This is a huge course (over 10 hours!) packed with all my insider tips, tricks and shortcuts for getting you playing songs on guitar fast!
Establishing a solid foundation is critical to future success on guitar and often means the difference between going on to become a genuinely fine player as opposed to never breaking out of beginner level guitar at all.
Awesome practice software included (it’s the secret sauce to this course!)
Course Details
- Running time: 10hrs 10min
- 4 levels – Beginners, Improvers and Intermediate
- 155 HD video lessons
- Practice software
- 10 course books (TAB and diagrams)
- Backing tracks
- Works with iPhone/iPad/Android
What You Will Get From This Course
- The best foundation possible on guitar bar none
- The ability to play a wide variety of songs with confidence and finesse
- A perfect platform upon which you can advance confidently into other, more specific, styles of guitar
- Custom built practice software proven to skyrocket your rate of improvement
- A highly enjoyable learning experience!
Who Is This Course For?
Perfect for rank beginners just starting out on acoustic guitar. It also works wonders for those of you who have been playing a while but are still struggling to “put it altogether” often because you tired to teach yourself using random free lessons instead of a proper syllabus.
Comes With Awesome Practice Software
Curriculum
Module One: Beginners Level
Perfect Chords – Here are my 3 rules for getting all your chords to sound clear and perfect [6:26]
Video 1 – We’ll start off with the easiest chord progression I know! [3:12]
Video 2 – Taking the progression into the Practice Software next, single strums in time with the drums. [2:40]
Video 3 – Time for Strum No.1, this is probably the most powerful strumming pattern any beginner could know. [2:35]
Video 4 – Let’s put both sides together… the strum and progression with the backing track. Now you’re already playing guitar! [6:22]
Video 5 – VERY IMPORTANT ADVICE HERE!!! Don’t fall into this classic “beginner trap” [2:38]
Video 6 – Here’s the next progression and another new chord shape [3:02]
Video 7 – Time to drill this in the Practice Software, we always want our learning process to be very ‘musical’ [4:31]
Video 8 – This lesson adds a new essential chord to your repertoire and I’ll show you the “hidden secret” for getting this to sound perfect. [2:34]
Video 9 – Fun time now, we’ll combine this new chord with the others to get our first proper song progression! Backing track included. [5:57]
Video 10 – By organizing the chords into a different order we can get a 2nd song progression, drilled again with the Practice Software. [6:08]
Video 11 – I’ll show you 2 more essential chords now and also reveal how to change chords as quickly as possible just like the pro’s do. [2:46]
Video 12 – Let’s load up this next file into the software and cycle it until it becomes perfect. [3:16]
Video 13 – Time to learn Strum No.2, another super powerful strumming pattern. Use it to play songs like “Hotel California” plus 1000’s of others! [3:53]
Video 14 – Load up this next backing track and let’s make this strum automatic and second nature. Plus… I’ll tell you how to get the “perfect strumming sound”. [4:55]
Video 15 – With a brand new strum pattern we can go back and apply it to previous progressions. This is an essential practice technique. [3:52]
Video 16 – We’ll cycle things around with the backing track now plus I’ll let you into on a super powerful practice technique most beginners don’t use. [5:34]
Video 17 – Another essential chord here plus I’ll show you how to instantly connect it up to previous chords too, it’s essential you approach this from the correct angle. [2:17]
Video 18 – Here’s how to connect things up into the dreaded F chord but don’t worry… this is the easiest version of F so it won’t stop your progress so far! [5:13]
Video 19 – We have a lot of new chords now so let’s put them together with backing tracks so they all make sense and fit together in a musical sense. [1:44]
Video 20 – This progression is great for a song like U2′s “All I Want Is You”, very easy and perfect for beginners! [5:37]
Video 21 – Now for a much longer progression, this is a critical lesson so you can ‘put it all together’. At this stage you’ve already got 80% of the essential chords you need. [5:28]
Video 22 – This is the start of the ‘connector’ secrets. It’s a technique which will allow you to race ahead of other beginners in how fast you can change between chords. [6:49]
