12 Ways to Play Better Blues Guitar | Acoustic Guitar https://acousticguitar.com lessons, music to play, and how-tos for all guitarists Thu, 01 Jun 2023 03:01:06 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://i0.wp.com/acousticguitar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/AG_Favicon.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 12 Ways to Play Better Blues Guitar | Acoustic Guitar https://acousticguitar.com 32 32 103806923 12 Ways to Play Better Blues Guitar — Lesson 12: Improvising on the 12-bar Form https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-12-improvising-on-the-12-bar-form/ https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-12-improvising-on-the-12-bar-form/#respond Wed, 08 Mar 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=128411 David Hamburger-12 Ways #12 – Improv.00_00_10_01.Still001 Learn how to use the form of the 12-bar blues as a roadmap for your improvising and give your blues solo a sense of logic and musical development.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-12-improvising-on-the-12-bar-form/feed/ 0 128411 12 Ways to Play Better Blues Guitar — Lesson 11: Developing Satisfying Solos https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-11-developing-satisfying-solos/ https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-11-developing-satisfying-solos/#respond Tue, 31 Jan 2023 16:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=128565 david hamburger 12 Ways #11 - Developing Satisfying Solos.00_00_08_25.Still001 Learn to create a solo that has a certain kind of connectedness and unity, because it’s based around some related ideas instead of just whatever lick you happen to come up with at the moment.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-11-developing-satisfying-solos/feed/ 0 128565 12 Ways to Play Better Blues Guitar — Lesson 10: Creating Contrast https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-10-creating-contrast/ https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-10-creating-contrast/#respond Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=128575 David Hamburger 12 Ways #10 – Creating Contrast.00_00_07_19.Still001 Space can be good, but if you want to create a bigger sense of dimension, adding in chords as responses to single-note licks can give you a new depth and texture, while creating an additional level of call-and-response.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-10-creating-contrast/feed/ 0 128575 12 Ways to Play Better Blues Guitar — Lesson 9: Playing Into the Downbeat https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-9-playing-into-the-downbeat/ https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-9-playing-into-the-downbeat/#respond Thu, 10 Nov 2022 16:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=128582 David Hamburger 12 Ways #9 – Playing Into the Downbeat.00_00_08_09.Still001 Look at how to play into the downbeat to create momentum in your fingerstyle blues soloing and explore different kinds of resolutions—short, long, and delayed.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-9-playing-into-the-downbeat/feed/ 0 128582 12 Ways to Play Better Blues Guitar — Lesson 8: Adding Motion and Color With Jazz Chords https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-8-adding-motion-and-color-with-jazz-chords/ https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-8-adding-motion-and-color-with-jazz-chords/#respond Fri, 07 Oct 2022 14:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=128604 12 Ways to Play Better Blues Guitar — Lesson 8: Adding Motion and Color With Jazz Chords Explore how you can add motion and color to your blues playing by using compact chord voicings inspired by the great jazz guitarist Freddie Green.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-8-adding-motion-and-color-with-jazz-chords/feed/ 0 128604 12 Ways to Play Better Blues Guitar — Lesson 7: Building Call-and-Response Patterns with Western Swing Chords https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-7-building-call-and-response-patterns-with-western-swing-chords/ https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-7-building-call-and-response-patterns-with-western-swing-chords/#respond Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=128598 David Hamburger 12 Ways #7 - Building Call-and-Response Patterns with Western Swing Chords.00_00_41_09.Still001 Create call-and-response statements using Western swing chords. You’ll learn to play single-note licks on the I chord in the key of A major, answered by different combinations of sixth and ninth chords.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-7-building-call-and-response-patterns-with-western-swing-chords/feed/ 0 128598 12 Ways to Play Better Blues Guitar — Lesson 6: Harmonizing a Scale https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-6-harmonizing-a-scale/ https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-6-harmonizing-a-scale/#respond Thu, 04 Aug 2022 16:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=127354 12 Ways to Play Better Blues Guitar — Lesson 6: Harmonizing a Scale Learn how to create interesting harmonies derived from a scale—specifically, the ascending form of A melodic minor (A B C D E F# G#).]]> https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-6-harmonizing-a-scale/feed/ 0 127354 12 Ways to Play Better Blues Guitar — Lesson 5: Playing Chords up the Neck https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-5-playing-chords-up-the-neck/ https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-5-playing-chords-up-the-neck/#respond Tue, 05 Jul 2022 03:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=127346 David Hamburger-12 Ways to play better blues guitar-#5 – Chords Up The Neck.00_00_09_27.Still001 Explore a bunch of different ways of playing E7 and A7 chords up the neck and ways of combining these ideas with single-note licks for a cohesive statement.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-5-playing-chords-up-the-neck/feed/ 0 127346 12 Ways to Play Better Blues Guitar — Lesson 4: Accenting the Backbeats https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-4-accenting-the-backbeats/ https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-4-accenting-the-backbeats/#comments Thu, 16 Jun 2022 15:25:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=127339 david hamburger 12 ways to play the blues accent the backbeat Learn how to improve your blues playing by accenting the offbeats and keeping rock-steady bass notes, all on a one-chord groove. ]]> https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-4-accenting-the-backbeats/feed/ 2 127339 12 Ways to Play Better Blues Guitar — Lesson 3: Accenting the Offbeats https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-3-accenting-the-offbeats/ https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-3-accenting-the-offbeats/#respond Tue, 03 May 2022 15:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=127315 David Hamburger 12-Ways-3-–-Accent-The-Offbeats.00_00_05_13.Still001-1 Work on some country-blues patterns and see how emphasizing the backbeat—or beats 2 and 4—improves your blues playing.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-3-accenting-the-offbeats/feed/ 0 127315 12 Ways to Play Better Blues Guitar — Lesson 2: Creating Rhythmic Contrast https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-2-creating-rhythmic-contrast/ https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-2-creating-rhythmic-contrast/#respond Thu, 07 Apr 2022 15:35:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=127306 12 Ways to Play Better Blues Guitar — Lesson 2: Creating Rhythmic Contrast Learn how to use rhythmic contrast in playing blues—mixing up quarter notes, eighth notes, and eighth-note triplets.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-2-creating-rhythmic-contrast/feed/ 0 127306 12 Ways to Play Better Blues Guitar – Lesson 1: Syncopation https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-1-syncopation/ https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-1-syncopation/#respond Tue, 01 Mar 2022 14:20:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=127288 Acoustic Guitar Blues Lesson 12 Ways to Play Better Blues Lesson One Syncopation David Hamburger with guitar Explore syncopation—playing around with a melody’s rhythmic placement over the bass notes to make the music sound cooler.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/12-ways-to-play-better-blues-guitar-lesson-1-syncopation/feed/ 0 127288