Acoustic Blues Guitar Lesson – Learn to Play a Cool Acoustic Blues Shuffle Riff on Guitar

Hey, guys. Claude Johnson here with Guitar Control
and I just want to say a couple words about playing
acoustic blues solos.

You’re playing in the key of E and the turnaround
comes up. What you can do is start riffing off the
inversions of the E7 chord. There’s this one.
This is good to know. If you take this one and take
away the root you’ve just got this, just like a D7
shape that’s moved up. You can do that and alternate
with the shuffle. The thing is, though, on the acoustic
and the acoustic blues you really have to hold the
rhythm down.

You see what I did there? That’s kind of my intro lick.
That can go – kind of shifting up. It’s very effective to
kind of cycle through those inversions. Just start off with
a chordal thing like that and then you when you go to the
IV chord back to the shuffle, it really gives it that feeling
of locking-down the rhythm. So you can use another rhythmic
lick. You can do a single-note lick and then the turnaround,
accentuate that high chord and then that’s the perfect way
to improv another lick, going from like the V to the IV and
then improv on the I. Or do a shorter lick and go into the
classic turnaround thing like…

The key with acoustic blues solos is really a nice intermingling
of the rhythm and some lead parts. It’s good to try to sit
down and work-out which part you’re going to riff on. If
should be a little bit more planned-out because when you’re
trying to hold-down the rhythm and provide some bass you need
to have a little bit more structure versus if you’re playing
electric and there’s a bend that’s holding-down everything
you can be a little bit more free.

I hope that made sense and if you’d like to check-out the
ream master of acoustic blues, Jimmy Dillon, check-out
guitarcontrol.wpmudev.host/ultimateacousticblues. I think you’ll
think it’s worth it. You can also get the tabs for this
lesson by clicking on the link in the video description.
So go with the tabs or check-out Ultimate Acoustic Blues
at guitarcontrol.wpmudev.host/ultimateacousticblues.

Thank you so much for watching. Talk to you soon.