Video 23 – This video takes you through the 2nd set of ‘connectors’. Essential stuff, spend a lot of time on these! They will allow to play songs fluently much sooner than normal. [2:16]
Video 24 – Now let’s put both set of ‘connectors’ together and make them all automatic. You fingers will do all the work on their own, you won’t even have to think about it! [1:08]
Video 25 – Next up we have a series of specially designed progressions that will reinforce this idea of using ‘connectors’, each one drilled to a backing track inside the software. [5:52]
Video 26 – In this lesson you’ll find that the chords connect together in a way which is very ‘beginner friendly’. This helps you to gain confidence quickly and make it all gel together. [4:35]
Video 27 – Yet more progressions! By the time you’re through you’ll have a solid command of chords and strumming and be 100% ready for playing real songs.[5:25]
Video 28 – This final track is quite pretty and features connector chords from start to finish making it feel very comfortable to play. As usual we build up step-by-step making it virtually ‘idiot-proof’ [3:10]
Video 29 – PAY ATTENTION HERE! There’s something super important that you need to start doing right NOW, it’ll pay off big-time later on down the road but you must start doing it today. [3:32]
Video 30 – Here’s how to play Strum No.3, another ‘universal strum’ which you can apply to 100′s of popular songs on guitar including ones like “Heart of Gold” by Neil Young and “Let It Be” by The Beatles. [1:48]
Video 31 – Just as before, let’s take this latest strum and apply it to some earlier progressions. I’ll also show you a great way for getting past chords you find difficult to change between. [3:48]
Video 32 – Time to load up some backing tracks into the software, you’ll have a lot of fun playing along and messing with different tempo points. [5:15]
Video 33 – IMPORTANT – here’s how to mentally ‘hear’ the strum you would use to play almost any song you hear. [2:21]
Video 34 – Here’s how to get Dm sounding gorgeous. It’s an essential chord even though many beginners completely neglect it. [2:14]
Video 35 – Let’s bring D minor into context by joining it with other chords in typical song progressions. If you can’t follow along with a full strum, single strums will be fine. [2:58]
Video 36 – B minor is like my ‘hidden’ essential beginner chord. Most don’t learn it because they think it’s too hard however here I’ll show you the 2 easiest ways to play one. [3:40]
Video 37 – This next progression is probably the best way to start incorporating a B minor chord into your playing. Load up the backing track, slow it right down and jump into it. [4:11]
Video 38 – A second example here of how Bm fits nicely into our set of essential chords so far. Once again, load up the backing track and take your time laying it down. [4:16]
Video 39 – My final words of advice here. I’ll reveal the #1 most important thing you have to do at this stage and guide you on how to move forward so that your success on guitar becomes inevitable. [2:19]
Module 2: Improvers Level
Video 1 – I’ll kick this off by you a great sounding ‘Shuffle Strum’, perfect for a whole load of songs including many tunes by The Beatles. The rhythmic feel is very addictive and sticks in your head for days. [9:15]
Video 2 – Here’s a nice progression played with the backing track to a shuffle strum. The trick as always is to get a lot of definition with your bass notes. [5:20]
Video 3 – In this lesson you’ll learn all the essential shapes of Dominant 7 chords. They are highly useful chord shapes and help to add a lot more colour to your progressions. [10:44]
Video 4 – Putting these Dominant 7 chords into action now, you’ll see how to combine them perfectly with all the other chords you’ve learned so far. [5:36]
Video 5 – This example sets up an ‘eternal loop’… an effect only made possible by the harmony created using Dominant 7′s in chord progressions. [3:01]
Video 6 – Next up is an all-time classic progression that uses a G7 at the end. Countless hit songs over the years have used this one to great effect. [2:46]
Video 7 – Challenge Time! This is an awesome sounding progression, full of that classic tension/resolution harmonic movement only Dominant 7 chords can create. [3:17]
Video 8 – One of my all time favorite strums now… The Accent Strum. You can do so much with this one and it’s a beautifully ‘musical’ strum with lots of definition and accents. [4:35]
