Country Blues Lick (Guitar Lesson)

Country Blues Lick

Eric Madis explains a country blues lick he calls the "Country Blues Double Wham."

Taught by Eric Madis in Electric Blues with Eric seriesLength: 6:35Difficulty: 2.0 of 5

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Hi.
Eric Madis from JamPlay.com, again.

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I am picking up where we left off in our last lesson in which we worked on the country blues double wham.

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It's a very common lick.

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Again, it was on the seventh and eighth frets of the first two strings and we had three different endings for it.

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One in which we played the open strings which gave us the option of course of going anywhere on the fret board.

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In other words, if I do this…
It allows me time to be able to move.

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The other one that was for playing downward on the neck was one in which we dropped down the index finger, down two frets.

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In other words, we dropped down in this case to the fifth fret but still on the second string like this…

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And this is especially good if you continue to go…
Down.

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So that is one other strategy and in the third strategy is where we stay where we are in third position.

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Positions are something we are going to talk about more in upcoming lessons.

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So in some cases the way that you end the lick will allow you to continue moving and one of the things we find in any style of music

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but this is true in blues is when it comes to improvisation you want to be able to use fingers

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and place your fingers in places where you can always hit the ground running.

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Where you can continue to play.

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Where the physical act of playing the instrument does not impede with your mental processes and that's very important.

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I've known a lot of students who can play the notes the right way and get the sound but then way they finger it paints themselves into a corner.

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In that case they end up having to regroup, having to reposition their hand in order to be able to continue on with their ideas

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and that momentary lapse is enough to stop the flow of thoughts.

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You want to be able to improvise so that however you think at that moment, you can go.

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Anyway, let's pick up where we are on that.

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If we take that same blues double wham and we move it up three frets to the tenth and the eleventh frets, respectively, of the first two strings.

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And resolve it on E.
In other words, the top E.

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In other words, we use our ring finger and we strike the twelfth fret on the first string.

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This is another really nice lick for E.

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So this is double wham number two and a lot of these ideas I got from Lightnin Hopkins, as I've mentioned in the past.

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So we have double wham number one.

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Number two.

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Now you can do some nice things with these licks too that you might want to think about.

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For instance here's kind of like a harmonica like approach to that double wham number one.

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Now the way that you can do that is by first place you have to vibrato it

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and in other words, vibrato-ing, again is what I've said before it's you need to have the thumb on the side of the neck, not over the top of the neck

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too much but some so that the joint here presses against the side of the neck

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and then allow the wrist to turn like you're turning a door knob backwards.

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Then while you do vibrato-ing , you pick between the second and first strings.

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So down, up, down, down, up, down, down, up, down, down.
Using your right hand technique.

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Or if you're fingerpicking, alternate with your two fingers.
Like that.

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Either way you can accomplish the same thing.

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Same thing can be done with double wham number two.

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So these are both really nice, authentic blues licks that you can add to your repertoire

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and you can develop more and more really authentic country blue licks.

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Now you may have noticed by now that before I play the lick, I always strike the tonic string, the low one.

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Now there's a reason for this.

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First place I'm not fingerpicking where I keep a constant bass on.

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It's good to develop the habit of being able to strike the bass string before you play a lick.

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Now that doesn't mean that you would do it every time or even every other time

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but a bass note played strategically in the right place when you're flatpicking is a very effective way

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of being able to accompaniment yourself when you're playing solo

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and when you're flat picking solo you need everything that you can to be able to fill the sound up and make the sound as bottom heavy as you can.

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Since you're not fingerpicking steadily like you would in a piedmont style or Texas style of blues.

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So it's a good idea every time you do a lick, as you practice them, to hit that low E or that low A or whatever the tonic string is

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and use that to fill in behind you and it'll not only help you to blend your licks in better but it will help you as you start improvising freely

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to be able to insert that bass note whenever you have time and you see fit to make the sound fuller and more bottom heavy.

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Thanks.
This is Eric and I'll see you in the next lesson.

Electric Blues with Eric

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The blues is a distinctly American style of music. Many popular genres such as jazz, rock, and country music draw upon basic blues concepts. Consequently, it is advantageous for any guitarist to study the blues.

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.