BLUES GUITAR

Blues Guitar Lessons, Tutorials, Tabs and Scales

noreply@blogger.com (SPLICE) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 03:43:00 +0000

Do you know how to play the blues on your guitar? If not, then welcome to Blues Guitar 101, a website dedicated to providing you with the most accurate blues guitar lessons and tutorials for free. We offer blues scales and tabs from basic to advanced as well as blues-playing techniques to help you master the blues. We also offer videos and podcasts featuring blues lessons. Feel free to browse around.

You may first want to read the INTRODUCTION page, or skip it and go directly to any of the lessons below.

BASIC BLUES LESSONS

PART 1

ADVANCED BLUES LESSONS

Lesson 1: The String Bend
Lesson 2: Hammer-on and Pull-off
Lesson 3: The String Slide

BLUES SCALES

Major Blues
Minor Blues

BLUES LICKS

Blues Licks

BLUES MISCELLANEOUS

Open Tunings for Blues Guitar

Blues Guitar Basic Lessons: Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (SPLICE) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 11:39:00 +0000

BLUES GUITAR BASIC LESSONS: PART 1

Lesson 1: The Pentatonic Scale
Lesson 2: The G Major (G Maj) Blues Scale
Lesson 3: The Minor Pentatonic Scale
Lesson 4: The B Flat (Bb) Minor Blues Scale
Lesson 5: The "Blues" Notes
Lesson 6: Naming and Numbering Notes
Lesson 7: The E Minor (Em) Blues Scale

<<--RETURN TO HOMEPAGE

Open Tunings for Blues Guitar

noreply@blogger.com (SPLICE) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 11:11:00 +0000

Sometimes called "alternative" guitar tunings, open tunings basically mean tuning your guitar strings just like how a guitar chord would sound like when played. Blues "slide" players usually use open tunings so that they can freely play their slides. Several Rolling Stones songs are played in "Open G tuning".

How do you tune your guitar into an "open" tuning"? First, know which open tuning you want to adapt. Then, adjust the tuning of each of the guitar strings as needed. For instance, if you want to have an "Open G tuning":

e > lower this string's tuning to D tuning
b > retain
g > retain
d > retain
a > lower this string's tuning to G tuning
E > lower this string's tuning to D tuning

In short, from the standard tuning of "EBGDAE", an "open G tuning" would mean tuning your guitar strings to "DBGDGD".

Here's a short list of the other open tunings typically used for blues guitar.

Open D
D-A-D-F#-A-D

Open E
E-B-G#-E-B-E

Open G
D-B-G-D-B-D

TIP: If you want to have an open A tuning for your guitar, tune your strings to open G tuning and place a "capo" on the second fret. Same principle applies to the rest.

<<--RETURN TO HOMEPAGE

Blues Licks: SRV

noreply@blogger.com (SPLICE) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:42:00 +0000

Stevie Ray Vaughan's (SRV) blues guitar playing is considered by blues enthusiasts as the product of various influences but is also one that is unique in its own right. Formidable influences of SRV's guitar-playing style include Albert King and Jimi Hendrix. Below are a few examples of SRV-sounding blues guitar in tab form.

Legend:

^ = bend
h = hammer-on
x = palm mute
/ = slide up
\ = slide down

-->>CONTINUE TO

<<--RETURN TO BLUES LICKS: BOX 5

Blues Licks: Box 5

noreply@blogger.com (SPLICE) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 08:26:00 +0000

Here are a few examples of Blues licks using the Blues Box Five (5) in Key of G in Guitar Tab.

Legend:

^ = bend
p = pull-off
v = vibrato
~ = let ring
/ = slide up
\ = slide down

-->>CONTINUE TO BLUES LICKS: SRV

<<--RETURN TO BLUES LICKS: BOX 4

Blues Licks: Box 4

noreply@blogger.com (SPLICE) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 08:26:00 +0000

Here are a few examples of Blues licks using the Blues Box Four (4) in Key of G in Guitar Tab.

Legend:

^ = bend
p = pull-off
v = vibrato
~ = let ring
/ = slide up

-->>CONTINUE TO BLUES LICKS: BOX 5

<<--RETURN TO BLUES LICKS: BOX 3

Blues Licks: Box 3

noreply@blogger.com (SPLICE) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 08:06:00 +0000

Here are a few examples of Blues licks using the Blues Box Three (3) in Key of G in Guitar Tab.

