Did you know Dickey Betts had some really cool slide guitar licks?  You may be thinking that only Duane played slide guitar.  Nope, not true.  After Duane’s untimely death, the Allman Brothers reformed and Dickey pulled out that slide on more than one occasion.

Dickey often played in Open E Tuning just like Duane, and I believe he also did Open G on occasion as well.  3 songs in particular come to mind when I think of Dickey Betts on the slide.

Allman Brothers songs with Dickey on the slide guitar.

1. Ain’t Wastin Time One of my all-time favorites.  The guitar is beautiful, and is another example of the Mixolydian scale in action.  The lyrics are some of the best too.
2. Crazy Love Wow!  That’s some hot slide guitar, and it’s not Duane!  There’s just some really cool licks in this song, and I’m putting it on my must learn list.  You’ll be armed with some hot Open E Tuning licks after you’ve mastered this song.
3. Pony boy Really cool to hear Dickey on the Dobro.  This Open E tuning riff has some excellent licks for the beginner slide guitar player or the advanced guitarist as well.

Check out Dickey on slide in this live performance from an unknown concert.  He’s in Open E Tuning.

What do you think of Dickey’s slide playing?  Do you have any favorite songs by the legendary guitarist?

I’ve released 4 DVDs about how to learn to play slide guitar in Open E Tuning.  If you order any slide guitar DVD before December 22nd 2008, you’ll get a FREE bonus video on how to play the intro to “Crazy Love”.

For More info about slide guitar and blues guitar, please visit Learning Guitar Now.

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Everyone has that one album where that moment occurred.  This moment is when you realized you were now a blues fan.  If you’re a blues fan, then odds are you are a fanatic blues conisuer.  If you’re not a blues fan, then you never had this experience and you should STOP reading now.

Every blues fan I have met is very passionate about their knowledge of blues albums, and considers their list the best.  I am the same way, and think my picks are the best as well.  I guess this kinda comes with the territory.

So anyway, back to the point.  For me, I became a lover of the blues the moment I heard Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Texas Flood”.

I was just out of high school and really wanted to be a rock guitarist like Steve Vai, and Van Halen.  I was hanging out around Gulf Shores one day and a friend of mine said, “You ever heard of this guy?”  It was SRV’s “Texas Flood”.  I put the CD in and WOW!  Now this guy had some serious chops, but there were some really cool blues songs as well.  From that moment on I was hooked.  I then proceeded to get every SRV album, and them learned about where he got his style from.  Albert King, BB King, Otish Rush, and many more.

I now had to redefine what I wanted to learn.  I had been playing rock licks before and they were hard, but these were an entirely different animal.  The feel and vibrato were hard to copy.  Just because I could play the rock licks, did not mean I could pull off this style.  I was now determined to become a blues man.  What was the first blues album to turn you into a fan?

Here’s my favorite performance of SRV’s Texas Flood, from Live at the El Mocambo.

What was the first blues album that made you become a blues fan?  Let me know right underneath this post.

If you’re interested in Learning more about blues guitar, I’ve released 3 blues guitar DVDs that teach this style of blues guitar playing.

For more information about slide guitar and blues guitar please visit Learning Guitar Now.

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If you’re trying to learn some red-hot blues slide guitar, then you will no doubt want to listen to and learn some of Derek Truck’s slide guitar licks.

His slide guitar playing is nothing short of phenomenal, and his tone will make you cry the blues.  In short he has that special something all blues guitar players strive for, FEEL.

Yes, every note he plays seems to drip full of emotion and character.  It’s no wonder he went on tour with Clapton to replicate the sound of the Dominos.

Derek makes efficient use of the minor pentatonic, major pentatonic, and blues scales when playing solos.  He masterfully blends together these scales to create powerful slide guitar solos ranging from Elmore James, Duane Allman, and Ravi Shankar.

If you want to play like Derek you will need to apply these 3 things to your slide guitar playing.

