Simple Acoustic Blues Guitar Lick in E - Train Whistle Lick
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Published 2013-02-21
Being a good guitar player is all about doing the little things and doing them well. Over time, they add up to something incredible. There is no special sauce, there is no 'learn how to play guitar in a weekend' DVD that will instantly make you a guitar guru.
It just doesn't happen. BUT, practicing hard and smart WILL get you there.
Look at any of your favorite guitar players, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy, BB King, Robert Johnson...you get the idea. Each of them started with the basics and put in a ton of hours to become the legends they are today.
What this video shows you is that 'basic' doesn't mean 'boring'. When I first began learning guitar, I hated practicing scales. I just wanted to play like my heroes. So I started strumming "Michael Row the Boat Ashore"....What the?? Um, thanks but no thanks Mel Bay!
Looking back, I can see so many 'cool' things that I could have started with instead of that song.
Whether you play with a flat pick or you're wanting to get into fingerstyle acoustic blues guitar and play like Robert Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt or Blind Boy Fuller, start with simple little licks like the one in the video. I call them MICRO LICKS.
They are tiny lick fragments that become great building blocks for longer licks. But for the budding finger picking blues player, they work just fine on their own.
There's probably not a lick more recognizable that this 'train whistle' lick that works beautifully in E blues. If you want to play the blues, you have to know how make the train whistle sound. Period.
I mean, it's the blues :)
Be sure to check out the website for the complete lesson:
www.bluesguitarinstitute.com/simple-acoustic-blues…
If you're serious about improving your blues guitar skills, join the Blues Guitar Institute newsletter to get quick tips, licks and lessons:
www.bluesguitarinstitute.com/YT027
If you are new to fingerstyle blues and want to get started, check out this video:
www.bluesguitarinstitute.com/intro-fingerstyle-aco…
In this video, I'll show you how to get started playing some sweet finger picked acoustic blues.
Play Hard!
-John
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All Comments (21)
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Practice Practice Practice. I used to get frustrated with my wife because she took so much longer getting ready to go somewhere, I turned those waits and arguments into practice time and it has helped a lot
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I love simple licks like this that define the classic blues sound.
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Nice lesson. Many sites nowadays do too much talking and advertising without getting to the substance of what they are teaching. This one is an exception.
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Simple yet powerful. Thanks for sharing.
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These great licks have the full range of sounds combining notes with distance and ring that I love to hear. Unfortunately, I have never had the experience to play with folks that play this style of Blues. Jim does a great job demonstrating and pointing out the thought in the licks. Thank you very much for the insight and help.
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good morning John , I've been working on several of your tutorials and I must tell you , there really great, you are a very gifted musician as well as an excellent teacher, you take the time to not only show the patterns / chords but also the timing, how to fit it in with several different areas . thanks Marc Victor
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I'm glad ...I found your channel, there is a lot to learn :))
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Dear sir, many thanks for sharing your expertise with us, its much appreciated by people like me who have been playing for many years but as yet never able to achieve that authentic blues sound.
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I really needed this at this very early stage of learning blues guitar.Thx
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thank you so much for this, so simple, but effective, and gets me practicing what i wanted to practice
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So Cool!Always something awesome in your lessons.My grandson loves trains so this lick will come in handy.Thanks A lot!
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Just really enjoy all your little licks and tips on the guitar, it’s improved my playing the blues , so thank you very much for that…
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your video lessons are the best; your appreciation of the blues and finger picking is great to see
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Ótimo professor ! não percam suas aulas !
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Great lesson, thank you, You Americans are the best. Lots of love from Australia!!!
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nice simple lick but beautifully bluesy! Thanks
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Good lad so good and so simple why did I not this before can not stop playing it
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Nice job, man. Thanks for sharing and putting it out there.
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Thank you so much for these videos, coming from a beginner. I was getting bored learning the basic chords. I mean they're necessary, but it was nice to change it up a little and fun to have cool licks to work on too. I appreciate these a lot!
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Thanks for the nice little gift this was. Looking forward to more!
