February 2011 \ Premier Clinic \ Blues \ Fingerpicking Blues: Classic 8-Bar Blues Solos in First Position

Fingerpicking Blues: Classic 8-Bar Blues Solos in First Position

Fred Sokolow

The following solos show how to play unaccompanied, solo blues in first position.
Premier Guitar February 2011
The following solos show how to play unaccompanied, solo blues in first position. All five solos make use of the 8-bar blues format. In true country blues fashion, they involve some fingerpicking:
  • The thumb thumps out bass notes, playing a low root note on most of the downbeats (there are four per bar.) This is basic “Texas style” fingerpicking.
  • The fingers play licks on the treble strings. Some pickers use the index finger, others play the 1st string with the middle finger and the 2nd, 3rd and 4th strings with the index.
  • Most of the licks come from the first position major scale of your I chord, but you finger the chords that are indicated as well (I, IV and V). In this style of blues picking, you play lead, rhythm and bass all at once!
Download example audio 1...



Download example audio 2...





Download example audio 3...

This lesson comes from:

Fretboard Roadmaps: Blues Guitar

     

Related Articles

Video Lesson: Blues Intros and Outros
Video Lesson: Blues Licks, Vol. 4


Comments

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Eric
on 05/15/2012 		Thank you very much...I never get tired of learning new variations on this classic style.



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