I love the blues, and in this area I hope to teach you some of the basic skills.

Those looking for the Solo Blues 1 (and those wishing to get down the solo blues guitar style), please check out this page, it is for my DVD on said topic but also has the free lesson too!

Blues Lead Guitar Series

In this series I will try and show you the basic skills and licks to enable you to play some blues lead guitar. It is aimed to help some one who has little or no experience with lead guitar, and will help explain all the basics and get them off on the right track to making great improvised blues solos. All 20 lessons are available on the DVD's shown below, makes it a lot easier to pause and they come with all the licks and scales as pdf files! Or you can just learn them from here, free... or you could make a donation if you use them and they really help ;)

BL-011 • Blues Lead Guitar #1 - Basics
This lesson introduces my "method" for playing blues lead guitar. It explains my "language" approach and gives you a load of little tips before you get going.

BL-012 • Blues Lead Guitar #2 - Scales
There are three main scales that work over the whole blues progression, the Minor Pentatonic, The Blues Scale and The Dorian Mode. These three are discussed in Position 1.

BL-013 • Blues Lead Guitar #3 - Five Licks
Now it is time to get some licks down - learn some words :) Using Minor Pentatonic Position 1.

BL-014 • Blues Lead Guitar #4 - Bending Skills
Next we look at getting your string bending in tune and check out which notes you can bend in Position 1.

BL-015 • Blues Lead Guitar #5 - Using Licks
Once you get the licks down, you need to start using them! Here are some tips on making the most of what you got!

BL-016 • Blues Lead Guitar #6 - Minor Pentatonic Position 2
Once you play a solo in position 1, you probably want to start moving up the neck.

BL-017 • Blues Lead Guitar #7 - More Blues Licks
As you should now know - you need to learn licks in the scales, not just the scales - so here are five more lick, this time using Minor Pentatonic Position 2.

BL-018 • Blues Lead Guitar #8 - Linking Positions
Once you can play in Position 1 and 2 of the Minor Pentatonic, then you probably should learn how to join them together. In this lesson I'll show you five licks that do just that! And how to use them of course...

BL-019 • Blues Lead Guitar #9 - The Blues Scale
Now we focus a bit more on the blues scale, the blue note (b5) and where it is found in the two positions we have looked at so far. It's fun to use, but you gotta do it right!

BL-020 • Blues Lead Guitar #10 - Intros & Endings
Sometimes called "turnarounds" it is important to know how to start and stop a blues, and how to "turn it around" and play another round of solos!! And you learn to side slide the final chord.

BL-021 • Blues Lead Guitar #11 - Position 3 Scales
In this lesson we check out the various fingering options for the Min Pentatonic and the Blues Scale in Position 3 and which notes can be bent and curled.

BL-022 • Blues Lead Guitar #12 - Position 3 Licks
Once you got the scales down then it's time to look at some licks in Position 3.

BL-023 • Blues Lead Guitar #13 - Position 4 Scales
Now we get up the neck to Position 4 and look again at the Min Pentatonic and the Blues scale and the various ways of using the blue note into the Pentatonic. And the good notes to bend and curl of course...

BL-024 • Blues Lead Guitar #14 - Position 4 Licks
Time for some more licks! This time up in Position 4.

BL-025 • Blues Lead Guitar #15 - Position 5 Scales
Now we are right up the dusty end, or back behind our old friend Position 1. The 12 fret octave rule is also explained. Bending can be fun up here too!

BL-026 • Blues Lead Guitar #16 - Position 5 Licks
Time to get some cool licks in Position 5.

BL-027 • Blues Lead Guitar #17 - Linking Positions
Next we have to negotiate getting between all the positions, there are a few good tricks shown in this lesson and some licks too!

BL-028 • Blues Lead Guitar #18 - The Dorian Approach
I mentioned it back in Lesson 2, now it's time to look at it more and learn how this funny greek word can make your blues playing more interesting. Two vids in this lesson!

BL-029 • Blues Lead Guitar #19 - Dorian Licks
This lesson gives you a bunch of licks all over the neck using the Dorian approach from last lesson.

BL-030 • Blues Lead Guitar #20 - Putting it all together
This lesson talks about how you might practice all the information covered and where to go from here...

 

PR-031 - Blues Lead Guitar 1 (DVD)

Lessons 1-10 shown above are available on Blues Lead Guitar 1 DVD. Yes the videos are free here on the site, but the DVD gives you FAR better quality and the ability to watch them step by step. And you don't have to worry about a slow interweb connection. And buying products supports the site. It is bargain priced too... not the full exclusive DVD price. Check it out now blues dudes... PR-031 • Blues Lead Guitar 1 (DVD)

 

PR-032 - Blues Lead Guitar 2 (DVD)

Lessons 11-20 shown above are available on Blues Lead Guitar 2 DVD. Yes the videos are free here on the site, but the DVD gives you FAR better quality and the ability to watch them step by step. And you don't have to worry about a slow interweb connection. And buying products supports the site. It is bargain priced too... not the full exclusive DVD price. Check it out now blues dudes... PR-032 • Blues Lead Guitar 2 (DVD)

 

PR-021 - Really Useful Blues Solos (CD and printed pages)

You may have seen it before, but after checking out this course and my approach to the blues, you might like to re-visit my product, Really Useful Blues Solos. I have collected the best licks in five styles and put them into solos for YOU TO TRANSCRIBE! But I do provide a transcription so you can check your work. It's not easy but it will teach you well. It's the real way to learn them, by ear! Read more about it here... PR-021 • Really Useful Blues Solos