Video 9 – READY FOR A SURPRISE? We can make this Accent Strum sound even more infectious by injecting a Shuffle Feel into it. The effect is very satisfying and many hit songs have employed it. [3:19]
Video 10 – EVEN MORE… now let’s throw alternating bass notes into the mix. We’re combining an Accent Strum with a Shuffle Feel and now Alternating Bass Notes! [2:59]
Video 11 – A classic example of a song which would use this strum would be “Country Roads” by John Denver. Here’s how you’d play along to that progression. [2:25]
Video 12 – SNEAK PREVIEW HERE, I’ll show you a typical Country Strum pattern (coming in the Intermediate Level) and just how closely it relates to what we’re already learning here. [3:08]
Video 13 – VITAL LESSON! I’ll unlock the ‘mystery’ behind KEYS and show you how all the chords we’ve learned fit perfectly into little families. This will be a big ‘ah ha’ moment for many of you. Plus we’ll also look at ‘diminished’ chords. [5:27]
Video 14 – Looking at the 2nd of our essential Keys here. With these two keys memorized you’ll find that 1000′s of songs suddenly come into reach for you. It’s very powerful knowledge. [2:02]
Video 15 – Now that you’ve learned your Key’s we’ll put some strums through the sequence. It’s a great way for your ears to ‘hear’ the harmony at work. Plus… we’ll talk about CAPOS… a beginners best friend. [3:44]
Video 16 – Something very useful in song playing are “Passing Chords”. These make nice transitions between chords in a progression. Here I’ll start by showing you the two most commonly used. [5:04]
Video 17 – GUITAR SCALES – I break away from the course book a little bit here and take you into 2 important scales which will perfectly compliment the keys we’ve already learned. Plus a big ‘no no’ warning to you when it comes to playing them. [4:45]
Video 18 – Ready to make some music? I’ll teach you how to easily make your own music using the keys and scales we’ve learned. This is how scales work with chords to create melody/harmony. [6:52]
Video 19 – Another example for you here, this time we’re inside the key of G. You might even recognize the ‘inspiration’ behind this melody. [4:35]
Video 20 – Here’s the most used scale in all rock and pop music. It’s the Pentatonic Scale. It’s very bluesy and tons of fun to mess around with because it’s so easy to do. [3:31]
Video 21 – A very beautiful family of chords are called “Major 7″ chords. These sound wonderfully soft and once you start using them they’ll lift your guitar playing to a new higher level. This video will show you all the most important shapes to know. [6:54]
Video 22 – In this lesson I’ll show you how many famous songs use mixtures of all these different chord families in their progressions. You’ll hear how mixing families together can create deep levels of musical expression. [6:11]
Video 23 – Just in case you were in any doubt, in this lesson I’ll prove how chords can colour progressions to an insane level. I’ll show you how a typicly bland progression can be instantly transformed into something much richer and deeper in feeling. [2:54]
Video 24 – We can also ‘stand chords still’ and simply change their character using different chord families, this is employed a lot in songs as this famous example from The Beatles song “Something In The Way” will demonstrate. [2:09]
Video 25 – Next up we’ll drill these new chord families and progressions with backing tracks and different strumming patterns. This will complete the full picture for you of how you can incorporate them into your own playing at home. [7:19]
Video 26 – Still remember how to do your Shuffle Strum? This is a very interesting sequence of chords in a minor feel that suits a shuffle feel very well. It’s to show that Major 7 chords can be used to colour minor progressions too! [6:17]
Video 27 – Time for a 3/4 Strum. This one is killer with Bob Dylan songs along with tons of other artists. Like a shuffle, the feel is infectious and I’ll show you how to play it like a pro to get the maximum effect out of it. [8:21]
Video 28 – Let’s try adding this new 3/4 strum into one of the earlier ‘passing chord’ progressions we learned. The effect is really, really good… a lot of fun to play. [2:42]
Video 29 – Minor 7 Chords. We’ve had major 7 chords so now here’s their mirror image. They are minor in nature but it’s a softer sound. They let a bit more ‘light’ in than a standard minor chord. They are very popular in ballads. [3:16]
Video 30 – A wonderful example of how to use minor 7 chords inside a typical song progression. Load up the file into the Practice Software and play along! I could play this one around and around all day. [4:37]
