Delta Blues Masterclass (Patreon)
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This PDF will help a lot! Make sure to download it and follow along the lesson with the PDF, it will help you a ton.
When you hear “the blues” you might think of BB King, Buddy Guy, maybe Stevie Ray Vaughn, you might think of Eric Clapton and all the British guys that have devoted their lives to this 12 bar chord progression. You might think of Texas or Chicago, maybe Virginia, maybe you think of Beal Street in Memphis Tennessee, but no matter who it is, no matter where they are from, they owe it all, we owe it all, to a delta in the state of Mississippi.
This delta had the ideal climate, soil, temperature and weather for growing cotton, and in those cotton fields the men and women used to sing call and response style chants to one another. When mixed with a guitar and harmonica this call and response style of music morphed into what we know today as the blues. Where this particular style of call and response chant came from prior to the delta was Africa, but exactly where in Africa is a another continuous debate of Western Africa, similar to the “we have the best jollof rice debate,” nobody knows who is right and everybody has a pretty good claim to fame. My research points to Mali, but it is just an educated guess at this point.
In the 1920s the Delta Blues was recorded for the first time. This would be the start of jazz, rock’n’roll, r’n’b and many other genres of music. The use of the pentatonic scale as the primary tool of melody is seen in all types of genres, from Bad by Michael Jackson to Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran. The impact it has had in the western music and by extension the global musical landscape cannot be denied, but it all started in the Delta.
Today we are going to lay down the foundation that we need to play your very own Delta Blues. We will look at the chord progression, mono bass vibe, minor and major pentatonic scales, scales for rhythm, going up the fretboard, triplets, mixing straight and swing time, the turnaround, palm muting and major and minor 3rd phrasing of the blues. Buckle up and let’s take a trip to learning land. In addition to walking you through an example of all these things I am going to walk you through process as well so if you are observant you will be able to make and play your very own delta blues progressions, and know how to write and compose our own riffs and licks to make something totally unique and different that is all yours.
Will improve
Monobass rhythm
Fingerpicking
Mixing straight and swing time
Triplets
Hammer ons
Moving up the fretboard
Doublestops
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC5LkZNGn0Q
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQOjytmR_cQ
Blues Curls - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nk-F4t6747g