Free Lesson Friday

Sep 06 2024 10 ep. 9 mins 428

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Free blues guitar lessons from Texas Blues Alley.

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This V Chord Pattern Will Make You Sound Like A Pro

Sep 06 2024 8 mins

I picked up this lick from a Smokin’ Joe Kubek song, and it reminded me of something Jimi Hendrix played over the V chord in Red House. In this lesson I’ll show you where this pattern comes from and how to use it over the V and the IV chord during the last 4 bars of a 12-bar blues solo.

SRV’s Iconic “Tell Me” Lick

May 19 2023 6 mins

Here’s how to play that signature ascending lick from SRV’s song “Tell Me” off of his debut album “Texas Flood”. I taught this lick incorrectly a few years ago, and it’s actually simpler than I thought.

Track Your Progress And Celebrate Your Wins

Apr 14 2023 19 mins

There is no feeling like looking back over your DOCUMENTED progress, a record of what you’ve worked on and accomplished. That feeling is the goal you need to keep in mind when you’re tempted to skip the simple step of writing down what you accomplished in your guitar study each day. Think of that feeling, and let the gravity of that satisfaction pull you through the chore of wr

Killer Blues Lick From Prince

Apr 07 2023 7 mins

Michael Palmisano turned me on to a video of Prince playing his song “Cream” on acoustic guitar, and there’s an awesome blues lick right in the middle that jumped out at me as soon as he played it. The Original Video Michael Palmisano Prince Reaction Video Guitargate.com

This Vibrato Technique Makes You Sound More Like SRV

Mar 31 2023 6 mins

Despite my best efforts to copy everything Stevie did, I somehow missed his downward vibrato technique. Later, when I noticed something was different, I just assumed there was no difference in sound between pulling and pushing the string. But in this lesson I’ll show you a few things about his downward vibrato technique that actually do make it sound different, and as a result, m

SRV Never Played This Hendrix Embellishment In Little Wing

Mar 24 2023 5 mins

I used to think that if I studied Stevie Ray Vaughan, I’d learn to play like Jimi Hendrix at the same time, but that’s just not true. In this lesson I’ll show you an embellishment from Little Wing that SRV never played, and as a result, I never learned…. until now.

You Don’t HAVE To Practice

Some of you (like me) will never be motivated to do anything by being told you “have” to do it. Not everyone is wired like a warrior, some you are explorers, and what’s going to motivate you is the opportunity to do something great, not pressure to be more disciplined. In this video I’ll talk about some of the ways that you can reframe how you think about guitar practice, t

Learn Two “Texas Hustle” Rhythms

Mar 10 2023 16 mins

Here are two free lessons from my latest course called “Texas Hustle Rhythms - Vol. 1”. The course is a companion course for my Johnny Winter soloing course, and it teaches you 10 simple rhythms that match that style of song.

Develop Your Bending Vibrato With This Simple Exercise

Feb 24 2023 9 mins

Some people are born with natural singing vibrato, the rest of us have to work for it. But nobody is born with vibrato on guitar, especially the kind of vibrato used on bent notes. In this lesson I’ll show you a simple technique for developing your vibrato while bending notes that comes directly from the singing lessons that helped me develop my vocal vibrato. I’m not a great s

Smooth Hendrix Style Chord Embellishment (E To C-Form)

Feb 17 2023 8 mins

What’s better than learning a new chord embellishment that sounds like Jimi Hendrix and is easy to play? Not much. This chord embellishment takes you from an E-Form to a C-Form chord and works over a IV to I, or a I to V chord transition.