Easy Blues Introduction

We’ve all watched that one guitar player, take a solo and make it look effortless; “How does he know where he is going?” and… “I wish I could navigate the neck like that”…

Well, what I’ve got here, is a starting point for you to answer those very questions.

So, in this program, I’ve put together a selection licks for you to learn, play and link together.

But what I want you to do, is make them your own. Learn the skeletons of these licks within a blues infrastructure and then break out of them a little bit. Play them how you want to and link them together however you see fit.

In terms of approach, we want to build up a collection of licks and tricks in order to improvise.

So take the licks that I’ve put down here and learn them over the backing track, to get your timing and feel. Then use them in your own music or practice regime, to turn them into something YOU would play.

You can add notes, take notes away, pick the notes, or hammer on to a note; but these licks are your reference points.

Think of them as your steeping stones across a river. How you get to each stone, is entirely down to you, as you work your way around the scales.

What do we want to achieve?

Well, you should look at this as an introduction to improvising over a blues chord progression. It’s about listening to how each lick sounds over each chord and how each position of the scale can link into another.

As we go through these sessions, you should be able to add to your lick bag, to a point where you can listen to a blues progression and know instantly how to improvise a good solo over the top.

Enjoy yourself!