Blues Guitar with DJ
DJ Phillips will teach you everything you need to know to become a master of the blues with an emphasis on fast-paced techniques & playing.
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You will learn what exactly makes the blues sound the way it does. DJ will teach you the 12 bar blues with quite a few chord variations and turnaround options. You will also learn the minor pentatonic scale and how to use it for blues lead play. DJ will also teach you a few modern blues songs to help you master the techniques he teaches.
Lessons in this Series:
Lesson 1
Series Introduction
Meet Mr. DJ Phillips & learn what he's going to teach you throughout this series.
Length: 2:30 Difficulty: 0.5 Member Only
12 Bar Blues
Learn what makes a chord progression a blues progression as well as the basics to the famous 12 bar blues.
Length: 13:18 Difficulty: 1.0 Member Only
Rhythmic Variations
Time to take the 12 bar blues progression you've learned and add in some rhythmic variations.
Length: 8:48 Difficulty: 1.5 Member Only
12 Bar Blues Chord Variations
Now that you've learned the 12 bar blues and some rhythmic variations, it's time to throw in some chord variations.
Length: 6:22 Difficulty: 1.5 Member Only
Minor Pentatonic Scale
Time to take a break from the 12 bar blues and start mastering some lead techniques. This all starts with the minor pentatonic scale.
Length: 8:13 Difficulty: 1.5 Member Only
Minor Pentatonic Scale Variations
Now that you've learned the minor pentatonic scale, it's time to learn how to move it around.
Length: 11:10 Difficulty: 2.0 Member OnlyLesson 7
SRV - The House Is Rockin'
Learn a handful of new blues techniques while learning to play Stevie Ray Vaughn's "The House Is Rockin'".
Length: 49:58 Difficulty: 3.0 Free Sample Lesson from this Series!
Funky Blues Rhythm
Now that you've mastered some SRV, DJ is going to show you some funky blues rhythms that use the 9th chords.
Length: 8:44 Difficulty: 1.5 Member Only
Minor Pentatonic in Open and First Position
DJ begins a discussion of the minor pentatonic scale patterns. He demonstrates the A minor pentatonic scale in first or "open" position.
Length: 12:16 Difficulty: 1.5 Member Only
Minor Pentatonic in Second Position
Continuing on with the minor pentatonic scale, DJ covers the second position. As with lesson 9, he provides a few exercises and riffs along the way.
Length: 10:11 Difficulty: 1.5 Member Only
Minor Pentatonic in Fifth Position
Continuing with the A minor pentatonic scale, DJ returns with a lesson on the fifth position pattern.
Length: 7:09 Difficulty: 1.5 Member Only
Minor Pentatonic in Seventh Position
In this lesson, DJ covers the A minor pentatonic scale in 7th position. He includes licks and riffs to help with skill building.
Length: 8:49 Difficulty: 2.0 Member Only
Minor Pentatonic in Ninth Position
This lesson covers the 9th position of the A minor pentatonic scale. DJ provides licks, riffs, and a string skipping exercise.
Length: 15:00 Difficulty: 2.0 Member Only
Moving Positions
Now that DJ has covered all five patterns of the minor pentatonic scale, he explains how to shift from one pattern to the next.
Length: 6:12 Difficulty: 2.0 Member Only
Major Pentatonic
Now that DJ has covered the minor pentatonic positions, he shifts gears to the major pentatonic scale.
Length: 17:34 Difficulty: 2.0 Member Only
Moving Across Positions
In this lesson, DJ demonstrates a number of major pentatonic licks that feature position shifts.
Length: 5:15 Difficulty: 2.0 Member Only
Combining Major and Minor Pentatonics
DJ demonstrates how to combine the major and minor pentatonic scales. He provides a number of combined scale licks for you to learn.
Length: 12:54 Difficulty: 2.5 Member Only
Solo and Lead Lines
In this lesson, DJ demonstrates how to build an effective guitar solo.
Length: 9:13 Difficulty: 2.0 Member Only
Rhythm
This lesson details the importance of rhythm within solos and lead lines.
Length: 6:10 Difficulty: 2.0 Member Only
Improvising
DJ talks about the art of improvising in this lesson. Always begin with a grand entrance and end with a big finish.
Length: 7:59 Difficulty: 2.5 Member Only
Building Chords on the 6th String
DJ begins a discussion of colorful dominant chord voicings. He demonstrates how to build chords from a root note on the 6th string.