Legend:

^ = bend
p = pull-off
v = vibrato

-->>CONTINUE TO BLUES LICKS: BOX 4

<<--RETURN TO BLUES LICKS: BOX 2

Bues Licks: Box 2

noreply@blogger.com (SPLICE) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 08:25:00 +0000

Here are several examples of Blues Licks in Key of G using the Second Blues Box in Guitar Tab:

Legend:
h = hammer-on
p = pull-off
v = vibrato
^ = bend
~ = let ring
/ = slide-up
\ = slide-down

-->>CONTINUE TO BLUES LICKS: BOX 3

<<--RETURN TO BLUES LICKS: BOX 1

Blues Licks: Box 1

noreply@blogger.com (SPLICE) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 08:25:00 +0000

Here are several examples of Blues Licks in Key of G using the First Blues Box:

Legend:
h = hammer-on
p = pull-off
v = vibrato
^ = bend
~ = let ring

-->>CONTINUE TO BLUES LICKS: BOX 2

<<--RETURN TO THE FIVE BLUES BOXES

The Five Blues Boxes

noreply@blogger.com (SPLICE) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 09:59:00 +0000

There are Five Blues Boxes usually used in Blues Guitar playing. Each of these boxes can add "flavor" to your blues playing when employed in suitable chord sequences. The following guitar tabs for the blues boxes follows the Key of G.

(Click image for larger size)

-->>CONTINUE TO BLUES LICKS: BOX 1

<<--RETURN TO BLUES LICKS

Blues Licks

noreply@blogger.com (SPLICE) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 11:13:00 +0000

The Five Blues Boxes

SRV

<<--RETURN TO HOMEPAGE

Lesson 3: The String Slide

noreply@blogger.com (SPLICE) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 12:41:00 +0000

Sliding your fingers on a guitar string is one of the many ways to add flavor to your blues guitar sound. To do a string slide, put your finger on a string and let it glide through until you stop at another fret location. For example (Fig. 1):

You can also do a string slide going backward rather than forward the higher registers of the guitar fretboard. For example (Fig. 2):

You can slide from, say, fret 3 to fret 15 on the same string, forward or backward. The only limitations to where you want to stop when sliding your fingers on the strings are the fretboard and the blues guitar scale you are playing.

-->>CONTINUE TO LESSON 4: THE VIBRATO

<<--RETURN TO LESSON 2: HAMMER-ON AND PULL-OFF

Lesson 2: Hammer-on and Pull-off

noreply@blogger.com (SPLICE) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 12:40:00 +0000

In guitar playing, the term "hammer-on" refers to putting a finger on a higher fret on a string that is currently being played on a lower fret. For example, while playing the 6th string on the 3rd fret, you can put your finger on the same string but on the 5th fret as if you're to "hammer" the string (Fig. 1); hence, the term "hammer-on".

Here's how a guitar hammer-on looks in actual guitar-playing:

On the other hand, the term "pull-off" refers to removing a finger positioned on a string on a certain fret; hence, to "pull-off". For example, while playing the 6th string on the 5th fret with your ring finger, remove your ringer from its position so that your index finger will assume the position of the string being played. See Fig. 2:

Here's how a guitar pull-off looks in actual guitar-playing:

-->>CONTINUE TO LESSON 3: THE STRING SLIDE

<<--RETURN TO LESSON 1: THE STRING BEND

Lesson 1: The String Bend

noreply@blogger.com (SPLICE) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 12:38:00 +0000

The guitar string bend is one of the most commonly used techniques in blues guitar playing. Basically, this technique involves bending a string upwards or downwards on the fretboard.

To do a string bend, place your middle finger on the second string (B) of the third fret. Press on the string and bend it upwards until you're able to hear a change in the tune of the string (Fig. 1). You can also press on the string downwards.

A typical way of executing a string bend is to first play a string and then bend the same string on the next two or three frets. In guitar tab format, it will look like this:

Here's how it looks on a guitar:

Blues guitar involves a lot of string bends. Better get those fingers bending steel strings as much as you can so that your fingers will get used to this technique.

-->>CONTINUE TO LESSON 2: HAMMER-ON AND PULL-OFF

<<--RETURN TO HOMEPAGE

Lesson 7: The E Minor (Em) Blues Scale

noreply@blogger.com (SPLICE) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 11:23:00 +0000

The E Minor (Em) Blues Scale (b5) for guitar is an example of a minor scale derived from its root scale, the G Major Blues Scale. Basically, the G Major blues scale (b5) is a G Major pentatonic scale with an added flattened fifth (b5) or, in the case of the Key of G Major, the C# note.

