Eric Madis takes knowledge he has taught in past lessons and applies it to an update of "The Rolling E Blues" that features exciting improvisational variations.
Taught by Eric Madis in Fingerstyle Blues and Ragtime seriesLength: 4:48Difficulty: 2.5 of 5
Eric Madis covers a uniquely American style of music, the Blues. In this series he tackles the subject from the acoustic fingerstyle perspective and even throws in a bit of ragtime for good measure.
Lesson 1
Eric Madis introduces his Fingerstyle Blues and Ragtime lesson series. After the introduction, he starts things off with a bang by teaching "The Rolling E Blues".
Length: 14:13 Difficulty: 2.0 FREELesson 2
Eric Madis expands on "The Rolling E Blues," which he taught in the last lesson. This time around he adds information to make the arrangement more complex.
Length: 8:35 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 3
Eric Madis introduces the concept of monotonic bass lines and gives an excellent exercise for practicing the technique.
Length: 7:24 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 4
Eric Madis returns to the wonderful world of "The Rolling E Blues" and demonstrates how the arrangement can be made a bit more complex.
Length: 6:23 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 5
Eric Madis returns to "The Rolling E Blues" and teaches an even more complex variation.
Length: 5:33 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 6
In this lesson Eric teaches a Robert Johnson style blues.
Length: 9:56 Difficulty: 3.0 Members OnlyLesson 7
Eric Madis returns with the second part of his lesson on the Robert Johnson style blues.
Length: 10:51 Difficulty: 3.0 Members OnlyLesson 8
In this lesson, Eric Madis talks about the Piedmont blues and the musical stylings of Blind Willie McTell.
Length: 12:54 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 9
Eric Madis returns with the second part of his lesson on the Piedmont style and Blind Willie McTell. This time around he makes the arrangement a bit more complex.
Length: 8:52 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 10
Eric Madis demonstrates some opportunities for improvisation within the Blind Willie McTell/Piedmont style arrangement he taught in previous lessons.
Length: 11:59 Difficulty: 3.0 Members OnlyLesson 11
Eric Madis introduces a series of diad patterns he calls "The Memphis Diads" and shows how they can be used as chord substitutions.
Length: 11:06 Difficulty: 3.0 Members OnlyLesson 12
This time around, Eric takes the ideas from the past few lessons and ties them together effectively within a blues progression.
Length: 8:23 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 13
In this lesson, Eric Madis begins teaching the style of Mississippi John Hurt. He talks about the signature syncopation technique Mississippi John Hurt used and discusses playing with the G chord.
Length: 12:12 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 14
Eric Madis takes the ideas taught in the last lesson and expands upon them. He talks about taking these ideas and playing melodies similar to what Mississippi John Hurt would have played.
Length: 9:59 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 15
Eric Madis begins teaching a common theme in the style of Robert Johnson. This theme will span several lessons. This time, Eric teaches a signature turnaround that gives the theme its flair.
Length: 5:29 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 16
Eric Madis continues with the Robert Johnson theme. This time, he finishes up the first variation of this 12 bar blues arrangement.
Length: 8:20 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 17
In this lesson, Eric teaches a brilliant variation to the Robert Johnson theme taught in the last lesson.
Length: 6:39 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 18
In this lesson Eric talks about improvising using the Robert Johnson theme he has been teaching in the past few lessons.
Length: 11:04 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 19
Eric Madis takes knowledge he has taught in past lessons and applies it to an update of "The Rolling E Blues" that features exciting improvisational variations.
Length: 4:48 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 20
In this lesson, Eric Madis talks about using the 7th and 9th chords in blues progressions. He uses "The Rolling E Blues" to demonstrate these chord options.
Length: 9:12 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 21
Eric teaches a Piedmont blues number inspired by Big Bill Broonzy and the Reverend Gary Davis.
Length: 14:59 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 22
In this lesson, Eric Madis returns to a piece he calls "Big Bill and the Reverend". This time around, he teaches ways you can embellish the song to make it more interesting.
Length: 9:57 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 23
In this lesson, Eric returns to the tune "Big Bill and the Reverend" and talks about D chord substitutions.
Length: 12:25 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 24
In this lesson, Eric shows several interesting improvisational techniques you can use with the E chord and shows how they can be applied to "Big Bill and the Reverend".
Length: 11:17 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 25
Eric Madis teaches a traditional blues tune entitled "Baby Please Don't Go".
Length: 9:29 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 26
In this lesson Eric discusses variations that can be used when playing "Baby Please Don't Go".
Length: 10:36 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 27
Eric Madis will have you sounding like Robert Johnson in no time with this amazing blues progression entitled "RJ's Lament".
Length: 10:44 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 28
In this lesson Eric Madis teaches a version of "RJ's Lament" that contains Robert Johnson's signature musical flair.
Length: 8:10 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 29
In this lesson, Eric teaches a 16 bar blues progression that honors blues musician Mississippi John Hurt.
Length: 8:02 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 30
In the second part of his "Mississippi John Hurt Tribute," Eric Madis teaches several interesting variations on this 16 bar progression.
Length: 9:41 Difficulty: 3.0 Members OnlyLesson 31
Eric Madis teaches a traditional blues and ragtime theme he likes to call "The Americana Rag".