1. Control When playing slide guitar, you need to be able to mute any string at any given point in time.  If you can’t control which strings are ringing, dampening will be the #1 thing that sets you back when playing this kind of style.
2. Space Just like a singer has to breathe, the slide guitarist needs to play nothing every once in while.  By doing this, you will make your solos mean more and phrasing will become more articulate.
3. Melody If you can’t hum it then why play it?  It really can be true of slide guitar.  It’s one of the closest instruments that can mimic the human voice.  You need to be able to make that guitar sing, literallly!

Well, that’s a few things that will take your playing to the next level if you set aside some practice time and do it.  In the mean time, here’s a cool video of Derek playing some awesome blues licks.

What is your favorite Derek Trucks song? Make a comment below and let me know.

If you’re interested in learning more about this style of slide guitar playing, check out my DVD, Slide Guitar DVD Method 4: Playin’ the blues.

For more info about Slide guitar and Blues Guitar please visit Learning Guitar Now.

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In this weeks podcast, I’m going to give you an excerpt from my new Blues Guitar DVD, Blues Guitar Method 3: Combining Scales. You can pre-order this DVD and get FREE shipping if you order before Nov 17th, 2008.  This is a 2 hour and 12 minute DVD packed with the information you need to start playing some serious blues guitar.

To get the tabs for the podcast, simply sign up for the guitar lessons newsletter.  You will also receive the complete Lesson 1 from Slide Guitar Method 1: Open E Tuning, my most popular DVD.

If you have a question or comment about the podcast please feel free to contact me.

What are you struggling with in your blues guitar playing?  I’d love to hear your comments.

Please visit Learning Guitar Now for more info on slide guitar and blues guitar.

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Do you want to make your blues guitar licks sound like the pros?

There is one specific thing you can do that will enhance your blues guitar playing without running scales everyday.  Am I crazy?  No. Well maybe a little, but you don’t have to practice scales all the time to improve this area of your blues guitar playing.  Although, I can certainly tell you that it cannot hurt, and you should be doing this anyway.  Anyways, so the #1 thing you can do to make your Blues Guitar solos sound pro is to develop a vocal-like vibrato.

Mastering vibrato when playing blues guitar will  allow you to play less notes with more feeling.  You will be able to emotionally connect with your listener with just one note.  Yes, one note!  All the blues guitar greats have excellent vibrato.

Here’s a list of some of my favorite blues guitarist’s vibrato.

1. Albert Collins
2. SRV
3. Jimi Hendrix
4. BB King
5. Albert King
6. Eric Clapton
7. Otis Rush

All of these guitarists exhibit a commanding vibrato, and can change how their vibrato sounds depending on what kind of song you they’re playing over.  Your vibrato can make or break your solos.  If you sound out of tune when you vibrato, it will sound forced and lack emotion.  There’s nothing worse than listening to out of tune vibrato.

Here’s a clip from my new blues guitar DVD that explains some of the vibrato basics.

In my new DVD, Blues Guitar DVD Method 3: Combining Scales, I show you how to combine vibrato, bending, raking, and combining scales to create some really powerful blues guitar solos.

What blues guitarist’s vibrato do you like most why?

For more information about slide guitar and blues guitar please visit Learning Guitar Now.

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There are so many great blues guitar players that it’s hard to choose just 5, but I’m gonna try.  This list is going to be based on purely blues.  Not blues rock, but blues guitar players only.  I know the line is hard to draw, but I don’t want to include all the rockers in this list such as Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix.

With that said here’s my top 5 Blues Guitar Players.

