is in 4/4 time, is a fingerstyle piece, and is played on a guitar in standard tuning. The song basically repeats the same body of music over and over. This version plays through the main body of the song twice but can be repeated as may times as necessary. It is a fairly straightforward piece to play and shouldn't provide any significant problems if you are used to playing fingerstyle guitar. Below is the tab in various formats and also some tips to help you play it. Key to the Highway Tab - Power Tab - PDF - ...

The 12 Bar Blues Shuffle is a standard musical sequence which has been used in blues music for decades, and it has formed the structure for numerous famous blues pieces. In this post, and the corresponding video, I want to have a look at this 12 Bar Blues sequence and how to play it. Chords The 12 Bar Blues employs a standard chord sequence across 12 bars of music in 4/4 time. Although there are numerous variations on this, here I will show the standard chord sequence. It utilises 3 chords which are scale degrees I, IV and V of the corresponding key that the music is played in. The table below shows it for the Key of E but it can be changed to any other key, you just need to know the relvant scale degrees for that key. So for the key of E, the three chords that are used are E, A and B.                      BAR 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Scale Degree I I I I ...

  This is my version of the old Mississippi Fred McDowell song You Gotta Move. The song has been covered many times by artists such as the Rolling Stones, with most of these covers being quite faithful to the original. In this version, I try to stay close to the Fred McDowell original recording. You Gotta Move is a slide guitar tune played in 12/8 time on a guitar tuned to Open D. I play it using my fingers and would recommend you do the same as I find it easier to access all the notes. However it could be played with a pick if you wanted. The song is quite straightforward to play as it mostly uses single notes at once, and has a moderate tempo. It follow a very repetitive pattern and, apart from one section, the song is just a repetition of the first section / verse. Below is the tab in various formats and also some tips to help you play it. You Gotta Move Tab - Power Tab - PDF - TXT Playing Advice Sliding About - This piece of music uses a slide to play the majority of t...

    Fingerstyle blues is commonly played in the key of E. This is not surprising as a guitar in standard tuning is loosely tuned to the key of E, so it is a popular key for much guitar music. In this post, and the accompanying video, I will look at some of the most common ways to play blues music in this key. I will have a look at common chords used and how they fit into a 12 bar blues sequence, a standard picking pattern in this key, and also look at how you can incorporate your own melody in this key. Chords Blues music tends to use 3 chords and these are at scale degrees I, IV, V7. In the key of E, this gives you the chords E, A and B7. The A chord is played as an A Major, but is also often played as A7 as well. These 3 chords are very common in all types of music, especially blues. Fitting them into a 12 bar blues Taking these 3 chords, they can be fitted into a 12 bar blues sequence and you can hear the bluesy sound that they give. Here is a common 12 bar blues sequence ...

  This is my version of the old Blind Blake song Bad Feeling Blues. It is an upbeat, and quite fast paced piece. This is charcteristic of Blind Blake's style of playing which was influenced by the popular ragtime music of the era. This video covers just the guitar part and does not include the vocals which Blind Blake sings in the original. Bad Feeling Blues is a fingerstyle piece played in 4/4 time on a standard tuned guitar. It has a continuous bass line played by thumb, and the melody played with the other fingers, which is standard for fingerstyle blues guitar. It is quite a tricky piece with a fast tempo and non-standard bass line. In the video above I just play through the main section of the song once. In the original, there are a number of verses for which this guitar section is repeated. I adapted the tab from one I found on the internet, however, I couldn't find an author to credit for this. Bad Feeling Blues Tab - Power Tab - PDF - TXT Playing Advice Bou...

Sail Away Ladies is a traditional tune which has many different versions of it. This version is based on the one by John Fahey from the album - The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party Vol 4. Although there are multiple instruments playing in the Fahey version, including sitar sections, the version I have done merely covers the two main guitar sections. These two guitar sections are both very similar with only a few different notes in each. However, the main difference between the two sections is the tempo. The first section is played much slower than the second Sail Away Ladies is a fingerstyle piece played in 4/4 time, although there are a few bars in 2/4 time. It employs a travis picking pattern with the thumb playing the bass notes and alternating between different bass strings. It is a relatively easy piece to play but the second, faster section does have quite a fast tempo, so this does make it more tricky to play although many of the notes are the same as the first, s...