Here is the G Major Scale from where the G Major Pentatonic Scale and G Major Blues Scale are derived from:

The "E" note in the G Major Scale or in the Key of G Major is number "6". In order to derive the relative E Minor Scale from the G Major Scale given, we should begin with the "E" or "6th" note. Thus, we get the the following scale, which is the E Minor Scale, beginning from the 6th note and ending in the same 6th note:

To make the E Minor Scale into an E Minor Pentatonic Scale, simply remove the "4th" and "7th" notes. The resulting scale should now look like this:

To make the E Minor Pentatonic Scale into an E Minor Blues Scale, first substitute the numbers in your previous scale starting with 6 now as 1, 1 now as b3 (flattened third), 2 now as 4, 3 now as 5, and 5 now as 7. It should now look like this:

Lastly, to make your E Minor Pentatonic Scale into an E Minor Blues Scale, simply add a flattened fifth note (b5) to the E Minor Pentatonic Scale.

Or you may want to try E Minor Blues with a flattened 7th note (b7). Simply add a flattened seventh note (b7) to the E Minor Pentatonic Scale, which should look like this on your guitar fretboard:

Here's the E Minor Blues Scale with a flattened fifth (b5) on the higher frets of your guitar fretboard:

<<--RETURN TO LESSON 6: NAMING AND NUMBERING NOTES

Lesson 6: Naming and Numbering Notes

noreply@blogger.com (SPLICE) — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 11:39:00 +0000

In a guitar scale, the conventional approach to naming notes is through a number system. Let's take the notes in the Key of C Major as an example. The notes in the Key of C Major are: C, D, E, F, G, A and B.

Because the set of notes given above is in the Key of C Major, the "C" note in the set is called the "root" note. The root note in any key is always numbered as "1". Thus, the C note in the Key of C Major is 1.

Numbering the rest of the notes in the Key of C Major becomes relatively easier. D becomes 2 (or the 2nd note), E as 3, F as 4, G as 5, A as 6 and B as 7. Thus:

Translating these numbers on your guitar fretboard, we thus have something that looks like this:

Adding the "blues notes" (b3, b5 and b7) we have learned in a previous lesson, we have something that looks like this:

To "flatten" a note basically means to make it a half-step lower. For example, flattening G creates the note G Flat (Gb). Flattening E creates the note E Flat (Eb). C, when lowered half-step, becomes B. The F note, when flattened, creates the E note.

In short, flattening a note corresponds to lowering the note on your fretboard one fret.

Question: how can we know the notes belonging to a given major key so that we can also delegate the number for each note in the given major key?

Answer: use the "whole-whole-half-whole-whole-whole-half" method. How?

First, know the key you want to use. For example, we want to use Key of E. The E note on your fretboard automatically becomes the "root" note which is the same as number 1.

Next, count two frets from the E note on your guitar fretboard. The second fret from E is the second note in the Key of E. In this case, the second note (0r number 2) is F#. Two frets is equal to a whole step.

Next, count another two frets from the second note (F#). The note two frets from F# (or 2) is G#. Thus, in the Key of E Major, G# is the third note or 3.

Next, count one fret from the third note or G#. The note one fret from G# is A. Thus, in the Key of E Major, A is the fourth note or 4. One fret is equal to a half step.

Next, count two frets from the fourth note or A. The note two frets from A is B. Thus, in the Key of E Major, B is the fifth note or 5.

Next, count two frets from the fifth note or B. The note two frets from B is C#. Thus, in the Key of E Major, C# is the sixth note or 6.

Next, count two frets from the sixth note or C#. The note two frets from C# is D#. Thus, in the Key of E Major, D# is the seventh note or 7.

Lastly, count one fret from the seventh note or D#. The note one fret from D# is E. This brings us to the eight note or 8, which is also the root note: E. And we've just completed the notes belonging to the Key of E Major:

Follow the same steps in determining other notes which belong to any major key. After identifying the notes in the key, remember that the note where you began your step is always the 1 note. Then, follow the sequence.

