Some more Johnny Marr this week, with a look at the brilliant Smiths track The Headmaster Ritual. So break out your chorus pedal and check out the lesson here.
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Play the blues like Robert Johnson (no deal with the devil necessary).
This week I’m taking a look at the playing of delta blues great Robert Johnson. It’s quite tricky and intimidating to learn any of his songs note-for-note, so what I have for you here is an accessible piece which takes you through some key elements of the great man’s style in a beginner-friendly way. Check out the video here.
Little Beaver’s Clean Up Woman Riff
A bit of funk for you this week in the form of Betty Wright’s classic record Clean Up Woman. Some fantastic guitar from a man know as Willie ‘Little Beaver’ Hale, a name I was unfamiliar with up until a few days a go, but a real legend of R&B guitar it seems. Been listening to his Party Down album on Spotify this week – highly recommended! Check out the new lesson here.
Beefheart…at last!
One of my favourites, and quite why I’ve never got round to looking at any Captain Beefheart before I’m not exactly sure. In this new video I’m looking at the song Plastic Factory taken from his debut album from 1967, Safe as Milk. A weird, warped piece of psychedelic blues, it’s pretty easy to play and lots of fun. Check it out here.
The Only Ones
Here’s a complete song lesson on Another Girl, Another Planet by The Only Ones. It’s a fantastic piece of ’70s power pop, and contains tons of great guitar playing. The rhythm parts are mostly quite simple power chords and barre chords, and we have a couple of classic solos too, for you more advanced players to try. Find the lesson here.
Blues Soloing Lesson
In this video I take a look at how you can combine major and minor sounds in the same solo. All the blues greats do this kind of thing, understanding how it works is a surefire way of taking your blues playing to the next level. Check out the lesson here.
