If you want to learn to play blues lead guitar, you need to to back to the source. To understand Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Bonamossa and Eric Clapton, start with the “3 Kings”: B.B, Freddie, and Albert. Albert King’s fat, singing tone on his Gibson Flying V is one of the definitive models for the […]
SOTW: Carolina In My Mind, part 2
As promised, this followup lesson looks at the verses, bridge, and outro of James Taylor’s “Carolina In My Mind”. You can download tab here. But I’d also suggest you download the chord chart. Remember, TAB gives you a sequence of events, a series of locations on the neck. And it’s possible to grasp the musical […]
Essential Riffs: Funk 49
Joe Walsh’s riffing on the James Gang’s “Funk 49” is epic and definitive for classic rock. The intro is a great workout for string bending, while the main riff is a great example of the use of triads in a power rock setting. The opening lick is played strictly in the 5th position, and features […]
Picker’s Delight: Uneasy Rider
Charlie Daniels’ story of a roadhouse encounter gone wrong is a classic country “talkin’ blues”. The song itself simply repeats a simple eight-bar progression in C: C C F FG G C (C G) Or, in numbers: 1 1 4 45 5 1 (1 5) Follow strict alternate picking: downstroke on the downbeat, upstroke on […]
SOTW: Sister Golden Hair
This classic hit by America is a great barre chord workout, and can be played with a very simple strum or with several varying parts. Download the full tab. Here are the primary chords. Notice the use of the 5-string form of C#m at the beginning, but all the other barre chords are 6-note forms […]
Picker’s Delight: Sugarfoot Rag
Sugarfoot Rag was first recorded as an instrumental by guitarist Hank Garland, and scoring him a hit at the age of 18. He went on to be one of the top session guitarists in Nashville, working most notably with Elvis Presley (that’s him on “Little Sister”) along with a who’s who of the top country […]