-->>CONTINUE TO LESSON 7: THE E MINOR (Em) BLUES SCALE

<<--RETURN TO LESSON 5: THE "BLUES" NOTES

Lesson 5: The "Blues" Notes

noreply@blogger.com (SPLICE) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 09:28:00 +0000

Recall our lesson on the Major Pentatonic Scale. In order to transform a major pentatonic scale into a major blues scale, a blue note is to be added. Basically, there are three widely used notes as blues notes. These are: [1] flattened 5th (b5); [2] flattened 3rd (b3), and; [3] flattened 7th (b7). Let's take the G Major Pentatonic Scale as our sample.

The G Major Pentatonic Scale is composed of 5 notes, namely: G, Bb, C, D and F. Recall the previous scale diagram we used:

To turn the G Major Pentatonic Scale into a G Major Blues Scale using a flattened fifth note, just add the flattened fifth note into the G Major Pentatonic Scale. The flattened fifth note of G is C#. Thus, the G Major Blues Scale (b5) looks like this on your guitar fretboard:

Take note of the added C# notes on the illustration above.

[TIP: The G Major Pentatonic Scale already contains the flattened 3rd and the flattened 7th notes. The flattened 3rd is the Bb note while the flattened 7th is the F note. Therefore, you can only turn it into a G Major Blues Scale using a flattened fifth.]

Now, let's turn our attention to the Bb Minor Pentatonic Scale we studied earlier. It is composed of 5 notes, namely: Bb, C, D, F and G. Recall the diagram we used for the scale.

To turn the Bb Minor Pentatonic Scale into a Bb Minor Blues Scale using a flattened fifth note, just add the flattened fifth note into the Bb Minor Pentatonic Scale. The flattened fifth note of Bb is E. Thus, the Bb Minor Blues Scale (b5) looks like this on your guitar fretboard:

To turn the Bb Minor Pentatonic Scale into a Bb Minor Blues Scale using a flattened third note, just add the flattened third note into the Bb Minor Pentatonic Scale. The flattened third note of Bb is Db or C#. Thus, the Bb Minor Blues Scale (b3) looks like this on your guitar fretboard:

To turn the Bb Minor Pentatonic Scale into a Bb Minor Blues Scale using a flattened seventh note, just add the flattened seventh note into the Bb Minor Pentatonic Scale. The flattened seventh note of Bb is Ab or G#. Thus, the Bb Minor Blues Scale (b7) looks like this on your guitar fretboard:

In summary:

G Major Pentatonic Scale can be transformed into G Major Blues Scale with a flattened fifth note. This holds true for the rest of the major pentatonic scales.

On the other hand, Bb Minor Pentatonic Scale can be transformed into Bb Minor Blues Scale with a flattened fifth, flattened third or flattened seventh note. This holds true for the rest of the minor pentatonic scales.

-->>CONTINUE TO LESSON 6: NAMING AND NUMBERING NOTES

<<--RETURN TO LESSON 4: THE Bb MINOR BLUES SCALE

Lesson 4: The B Flat (Bb) Minor Blues Scale

noreply@blogger.com (SPLICE) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:52:00 +0000

In Lesson 2, we discussed the G Major Blues Scale. In this lesson, we will be studying the Bb Minor Blues Scale. Basically, the Bb Minor Blues Scale is a Bb Minor Pentatonic Scale with the addition of a "flat five" note. In this Bb Minor Blues Scale, we have the "E" note as the "flattened fifth" or blue note. Here is a diagram of the guitar scale:

The Bb Minor Blues Scale is composed of the notes Bb, C, D, E, F and G. The guitar scale is diagrammed below:

Here is a comparison of the Bb Minor Pentatonic Scale and the Bb Minor Blues Scale:

Proceed by playing every succeeding note in the Bb Minor Blues Scale right after the "Bb" note. Begin by playing the note on the guitar string (6th fret) which is numbered "1". Continue playing according to the order of numbers.

Familiarize yourself with the scale. Try repeating the exercise.

-->>CONTINUE TO LESSON 5: THE "BLUES" NOTES

<<--RETURN TO LESSON 3: THE MINOR PENTATONIC SCALE

Lesson 3: The Minor Pentatonic Scale

noreply@blogger.com (SPLICE) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 10:29:00 +0000

In Lesson 1, we discussed the Major Pentatonic Scale. In this section, we will study the Minor Pentatonic Scale. For convenience, we will focus on the B Flat (Bb) Minor Pentatonic Scale as illustrated below:

A similar diagram of the scale:

Play the Bb Minor Pentatonic Scale on your guitar by starting with the "Bb" note on the sixth fret of your lower (or thicker) E string. The "Bb" note is encircled as follows:

Proceed by playing every succeeding note in the Bb Minor Pentatonic Scale right after the "Bb" note. Begin by playing the note on the guitar string (6th fret) which is numbered "1". Continue playing according to the order of numbers.

