BLUES GUI TAR TECHNIQUE CHALLENGE

It’s easy to forget that most popular music styles owe a debt to the blues. And it’s especially true for the guitar – a staple instrument in early blues, and, more importantly, whose musical development since the 50s has imparted blues phrasing into the heart of rock and metal. Hell, you don’t even have to like blues, but learning some fundamentals will give you a broader musical base to work from, whatever music you’re into. Listen to the audio track we’ve provided and try out the six blues ideas we’ve tabbed here. You’ll hear each line played twice followed by a two-bar space for you to repeat the riff or lick.

1. Start with this blues shuffle riff on the bass strings. It’s a good stretch workout for the fret hand as well as being a test of your sense of groove.

2. This riff is based around the notes of an A chord and is best played with downstrokes throughout. It’s an authentic rock ’n’ roll and rockabilly riff, too.

3. He might be a rock ’n’ roller, but Chuck Berry-style licks have blues at their core. Get to grips with his signature string bend move here.

4. Two notes played at the same time is called a ‘doublestop’. Use your first or third finger to barre across two strings.

5. An extension of the Chuck Berry bend, these unison bends area great way to make your guitar wail. hold the second string steady and bend the third.

6. Repeating hammer-ons and pull-offs are a great tool for building tension and driving solos forward. Practise with strict timing but more freely in solos.