Length: 9:35 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 32
Eric Madis returns to "The Americana Rag". He teaches the melody portion of the song and how to add it into the basic arrangement taught in lesson 31.
Length: 7:53 Difficulty: 3.0 Members OnlyLesson 33
Eric Madis teaches the concept of walking bass lines within a new blues chord progression.
Length: 11:11 Difficulty: 3.0 Members OnlyLesson 34
Eric starts teaching his blues/ragtime rendition of the classic song "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah". This version he teaches is in G6 tuning. He explains this tuning and the first section of the song.
Length: 12:26 Difficulty: 3.0 Members OnlyLesson 35
Eric Madis returns to this song and teaches the second part of the melody.
Length: 5:52 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 36
In this lesson, Eric teaches another melody that can be used with this song. This time the melody features a bit of Hawaiian slack key flair.
Length: 8:02 Difficulty: 3.0 Members OnlyLesson 37
In this lesson, Eric teaches a version of this tune that is inspired by Mississippi John Hurt. Mixing this variation in with the others will have you sounding like a blues god in no time!
Length: 9:00 Difficulty: 3.0 Members OnlyLesson 38
Eric Madis teaches you how to incorporate some Memphis lead ideas into the arrangement of "Glory, Glory Hallelujah" that he has been teaching.
Length: 6:36 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 39
Eric teaches another way to play this song that includes arpeggio techniques often employed by Chet Atkins.
Length: 5:45 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 40
Eric Madis teaches what he calls the "Blind Blake and Merle Travis" section of the song. Basically this is a version of the song taught in their styles.
Length: 7:28 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 41
In the final lesson on this song, Eric teaches the ending and then demonstrates the entire song using all of the different arrangements from previous lessons. These may have seemed like small and easy...
Length: 8:35 Difficulty: 3.0 Members OnlyLesson 42
Eric Madis teaches a fingerstyle version of the classic ragtime tune "Maple Leaf Rag". He begins with this simple introduction arrangement and moves on to teach more difficult portions in later lessons.
Length: 8:00 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 43
In the second part of his series on "Maple Leaf Rag," Eric teaches a basic version of the melody for the A section of the song.
Length: 6:43 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 44
Eric Madis teaches the next major portion of the melody for "Maple Leaf Rag". This melody is a bit more difficult to play, but the sound is worth it.
Length: 11:23 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 45
In this lesson, Eric teaches the third part of the melody to "Maple Leaf Rag". When combined with the intro, these three parts form a nearly complete arrangement of this classic ragtime tune.
Length: 8:53 Difficulty: 3.0 Members OnlyLesson 46
Eric wraps up his rendition of "Maple Leaf Rag" by teaching the ending segment of the song. Afterwards, he puts the entire song together and talks about performing it.
Length: 8:02 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
About Eric Madis
View Full Biography
Eric Madis is a guitarist, singer and composer, a versatile artist whose playing and compositions reflect his diverse and thorough background in American music. Whether performing in an ensemble or as a soloist, he exudes a love and a mastery of the blues that have been refined by years of experience in jazz, country, rock, and even Hawaiian music. What results are performances that include authentic renderings of old rural blues, personal interpretations of modern urban blues and jazz standards, and original music that defies strict categorization, but that draws heavily from these traditions.
Eric lives in Seattle where he leads his own ensemble, performs as a solo act and performs in the Seattle Swing Trio. He has released four CDs on Luna Records, and is currently working on a fifth. He is on the faculty of the National Guitar Workshop and Dusty Strings Music and teaches guitar privately.
Eric lived his formative years in Colorado with a family that was musical (his mother was an accomplished opera singer), and began his music study on the piano at the age of nine. He began performing shortly after picking up a guitar at ten years of age. By the age of sixteen, he was performing in Chicago-area coffeehouses. He has accompanied artists as diverse as bluesmen Big Walter Horton, Sunnyland Slim, Deacon Jones, Hawaiian luminaries Irmgaard Aluli, Kekua Fernandez, Emma Sharpe and author/poet Nikki Grimes.
He has led bands in Illinois, Texas, Colorado and Washington. He has opened shows for Robben Ford, James Cotton, Little Charlie and the Nightcats, Mem Shannon, Hawkeye Herman and author Sherman Alexie. Eric's four albums have received critical acclaim, including regional airplay and nominations from NAMA and Washington Blues Society (WBS). He has received 16 Best Blues nominations from WBS, was a finalist in the New Folk Awards at the 1981 Kerrville National Folk Festival, a finalist in the 1991 Seattle Guitar Starz competition, and has music featured on five film soundtracks. Eric has taught guitar classes at Denver Free University, University of Washington's Experimental College, Northwest Folklife Festival, National Guitar Workshop, and Canada's Guitar Workshop Plus.
Whether performing in a group or as a soloist, at a concert or a small club, teaching privately or a large workshop, Eric is a dedicated professional, with commitment to the quality of his art and to his audience.
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Member Comments about this Lesson
Discussions with our instructors are just one of the many benefits of becoming a member of JamPlay.Hi Eric. I'm finding it pretty tricky to get the hammer-on right when I play the A and B barre chords, as the 4th string always sounds terribly muted. Wondered if you had any tips on barring in general or how to strengthen that index finger? Just a lot more practice maybe??
... a bit further...thanks Eric. enjoying so much this music. Thought i would never play this...
That is great news! Thank you!