In this series of tab and audio lessons, Guitar Techniques magazine's Stuart Ryan takes you through a gigantic acoustic method for playing fingerstyle blues. This is part five (and also the finale!) of the series - check out lesson number one here.
Part 5: Modern 'fiery' acoustic blues style
The fiery acoustic blues that exists today courtesy of artists like Kelly Joe Phelps and Joe Bonamassa is technically very challenging owing to its high tempos and long streams of notes. This is example is influenced by the driving style of Joe Bonamassa and is certainly a challenge at this tempo!
Audio
Tab
[Bar 1] It's straight in with the hammer-ons and pull-offs but also beware of the fact that you have to mute the open sixth string with your picking finger thumb as soon as you have played it!
[Bar 5] Similar techniques in play here but you will notice that the sequence of notes has changed again so look out for the patterns...
[Bar 9] However fast they are playing, any good bluesman also knows the importance of space so things are thinned out dramatically here. Make sure you are comfortable with shifting between faster detailed passages and emptier sequences such as this one.
“I can’t play jigs or reels or any of that traditional Irish stuff, but I have got a good ear for blues, the tonality of it”: 3 ways to supercharge your lead guitar playing like Rory Gallagher
“A well-crafted sequence is successful wherever you may wish to use it”: Use these tried and tested chord progressions to build an engaging song