Video 31 – OK… here’s a “get out of jail” version of a 3/4 Strum just in case the last one was too hard for you at the moment. It’s a super easy solution any time you need a 3/4 feel to get through a song. [2:28]
Video 32 – This is one of the most famous songs every written and it uses the minor 7 chords we went through earlier along with Strum No.2. See how all your learning is coming together now? [2:56]
Video 33 – One family of chords left for this level – Suspended Chords. You’ll find examples of them being used all over the place. Here you’ll learn the most important shapes to know and the theory behind how they work musically. [5:45]
Video 34 – Here’s how to use Suspended Chords, load up the backing tracks and get playing. I’ll give you a lot of very nice examples of how you can use them to broaden your guitar playing. [4:36]
Video 35 – This is an interesting sequence for you to try. We mix an Accent Strum with major, minor 7 and suspended chords. This is the level you need to be at if you want to sound pro on guitar. [3:02]
Video 36 – Mixing Strum Patterns. Not all songs keep the same strumming pattern from start to finish so it’s very important that you can switch between them instantly. I’ll show you how to perfect that skill here with many practical examples. [3:56]
Video 37 – Mixing strums with a very cool sounding minor progression here and also incorporating the use of a dominant 7 chord to deepen that minor feel even further. Loop this around with the Practice Software until you have it down perfect. [3:13]
Video 38 – Here’s a much longer progression for you now with strums mixed in. There are certain strum patterns which always get mixed together… you’re learning them all so you’ll be fully ready for whatever songs might throw at you! [1:59]
Video 39 – Finally we have one ‘secret strum mixture’ left which gets used a lot in many of the most famous songs ever written. Once you hear it you’ll more than likely recognize the effect. Sounds great inside Practice Software too. [4:57]
Module 3: Intermediate Level
Barre Chords In 10 Simple Steps
Step 1 – Many of you are struggling unnecessarily due to not having your guitar correctly set up and using the wrong type of guitar to learn on! While this is of considerable importance when learning open chords it’s of extreme importance when it comes to learning barre chords. The difference is like night and day. I’ll show you what to do and why. [2:02]
Step 2 – In order to produce perfect sounding barre chords (where each note rings out clearly) it’s very important that the position of your hand is correct. If you are not doing this correctly then playing these kinds of chords will be next to impossible. [1:57]
Step 3 – Listen, I want you to ‘get real’ about playing these kinds of chords. I want you to realize that it requires a lot of strength in your left hand to be able to hold them. This kind of strength does not come naturally so you must build it up by using specific exercises. Much the same as a gymnast or a weight lifter! I’ll show you the best one to use. [5:10]
Step 4 – Aside from strength you also need the ability to stretch your fingers in a way which does not come naturally. Once again we are going to solve this through performing specific exercises designed to increase the flexibility and dexterity of your left hand. [5:25]
Step 5 – Now that the preparation of the previous steps is behind us we can begin incorporating barre chords into our guitar playing. The absolute best way to do this is through keys. The key of D major is perfect because it’s the first key after C major and G major which contains barre chords. Starting here we’ll be able to naturally mix open chords and barre chords together. [12:47]
Step 6 – Many people learn the shapes of barre chords but never manage to learn how to change between them quickly. This is another step where we must ‘get real’ about barre chords and apply some real pressure to our practicing. You’ll learn how to do this so eventually you’ll be able to change between barre chords just as quickly as open chords. [6:18]
Step 7 – This step is very important. There’s little point in learning barre chords which move up and down the full length of the guitar neck without knowing how to name each one of them correctly. I’ll show you how to do this so you’ll be naming every barre chord along the entire neck in under 5 minutes. [18:15]
