Jazz & Blues

How to Play the Blues Scale on a Guitar

How to Use Repetition When Playing Acoustic Blues Guitar

Although blues guitar is usually heard on electric guitar, it started out as an acoustic style. An important aspect of acoustic blues (and electric, too) is [more…]

Two Acoustic Blues Guitar Techniques

You can use two simple acoustic blues techniques to give your blues guitar playing more variety. Alternating the texturecreates an unexpected, less homogeneous sound. And combining open strings with fretted [more…]

What is the Robert Johnson Progression?

Robert Johnson (1911–1938) is universally recognized as the King of the Delta Blues, and for good reason. Robert Johnson's playing style, which is called the Robert Johnson Progression, has influenced [more…]

How to Get the Blues Sound

Blues guitar can take many forms, which means that learning how to get the blues sound is an evolving process. However, by identifying specific techniques, notes, and patterns to follow, you can begin [more…]

How to Play the Jimmy Reed Blues Guitar Move

If you have the basic 12-bar blues under your belt, it’s time to learn how to play the Jimmy Reed move on your guitar. This move will help you shake things up a bit. The Jimmy Reed move has been a blues [more…]

How to Use Pick-Strum Patterns to Add Variety to Blues Guitar

Knowing how to read and use pick-strum patterns is a great way to provide rhythmic variety and introduce different textures into your guitar playing. Pick-strum patterns separate the bass and treble so [more…]

How to Use Left-Hand Muting to Create a Crisp Guitar Rhythm

When it comes to rhythm guitar, you need to learn how to stop the strings. Just listen to blues rhythm guitar and you'll hear that it’s not one repetitive wall of sound, but an open, varied sound with [more…]

How to Create the Six-Note Blues Scale on Guitar

The pentatonic scale is a wonderful invention for guitarists — and can save you from sounding bad during a guitar solo. On the flip side, because this is such a [more…]

Expanding the Blues Scale with Sweet Notes

In blues, rock, and jazz guitar, there are times when you want to add extra interest to the blues harmony. You can do this by adding a sweet note — an extra chromatic note not found in the six-note blues [more…]

Adding Intros, Turnarounds, and Endings to the 12-Bar Blues Progression

Although the 12-bar blues progression has a signature blues sound, if you plan to play blues, rock, or jazz guitar on a regular basis, you'll want to learn how to accessorize the 12-bar blues. Intros, [more…]

Guitar Tablature: "Chicago Shuffle"

B.B. King once said, “I have a right to sing the blues,” and if you’re ready to try playing a couple of authentic blues songs, you have that right too! As you first attempt to play the [more…]

Guitar Tablature: "Mississippi Mud"

"Mississippi Mud" is an old blues song that was first recorded by Bing Crosby back in 1927. This song features many acoustic blues concepts: E pentatonic minor scale in open position, steady bass notes [more…]

Guitar Tablature: "The Articulate Blues"

“The Articulate Blues” is a short guitar solo, in the form of a 12-bar blues, that employs all the forms of articulation. Learning how to play "The Articulate Blues [more…]

How to Play a 12-Bar Blues on the Guitar

The 12-bar blues is by far the most popular form for the blues. Once you learn to play the 12-bar blues on the guitar, you can play such classic blues pieces as [more…]

How to Play Jazz Guitar Using Chord-Melody Style

Chord-melody style, as its name implies, is a jazz guitar solo style that incorporates both the melody and harmony (chords) of a song. When you learn to play a chord-melody style, you can jazz up an existing [more…]