Anyone Can Play Guitar

Online and private guitar tuition

Soul

I’d Rather Go Blind by Etta James

by

In this lesson I’m looking at I’d Rather Go Blind, originally performed by by Etta James, and an all time great soul/blues track. For this video I’m taking my inspiration from the 1972 Rod Stewart recording which features guitar work from Ronnie Wood, whose playing on this tune is a masterclass in tasteful, supportive rhythm guitar.

It’s a long video, and I get into lots of interesting topics – some simple rhythm, guitar approaches, adding connecting notes between chord changes, double stop fills using 4ths, 5ths and 6ths, and  I also discuss how are you might solo over these chord changes. This is a really fun tune to play, whether as a rhythm guitarist or a lead player. Hope you enjoy it.

Hip Hug-Her by Booker T & The MGs

by

In this video I’m taking a look at the Booker T & The MGs classic Hip Hug-Her which contains some typically groovy guitar work from the legendary Steve Cropper. For this version of the tune I’ve translated some of Booker T’s organ parts onto the guitar as well.

Tab can be found on the Patreon page.

Sleepwalk by Santo & Johnny

by

Here’s my detailed exploration of the instrumental classic Sleepwalk, which includes my guitar arrangement. Tab can be found on the Patreon page.

Rainy Night In Georgia

by

In this song Cornell Dupree gives us a real masterclass in soul/r&b guitar. The original recording sounds like this:

And here’s my lesson:

Tab and Backing track

A full tab for the complete song is available on my Patreon page, along with my own backing track.

Suspicious Minds by Elvis

by

Here’s my take on the classic Elvis track. Guitar on this one is by the great session man Reggie Young.

Clean Up Woman by Betty Wright

by

Here we have a 70s soul-funk classic. I love the soul rhythm guitar style: it’s all about perfectly formed, groovy parts rather than anything too technical. And this song is a great example of just that. According to my research, guitar on this song was performed by a certain Willie ‘Little Beaver’ Hale – not name I’d come across the name before, but what a player! He’s made a lot of great records as a session player, and I’ve just been checking out a couple of his solo albums from the 70s which are fantastic. (A nice Little Beaver interview here too.)

The original recording sounds like this:

And check out this TV performance with Little Beaver on guitar. Shame he has his back to the camera for the entire video, but you can see the position where he’s playing those chords for the main riff.

I’ve written the music out below. We have the three main riffs which are played simultaneously on the record (Little Beaver on all guitar parts? Not sure) and then we have the chords for the B-section. Download the tab here.

Get The Sound

I’m not sure what gear Little Beaver would have used on the original. And what guitar is he playing on the video above – any ideas? My first thoughts were to use my Tele for this kind of song, but that didn’t sound quite right as the tone on the original is quite warm and full sounding. So in the end I went for  my Vox Virage guitar which has flat wound strings on it. Also, a Wampler Tumulus overdrive pedal with the gain all the way off. And my 80s Fender Super Champ amp. My looper pedal is a basic TC Electronic Ditto.

Other Lessons You Might Like

Soul Man – a very similar triad-based main riff in this Sam & Dave masterpiece.

Get Lucky – a modern day funky classic.