Familiarize yourself with the scale. Try repeating the exercise.

-->>CONTINUE TO LESSON 4: THE B FLAT (Bb) MINOR BLUES SCALE

<<--RETURN TO LESSON 2: THE G MAJOR (G Maj) BLUES SCALE

Lesson 2: The G Major (G Maj) Blues Scale

noreply@blogger.com (SPLICE) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 04:42:00 +0000

Now that you've familiarized yourself with the G Major Pentatonic Scale, it's time to move on to our next lesson: the G Major Blues Scale. The main difference between the G Major Pentatonic and the G Major Blues is that the G Major Blues has an "extra" note. In this lesson, we will be focusing on the "C#" (C sharp) note as the "extra" note. In many cases, the extra note is also referred to as the blue note. More specifically, the "C#" note in the G Major Blues Scale is also referred to as the "flattened fifth" (b5) note. The following is a diagram of the G Major Blues Scale with the blue notes (C#) encircled in blue.

The G Major Blues Scale is composed of the notes G, Bb, C, C#, D, F and G. The scale is diagrammed below:

Here's a comparison of the G Major Pentatonic Scale and the G Major Blues Scale:

Proceed by playing every succeeding note in the G Major Blues Scale right after the "G" note. Begin by playing the note on the guitar string (3rd fret) which is numbered "1". Continue playing according to the order of numbers.

Familiarize yourself with the scale. Try repeating the exercise.

-->>CONTINUE TO LESSON 3: THE MINOR PENTATONIC SCALE

<<--RETURN TO LESSON 1: THE PENTATONIC SCALE

Lesson 1: The Pentatonic Scale

noreply@blogger.com (SPLICE) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 04:09:00 +0000

Let's begin with the easiest guitar scale before learning the blues: the pentatonic scale. The scale is called pentatonic simply because it is composed of 5 notes. The example below is a G Major Pentatonic Scale. It is composed of the notes G (the "root" note), Bb, C, D, F and G.

A similar diagram of the scale:

Play the G Major Pentatonic Scale on your guitar by starting with the "G" note on the third fret of your lower (or thicker) E string. The "G" note is encircled as follows:

Proceed by playing every succeeding note in the G Major Pentatonic Scale right after the "G" note. Begin by playing the note on the guitar string (3rd fret) which is numbered "1". Continue playing according to the order of numbers.

Familiarize yourself with the scale. Try repeating the exercise.

-->>CONTINUE TO LESSON 2: THE G MAJOR (G Maj) BLUES SCALE

<<--RETURN TO BASIC BLUES LESSONS PART 1 OVERVIEW

Introduction to Blues Guitar 101

noreply@blogger.com (SPLICE) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:58:00 +0000

First off, let's familiarize ourselves with the way diagrams are used in this website. The diagrams here basically represent the fretboard of your guitar. Each mark on the diagram represents a corresponding placement of your fingers, either one at a time or simultaneously, on the guitar fretboard and strings.

For example (click image for larger size):

You can follow the chronological sequence of the lessons as presented in this website, or you can decide to try the lessons randomly or according to your preference.

Feel free to contact the author. Details can be found here.

You may now proceed to Lesson 1 or return to the home page and browse the lessons.

Minor Blues Guitar Scales with Flattened Seventh Note (b7)

noreply@blogger.com (SPLICE) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 21:04:00 +0000

For Minor Blues Guitar Scales with a flattened seventh note (b7), see the list of diagrams below. Click the image for larger size.

<<--RETURN TO MINOR BLUES SCALES INDEX

Minor Blues Guitar Scales with Flattened Third Note (b3)

noreply@blogger.com (SPLICE) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 20:10:00 +0000

For Minor Blues Guitar Scales with a flattened third note (b3), see the list of diagrams below. Click the image for larger size.

<<--RETURN TO MINOR BLUES SCALES INDEX

Minor Blues Guitar Scales with Flattened Fifth Note (b5)

noreply@blogger.com (SPLICE) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 18:42:00 +0000

For Minor Blues Guitar Scales with a flattened fifth note (b5), see the list of diagrams below. Click the image for larger size.

<<--RETURN TO MINOR BLUES SCALES INDEX