Step 8 – After D major the next key to study is A major. This key contains 3 barre chords mixed in with other open chords you’ll already know. I’ll take you through exercises and progressions in the key and by this stage you’ll have memorized 4 of them – C, G, D and A! [6:00]
Step 9 – The final key we’ll use is E major which contains the other barre chords we’ve studied so far plus the hardest barre chord shape of this course – B major. We’ll walk through how to perform the key and this final barre chord shape in particular so that with practice you’ll succeed in mastering it just like all the others. [8:56]
Step 10 – Barre chords are a doorway into many other styles of guitar, not least of all, jazz guitar chords. So in this final step I’ll show you to apply what you’ve learned and where it can take you. We’ll look at some examples of movable jazz chords and how to apply them into progressions. You’ll see that the example same principles apply, it’s only the chord shapes which change. [4:23]
Chords Up Close – In this video we’ll summarize all the shapes we’ve been through and package them together in a special way so you’ll never forget them. [8:32]
Daily Practice Routine – I’ll give you my own personal barre chord workout routine, it’s the same one I used to master barre chords when I was learning them. Just do it for 20 – 30 minutes each day and you’ll soon see some massive results. [12:28]
Final Keys To Know
Key Of D – This key is the first one you should jump into after learning barre chords. You get to keep all your open chords and only need 1 barre chord shape to complete the full key! D major is one of the most popular keys for writing songs on guitar and this video will hand it to you on a silver platter. [7:18]
Key Of A – Things start to get just a little more trickier here… I’ll walk you through the key step-by-step and give show you how to combine the chords together for some great practice progressions too. The more keys you learn the less you’ll have to depend upon capo’s and the more freedom you’ll experience on guitar. [7:40]
Key Of E – One final key all guitar players should know is the key of E major. We’re deep into ‘barre chord territory’ with this one but don’t’ worry… if you’ve followed my 10 step program for mastering barre chords earlier you should be able to get through it. At the end I show you just how beautiful this key can be with some special chord shapes and progressions. [6:06]
Harmonic Minor Scale
The Harmonic Minor – Nothing gives you that instant “Flamenco/Spanish Guitar Sound” quite like this scale. It has a very unique Arabic sound quality due to the way the intervals are arranged inside of it. Once you learn this it’ll open up a whole new sonic world for you on guitar. We also make a side by side comparison with the major scales to really drive the point home. [5:15]
Arpeggio Picking
Video 1 – This series will teach you all you need to know for “Arpeggio Picking”. It’s an essential technique that can be used to create beautiful textures through your chords. In this first video I’ll show you how to arpeggio pick correctly, the exact same way as professional guitar players do it. [7:24]
Video 2 – Now that you understand the technique let’s start to create some beautiful sounding textures within chord progressions. You’ll get some classic examples of how to use it here and there’s also a track you can load into the Practice Software to really make it come alive and sing. [2:39]
Video 3 – On certain chord shapes we encounter a specific technical problem with arpeggio picking. I’ll show you the two easiest ways to get around it so that your arpeggio picking will sound stemless and smooth not matter what chord shape you go to. It’s all backed up with example progressions including a classic one from Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight” which is a great example of a song that rely’s heavily on arpeggio picking. [6:30]
Video 4 – Ready for a change? Next I’ll show you how to perform arpeggio picking in 3/4 time! This delivers a very pretty sound and there’s a lot of songs over the years which have used it to great effect. One of the most famous would be REM’s “Everybody Hurts” or older tunes like “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” the classic Elvis hit. [4:31]
Video 5 – Taking this one into the Practice Software this is probably one of the most classic chord sequences every written for 3/4 arpeggio picking. You’ll have a lot of fun playing this one and it’s the perfect way to make sure your 3/4 patterns are sinking in and becoming second nature. [2:35]