1. Robert Johnson Why? Because he is “The King of the Delta  Blues Singers”  Yes, the blues would not be what it is today without Robert Johnson.  His legendary recordings have been rerecorded and reworked by many high profile guitarists including Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton.  All those classics such as, “Crossroads”, “Traveling Riverside Blues”, “Malted Milk”, and “Walking Blues”, were all written by Robert.  If you’re not familiar with Robert Johnson’s work, get familiar and start learning what the blues is really about.
2. Albert King  SRV’s biggest influence had a stinging vibrato, and guitar licks that hit you over the head like a ton of bricks.  Just check out “Born under a Bad Sign” if you want to hear where Clapton got some of his licks from.
3. BB King  What more can you say?  You can’t say Blues guitar without thinking about BB King.  His style has been imitated by every guitarist in every genre.  His vibrato and phrasing are his trademarks.  He can say more with one note than any other blues guitarist I’ve heard.   His style is instantly recognizable.  One guitar lick from him and you know it’s the King!
4. Buddy Guy  He was doing the Hendrix thing before Jimi ever came along.  Playing with feedback, wild solos, and just a total chaotic blues guitar style that dripped with the blues.  Buddy often said, “I’ve played louder than any metal band out there”.  He has a killer voice as well and his performances are very entertaining.  Simply put, Buddy is a living legend.
5. Elmore James  If there was no Elmore, then there would have been no Duane Allman.  Elmore’s slide classics such as “Dust my Blues”, and “Blues Before Sunrise” have defined him as an innovator of the electric slide guitar.  The Allman Brothers Band covered many of Elmore’s legendary hits such as “Done Somebody Wrong”, and “One Way Out”.  Duane was totally fascinated by Elmore James, and with good reason.  His songs are what electric slide blues is all about.  Anyone interested in learning slide guitar needs to check out his legendary blues guitar style.

So there’s my top 5 blues guitarists.  I know there are many other awesome blues guitarist out there, so that’s why I wanna know what YOUR top 5 blues guitar players are.  Leave a comment and tell the world your opinion.

I’ve put together some DVDs on playing blues and slide guitar.  If you interested in really taking your playing to the next level check them out at Learning Guitar Now.

For more information on slide guitar and blues guitar subscribe to this blog, or join my newsletter and receive free videos.  Now I’m going to dust my broom!

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He is one of the most imitated guitarists in history.  His band the Allman Brothers rewrote the book on Southern blues and rock.  His songs still rock the airwaves even after 30 years of being written.  Anyone seeking to learn blues guitar BETTER listen to Dickey Betts.  Simply put Dickey Betts is a living legend.  Even after all this, Dickey got kicked out of his band the, Allman Brothers for reasons not totally known to the general public.

It seems that Dickey and Greg Allman had their differences about many things.  Both have struggled with dependency issues their entire life.  It is no secret the Allman Brothers were involved in many things psychedelic during their career.  Just check out the  mushroom that the original members got tattooed on them in the beginning of the band’s incarnation.

Although most of the members have now cleaned up (the ones that are still alive) when everyone is not on the same page, then it is hard to function as a unit.    The current Allman Brothers lineup is smoking for sure, and there is not doubt that that band has chemistry.  I saw them in concert a few years ago, and let me tell you they were amazing!  I also saw the Brothers about 16 years ago with Warren and Dickey, and it was just as rocking.

I don’t really know what to think about the whole situation, and I kinda feel bad for Dickey because he is one of my favorite guitarists ever, alongside Warren, Duane, and Derek.  I can remember sitting in my bedroom as a kid with the Allman Brothers Live at Fillmore East and Decade of Hits, just trying to learn Dickey’s classic licks.  Let’s face it, Jessica, Elizabeth Reed, Blue Sky, Rambling Man, and countless others and just awesome songs.  You can’t say Allman Brothers without thinking about Dickey.

Even though it probably won’t happen,  I’d love to say Dickey jam with the Brothers again.  I wish they would put it all behind them and just move on, but I know it can’t be easy.  To see all 3 of my favorite guitarists jam at once would be a sight to behold!  You can always dream it will happen.  Until then we’re still left with the great music Dickey gave us with the Allman Bros and what he is doing now with Great Southern.