Length: 9:38 Difficulty: 2.0 Member Only
Building Chords on the 4th and 5th String
Continuing on from lesson 21, DJ explains how to build dominant chords from root notes on the 4th and 5th strings.
Length: 8:26 Difficulty: 2.0 Member Only
Using Different Voicings
In lesson 23, DJ demonstrates how various chord voicings can be used while playing rhythm or lead over a 12 bar blues progression.
Length: 4:49 Difficulty: 1.5 Member Only
Mute Raking
With lesson 24, DJ begins a short segment on tricks of the trade. First, he discusses and demonstrates string rakes.
Length: 5:08 Difficulty: 2.5 Member Only
Organ Licks
DJ explains how B3 organ licks can be played on guitar.
Length: 4:11 Difficulty: 2.0 Member Only
Volume Swells
In this lesson, DJ talks about volume swells and how they can be used.
Length: 4:37 Difficulty: 3.0 Member Only
Walking Bass and Upstroke Shuffle
Continuing with his "tricks of the trade" lessons, DJ demonstrates a walking bass line and the upstroke shuffle.
Length: 6:51 Difficulty: 2.5 Member Only
Slide
In this lesson, DJ discusses and demonstrates the basics of slide technique.
Length: 5:28 Difficulty: 2.0 Member Only
Wah Pedals
DJ demonstrates some of the subtleties of using a wah pedal in the blues style.
Length: 3:50 Difficulty: 2.0 Member Only
Harmonics
DJ discusses and demonstrates natural, artificial (harp), and pinch harmonics in the blues style.
Length: 8:37 Difficulty: 2.5 Member Only
Aspects of Tone
DJ delves into tone in lesson 31. He discusses how and why certain tones are achieved.
Length: 21:41 Difficulty: 1.5 Member Only
Minor Blues
With lesson 32, DJ introduces the minor form of the 12 bar blues progression.
Length: 4:57 Difficulty: 2.0 Member Only
Using the Dominant V7 Chord
Building on his minor blues set, DJ discusses how to utilize the dominant V7 chord to spice up the standard progression.
Length: 4:14 Difficulty: 1.5 Member Only
Minor Turnaround
DJ demonstrates a couple turnaround techniques that can be applied to the 12 bar minor blues progression.
Length: 6:13 Difficulty: 1.5 Member Only
Minor 7 Voicings
In this lesson, DJ discusses some minor 7 voicings with roots on the 6th, 5th, and 4th strings.
Length: 9:12 Difficulty: 2.0 Member Only
Minor 6th Voicings
Much like lesson 35, DJ discusses minor 6th chord voicings with roots on the 6th, 5th, and 4th strings.
Length: 8:53 Difficulty: 2.0 Member Only
Extensions of the V7 Chord
DJ explains how altered extensions such as the b9 and #9 can be added to the V7 chord within the context of a minor blues progression.
Length: 8:35 Difficulty: 2.0 Member Only
Scale Options
DJ discusses the scale options that can be used over a minor blues progression.
Length: 2:21 Difficulty: 1.5 Member Only
Minor Scale Positions
In this lesson, DJ builds upon lesson 38 and covers the minor scale positions across the entire fretboard.
Length: 5:11 Difficulty: 2.0 Member Only
T-Bone Walker
DJ profiles blues guitarist T-Bone Walker in lesson 40.
Length: 31:23 Difficulty: 2.5 Member Only
T-Bone Shuffle
Profiling T-Bone walker, DJ will demonstrate the T-Bone Shuffle.
Length: 29:26 Difficulty: 2.5 Member Only
Skills and Concepts of T-Bone Walker
DJ discusses and demonstrates skills acquired from learning T-Bone Walker's material.
Length: 17:42 Difficulty: 2.5 Member Only
Bo-Diddley
DJ will take a look at Blues guitarist Bo Diddley and teach you the "Bo Diddley beat."
Length: 13:26 Difficulty: 1.5 Member Only
Blues with DJ: More Bo Diddley
Dj is back yet again with more on the style of Bo Diddley. Here is will dive more into his style of solos as well as an in depth explanation of how the songs are played out. Get comfortable everyone and get you blues fingers ready.
Length: 22:15 Difficulty: 2.0 Member Only
Implementing Bo Diddley's Style
Dj brings a kicking finish to the style of Bo Diddley by teaching you how to implement his style of playing to your's. With a quick review of what he has taught so far, Dj will play the backing track as you play with him and creat your own Bo Diddley style solo.
Length: 10:59 Difficulty: 2.5 Member Only
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