Video 6 – Another BIG SURPRISE here, we can also apply a ‘shuffle feel’ to our arpeggio picking patterns. This is great because it takes everything you’ve already learned in a straight feel and instantly gives it a new lease of live by turning it into a shuffle rhythm. The sound you get is very cool too, great for song playing. [6:31]
Fingerstyle Basics
Video 1 – Fingerstyle guitar is probably the most authentic and earthy form of guitar playing there is. You get to connect with your guitar in a very intimate way, it’s your fingers, wire and wood. In this video I’ll show you the best pattern to start with and how to learn it so deeply that your fingers will play it automatically. [4:12]
Video 2 – We can make the last pattern sound much more musically interesting just by adding one extra element to it. I’ll show you how to do this on different chords and we’ll also work it through some nice chord sequences. You’ll be getting a very authentic fingerstyle sound with this one. [3:04]
Video 3 – One of my ‘secret chords’ is Dadd9/11. Sounds complicated but it really isn’t and it’s absolutely perfect for playing fingerstyle. I’ll show it to you here and give you specific examples of how to incorporate it into your other chords. The sound is very natural, simple and earthy. [2:43]
Video 4 – The next pattern taught here is more intricate. It’ll take a little more work to develop the finger memory needed to work it through your chords. You get rewarded however with a much deeper fingerstyle sound. I use this pattern tons in my own playing and it’s one of my personal favorites. [3:19]
Video 5 – Now for the tricky bit… moving this new pattern the chord shapes from earlier. If you find it tough going remember that the answer is always to slow it right down to a crawl and allow your mind to learn it deeply before speeding up. Some beautiful progressions here for you to try. There’s also a BIG SURPRISE at the end… we can mix the 2 patterns together! [5:54]
Video 6 – Time for a magic trick, I’ll show you how to instantly double the value of the fingerstyle patterns you’ve learned by injecting them with a shuffle feel. It’s crazy how good this works and it’s so infectious it’ll stick in your head for days. Basically we have the same patterns but two completely different rhythmic feels and effects. [7:31]
Video 7 – Going out in style here, next up I’ll give you another beautiful chord sequence with a brand new F#/D chord but of even more value is this pretty 3/4 fingerstyle pattern you’ll learn. This gives you some real ‘fingerpicking power’ with patterns in 4/4, shuffle and 3/4 time across all chords! [5:47]
An Introduction To Country Guitar
Video 1 – This lesson will teach you how to play a classic country guitar strumming pattern. This is the exact same pattern that’s been used for decades on 1000′s of all time favorite country tunes, everyone from George Jones to Johnny Cash. I’ll break it down step-by-step and make it dead simple for you to learn. [3:36]
Video 2 – Now that you have the strum down it’s time for some real fun, let’s take it into the Practice Software and drill it. The backing track will force you to get this strum sounding as good as possible so you’ll be playing just like all those old records. [3:44]
Video 3 – Adding a new chord into the mix here, I’ll show you how to master the alternating bass notes on this one so we can combine it with the other chords and come up with 100% genuine country guitar song progressions. This all gets drilled in the Practice Software for maximum effect. [4:04]
Video 4 – At this stage we’re fully into proper country song progressions and playing them in a very authentic way. I’ll break down all the sequences and set up the Practice Software for you so you’ll have a great base to practice from. I’m sure you’re going to fall in love with this style at this stage. It’s addictive. [4:17]
Video 5 – Lastly I’m going to take what we’ve learned to a whole new level. I’ll show you how to add in bass runs and lead-in lines. This is how we get those classic transition lines happening in to and out of all the chords. The effect is awesome and the chords all tie together in the most musically pleasing way possible. [3:00]
Introduction To Spanish Guitar
Video 1 – We kick off with a beautifully arranged Spanish guitar piece, everyone who hears it falls in love with this style of guitar. I break it all down for you bar by bar and there’s also a complete TAB sheet for you to print off so you can follow along easily. Just gorgeous to play in a time-out from your day. [7:02]
