Learning and Lessons

May 29, 2026 Since last week’s Update was mostly a personal journal of the recent weeks I thought today I would answer some recent questions from students and the TG Community. The topic of the day was intervals, starting with fourths and how the guitar strings can help you remember the major chords in a […]

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May 22, 2026 Today’s Update is a combo of IGC News, mini-vacation report (with a long personal story), and a look at slow 12-bar blues in the key of A minor, with an excursion into a Leon Russell tune. There are some cute photos attached at the end that are part of the personal story. […]

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May 8, 2026 Today’s Update was mostly a rundown of the two Spring International Guitar Camps we just had over the last two weekends. There were just a couple snippets of playing and no real theory to digest. I did have Steely Dan on my mind though and talked a little about Max Rich’s great […]

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May 4, 2026 This Spring we held two International Guitar Camps, due to demand and wanting to keep them very small. Each week we had about 18 students and five teachers spending two full days and three nights together in the Santa Cruz Mountains just outside of Los Gatos. Lynn and Marc were here for […]

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This blues guitar lesson will show you how you can build a complete blues solo, starting from just one good blues lick.

It was very much inspired by Albert King, so we’ll use the “Albert King Lick” to start us off and we’ll work from there…

The TAB is at HERE if you want to download it, but make sure to watch the video through a few times first.

If you dig this lick and this style of soloing, don’t forget to check out my “How To Solo Like Albert King” course. He’s one of my all time favorites!

April 17, 2026 I have been entrenched in Beatles songs lately (again, or for about the 500th time) and can’t imaging another band or artist who has more to offer to guitar students in terms of number of songs that are fun to play and offer techniques to master. The variety and breadth of their […]

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April 10, 2026 This week we released The Definitive Rolling Stones Collection, which includes 23 lessons covering a wide range of their stuff. There are electric lessons from Max Rich, acoustic lessons, some Open G riffs and a half-dozen or so solo guitar arrangements. I started today’s Update with a solo stab at Wild Horses, […]

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April 3, 2026 Recently I have had a few students asking about bass notes, and particularly alternating patterns used in country songs (like Folsom Prison Blues). After establishing that usually you want to alternate between the root and fifth of the chord, the question came up of when you might want to use the third […]

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In this video we’ll talk about the open E blues scale on guitar and some important licks and patterns that come from the open strings…

Most folks know the blues scale, but doing it in the key of E and using those open strings can be tricky to say the least.

Give these a try for yourself and let me know how it goes.

If you’ve not heard of mixing the major and minor blues sounds, you’re in for a treat today…

Not only will we cover why and how you want to mix the major and minor blues scales, you’ll get one of the most classic blues licks on the planet that demonstrates the concept perfectly.

This concept is a large part of the last 1/3rd of Blues Guitar Unleashed because it’s a skill that can be challenging, but is such a huge part of the sound of your favorite blues guitar players.

In today’s video we’ll cover a lick that Eric Clapton uses in the Cream recording of, “Spoonful”…

And while he didn’t use it as a slow blues lick, or even really as a blues lick at all, it’s a great example of how to get some serious mileage out of a simple, 4 note pattern (also box 1.)

This lick also shows up in my, “Cream Era Clapton Soloing Workshop.” And if you want a fun song lesson, check out my “Sunshine Of Your Love” Workshop.

March 27, 2026 Continuing my John Prine kick from last week – this week we added a lesson on a bunch of intros to his songs, which was then added to our John Prine Package, along with a Fly On The Wall lesson. I played some bits of a couple of his songs, which led […]

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Today’s lesson is all about slow blues rhythm guitar and having a handful of ideas that will take you through most anything that comes up.

So grab your guitar and let’s get into it:

This is only a fraction of what’s in Blues Guitar Unleashed, so if you’re ready to master blues rhythm and lead guitar, check it out.

So, you say 4 notes was too many? How about 3 notes!

Seriously, I’m not joking, it’s a 3 note blues solo… and to make it even easier, there are no bends.

If you are more of a beginning blues guitar player, today’s your day:

The TAB is in the video, but I also have a PDF OF IT HERE.

March 20, 2026 John Prine was on my mind this week, and on my recent playlists at home. Re-listening to a lot of his stuff, and a request from a student, led to a lesson on his last recorded song, I Remember Everything. It is a great example of his basic approach to fingerpicking and […]

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March 13, 2026 A random improv started today’s Update, followed by some discussion on time signatures and strumming techniques. The time signature thoughts cited Nights In White Satin, Lucky Man and Stormy Monday. The technique primer was on using rest strokes to hit bass notes cleanly. The progression to Mr. Bojangles was used as an […]

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One of the most critical skills on a guitar is executing “slurs,” which take the forms of “hammer-ons” or “pull-offs,” depending on which way you’re going (ascending or descending.)

So today let’s master the hammer-on and make sure it’s involved with your blues licks, and even your rhythm playing.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE TAB

March 6, 2026 I spent some time this week revisiting the early Loggins & Messina albums and realized I had not gotten to a couple lessons that I had planned on years ago. The remedy was to finish up Long Tail Cat and Whiskey, two of Kenny Loggins great tunes. They are live now and […]

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I’ve been in a mood, lately, with the “4 Note Solo” ideas, and today is no different…

Today’s version is more of a, “blues with a buddy,” approach…

Let’s say you and a friend, or you and your looper, are just playing a nice slow blues in E, and you’re on an acoustic guitar (or you’re not comfortable bending.) What would you do when it was your turn to solo?

I would suggest something like this:

Click Here For The TAB To The Solo

There is a lot of conflicting information out there in the world when it comes to playing faster blues licks (or any genre, really)…

So this lesson will cover those techniques you need to play with more speed and precision, to nail those faster, longer blues licks.

In addition, we’ll look at how you can reverse super fast licks and make them easier to get your fingers around.

If this sort of thing interests you, I would suggest you take a look at my Blues Speed Building Blocks course for more like this.