I recently put up a video about how to learn blues guitar in the style of Dickey Betts.  Check it out.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Dickey Betts guitar style check out some more of my guitar lesson downloads.

Please visit Learning Guitar Now for more information on slide guitar and blues guitar.

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In this weeks podcast, I show you how to play blues guitar like BB King.   I also go over the vibrato used to make these licks sound like a real blues man.  If you would like to get the tabs to this podcast simply sign up for the FREE guitar lessons newsletter.  You will also receive FREE videos, and email updates just for signing up.

There are also new guitar lesson downloads for only $4.99 each!  These new lessons cover a variety of topics including Hendrix chord melody, and a Dickey Betts style lesson.

If you have a question or comment about the podcast please feel free to contact me.

What do you think of BB King?  I’d love to hear your comments.

Please visit Learning Guitar Now for more info on slide guitar and blues guitar.

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In this weeks video podcast, I’m taking an excerpt from my new DVD, Blues Guitar Method 2: The Blues Scale.  In the podcast I show you 2 licks derived directly form the blues scale.  These licks are in the style of Warren Haynes, Eric Clapton, and SRV.

If you want the tabs to the podcast, simply sign up for the newsletter and you’ll receive them as well as FREE slide guitar, and blues guitar videos.

I want to thank everyone for the support of the podcast and if you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me.

For more information about Slide guitar and Blues Guitar please visit Learning Guitar Now.  See you next time!

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If you’re looking to really start playing blues guitar like the masters, then you are going to have to learn the blues scale.  Simply put, the blues scale is the most popular scale for playing the blues.  It is just as popular as the minor pentatonic scale but with a far more sophisticated sound.

It really is that great!  By simply adding that one special note to the minor pentatonic, the b5th, we dramatically expand the  possibilities of creating a powerful blues guitar style just like Warren Haynes, Johnny Winter, Eric Clapton, and SRV.

Here are my 5 reason YOU should learn this scale.

1. Your favorite blues guitar players use it.   Pretty  simple huh, but it’s the truth.  If you want to play like someone else, do what they’re doing.  By learning what patterns they use and how they use them, you will sound more like your favorite players.  Now take this knowledge and create a style of your own.  It’s what everyone has been doing for years.
2. You can use it in many different styles of music.  Just because it’s called the blues scale doesn’t mean you can only use it in the blues.  I’ve heard this scale used by the Allman Brothers, Pantera, Ozzy Osbourne, Freddie King, Wes Montgomery, Chet Atkins, Brad Paisley, SRV, Eric Clapton, Joe Bonamassa, Robbie Krieger, Kirk Hammett, Eric Johnson, Van Halen, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Joe Perry, BB King, Mark Tremonti, and you get the picture.  If not, reread reason 2!
3. It’s easy!   What! Am I joking?  The blues scale is easy?  Yes it is.  It only contains 6 notes and it’s only got 1 more note than the minor pentatonic scale.  It’s really a simple scale to play, but the applications are unlimited.  Just ask Danny Gatton.
4. It sounds good.  Once you get a feel for how to use the blues scale, it will simply sound good on everything you use it on. I am not kidding.  You wanna rock?  What do you think Angus Young uses on almost all of his guitar solos.  yes you guessed it, the Blues Scale.
5. Robert Johnson said so.  The Grandfather of all blues and rock used this scale on many of his legendary recordings, and if that is not reason to by itself, then I don’t know what is.  He has influenced more guitar players than anyone, and his legendary tale of selling his soul at the crossroads is probably one of the most famous tales of folklore in music history.  Influencing Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, and countless other blues and rock guitarists, Robert Johnson is the blues.  You want to be a true blues man right?

I’ve recently put together a blues guitar DVD on how to play blues guitar using the blues scale.  In this preview, I’m going to show you a little bit about creating a blues guitar lick that can be used over a slow blues in the key of G.

Check out all of my blues guitar DVDs, as well as my slide guitar DVDs.  You can find more info about learning guitar at my website Learning Guitar Now.

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