Video 2 – Next up I’ll teach you some haunting new Spanish guitar chords arranged into another beautiful little sequence. This is all about how to take the standard chords you already know and transform into mysterious ‘flamenco’ ones with just a few slight changes in the voicing. Fascinating stuff. [7:54]
Video 3 – Here’s another look at Flamenco chords and how we can assemble them together for progressions with a strongly flavored Spanish sound. Chords like Fmaj7#11 sound scary but they’re actually quite easy to do as you’ll soon see. Plus I also reveal the most quintessential Flamenco chord of them all, the infamous E7b9. [2:01]
Video 4 – In this video you’ll learn how to play Spanish guitar “pedal tones”. This is a classic effect in the style that I’m sure you’ll immediately recognize. Best of all, the way I teach it makes it easy to understand so you can immediately start using it in your own playing which is what it’s all about! [4:12]
Introduction To Classical Guitar
Video 1 – Most guitar players shy away from Classical guitar believing it’s too strict and difficult. That’s a shame because there’s a wealth of wonderful music you can play here. I’m going to show you how to play Classical guitar the easy way (typical Guitar in a Nutshell!). [2:30]
Video 2 – Here I’ll show you one of the easiest classical pieces you can learn on guitar. It should give you a lot of confidence that yes, you can play this style of guitar. As always, you get the complete TABs to follow along with so make sure you download and print them all off before starting the video. [7:24]
Video 3 – This next example is a little more intricate but very pretty. It’s also in 3/4 time which is nice! It’s simply called “Study In C”. We’re not restricting ourselves by trying to obey any of the rules commonly imposed with classical guitar courses. Just having fun playing it instead. [7:48]
Video 4 – In Spanish guitar we learned how to perform a technique called ‘pedal tones’ and we can also replicate this in Classical guitar too. This is a pretty little pedal tone piece based around a stationary C chord. The aim is to get all the notes to sustain smoothly into each other for a bell like chime effect. [4:54]
Introduction To Blues Guitar
Video 1 – Let’s kick off by looking at some of the most common blues chords in the key of E. I’ll show you how a 12 bar blues is structured the right way and we’ll put the whole thing together with a backing track inside the Practice Software. This is tons of fun to cycle around. [7:13]
Video 2 – Time to get super authentic now with this classic blues shuffle pattern. It’s an infectious groove which you can play along to the Practice Software all day. I’ll show you how to put it together along with all the little bluesy side effects to make it sound great and truck along just right. [6:02]
Video 3 – This next shuffle riff is one of my all time favorites and sounds particularly good on electric if you happen to have one lying around. The best thing is that all these riffs are interchangeable so once you get them down you can mix and match them on the fly. Blues should be free and improvised always, you don’t have to worry about making mistakes. [3:59]
Video 4 – Okay, deep breath. Time for the V chord (five chord). There’s a lot we can do with this one so see it as an opportunity rather than a challenge. I’ll give you some “down & dirty” BOOGIE WOOGIE lines here so you can nail this section of the the 12 bar blues each time it comes around. [4:58]
Video 5 – Quick recap here to make sure everything is super clear so far. Then I’ll show you another essential part of the blues – “Turnarounds”. The ones I demonstrate are among the most popular ever recorded. Once you include them at the end of each cycle your blues will instantly lift into a new higher level. [5:36]
Video 6 – Blues licks! this is everyone’s favorite. Once you learn how to get around your Pentatonic Scale (taught in Level Two) you’ll be able to improvise your own blues licks inside of the 12 bar blues. Just like adding in Turnarounds, blues licks will lift the sound of your blues playing to another level. [4:31]
Video 7 – Finally here’s how you can also use the Pentatonic licks to play cool little Turnaround lines. You can sit there and improvise these forever but here I give you some solid examples to get you going. Everything’s tabbed out to make it simple to copy what I’m doing. [2:14]