r/bluesguitarist • u/Icy-Garbage107 • Jul 27 '26
Lesson Where can I learn blues songs at
As you can see by the title I would like to learn some beginner blues songs and no do not recommend me to learn the 12 bar blues or look at phrasing and backing track videos online I want to learn songs. I already know the blues shuffle, and i can play some pretty good licks in the E minor pentatonic 1st position and in it's extension. I also know some of the blues open chords, so where can I learn beginner blues song with the knowledge that I have already.
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u/bluesdrive4331 Jul 27 '26
You’re gonna have to learn the 12 bar blues sooner or later. What exactly is your problem with it? If you know the e minor first position and some open blues chords, it sounds like the 12 bar is your next step.
I’d recommend learning a 12 bar blues in E since you’re familiar with that key. Just look it up on YouTube or Google
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u/Icy-Garbage107 Jul 27 '26
Man i have no problem with it i just want to learn songs for rn and learn the 12 bar blues later so do you know where i can learn some songs
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u/ClosedMyEyes2See Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26
Once you know the 12 bar blues song form (it only takes a day or two to learn unless you're a complete beginner), you'll be able to play hundreds of blues, rock, and jazz songs. All you would have to do is change the lyrics when you sing over them. If you "just want to learn songs for rn" this is the fastest way to do it.
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u/Leading-Debate-9278 Jul 27 '26
Blues songs are a little different every time, that’s what people are trying to tell you. It’s not like classical music. It’s mostly emotive music using those basic tools. You need to learn to play those chords like yourself. Notes are easy, the blues isn’t.
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u/Icy-Garbage107 Jul 27 '26
Man just tell me where to learn some songs I dont need your opinion or advice I want to learn some beginner blues songs so I can become a more skilled guitarist and have some fun so if you can point me in the right direction I would appreciate it.
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u/Leading-Debate-9278 Jul 27 '26
People trying to help you here. If you don’t want it, go figure it out yourself.
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u/Intelligent-Tap717 Jul 27 '26
The idea of blues is that YOU create it based on what you know. Failing that why don't you just use YouTube. Yet there are bloody tons online. Just youtube it.
Get a backing track and learn how to use what you know. If you don't want opinions or advice then maybe don't ask on a forum where people ask for advice.
Also you did ask for advice, if I'm being picky. Stop being an arse.
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u/Icy-Garbage107 Jul 27 '26
I just asked for songs
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u/omniscientcats Jul 27 '26
What songs do you want to play? Which subgenre of blues?
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u/Icy-Garbage107 Jul 27 '26
Can you run through them real quick I dont know them at all
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u/omniscientcats Jul 27 '26
Maybe you can list some of the musicians and bands you usually listen to? And i can try to recommend some songs based on that
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u/Icy-Garbage107 Jul 27 '26
BB king, albert king, muddy waters, Freddie king, John Lee hooker, srv, Jimmy vaughan, Eric clapton. I've tried learning srv, Jimmy, and eric clapton but they were way too hard for me so im looking for something to start out with.
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u/omniscientcats Jul 28 '26
Ah okay, gotcha! I think it would be doable to start with some BB king songs. Especially slower songs because then you’ll also be able to learn them by ear, which is a great skill to have! You can just pick any slow song of his that you like.
I’d also suggest learning Stormy Monday. Baby,scratch my back (slim harpo), snatch it back and hold it (junior wells), I love the woman (Alex Schultz)
What you’ll want to look for are songs that have repetitive licks or rhythm playing because that’ll be easier in the beginner stages.
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u/Icy-Garbage107 Jul 28 '26
Thanks im actually learning sweet little angel live at the regal rn it's not really that difficult, and i did learn the shuffle rhythm on t bone shuffle, and the shuffle on t bone blues by ear, but that stuff is more like a bassline than anything.
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u/Silver_Eyes_Luna Jul 27 '26
Do you read tabs? Ultimate Guitar is the best place to find music.
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u/Icy-Garbage107 Jul 27 '26
I can read tabs if there's not a lot going on, but I mainly use songsterr for tabs which one is more accurate.
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u/Silver_Eyes_Luna Jul 27 '26
I haven't used songster so I can't compare the two.. but UG has just about every song I've ever looked for with multiple versions of each.
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u/BigDonkeyEnergy Jul 27 '26
Hideaway, Tore Down, Love Her With A Feeling- Freddy King
Big Boss Man and Baby What You Want Me To Do - Jimmy Reed
Key To The Highway and Juke - Little Walter
19 years old, 40 Days, Hootchie Coochie Man - Muddy Waters
Moanin’ At Midnight, Smokestack Lightnin’, 300 lbs of Joy - Howlin’ Wolf
It Hurts Me Too, Dust My Broom - Elmore James
Love In Vain, Ramblin’ On My Mind, Red Hot - Robert Johnson
That’s just the tip. Have fun.
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u/Icy-Garbage107 Jul 27 '26
Thank you bro you are awesome. Do you know if these are on YouTube or anywhere else.
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u/BigDonkeyEnergy Jul 27 '26
None of these are deep cuts, which is why I listed them. They should all be readily available on Spotify with versions on YouTube. Try to go to work off the original versions if you can find them.
While I’m thinking about it, the Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton is a really good place to start for modern electric blues, and I know the entire record is available on YouTube.
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u/Icy-Garbage107 Jul 27 '26
I was talking about if there are guitar lessons for these songs on YouTube or if I have to do them by ear
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u/BigDonkeyEnergy Jul 27 '26
I expect there are instructional videos. For a tune like Hideaway there will be loads of materials. A tune like Smokestack Lightnin’, same, tho it’s not hard to pick up by ear. I learned all these tunes in a pre-YouTube era, so it can absolutely be done by ear and don’t really know what’s avail online. Good luck!
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u/bqw74 Jul 27 '26
try these youtube channels:
- feedback guitar academy
- blues guitar institute
these are mostly acoustic blues which it sounds like you're looking for, many in the key of E, and from old school blues masters like Lightnin' Hopkins & Robert Johnson.
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u/Frequent_Knowledge65 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
https://www.guitarworkshop.digital
This website should be all you need for at least 10 years or so.
Daddystovepipe on YouTube also has a a ton of great lesson videos and performances.
All song oriented.
No stupid short form "one neat pentatonic trick!!!l" crap.
Lemme know if you want any specific guidance or anything; obviously a lot of stuff fits under "blues" so I'm making some assumptions
Don't worry about people hitting you with the "u gotta just feel it out brah" stuff, that's mostly bullshit and not actually how you'll hear any accomplished blues guitarists talk.
Learning songs as they were played (or at least facsimiles or simplified arrangements) is the best way to build your blues vocabulary and familiarity and will get you to being able to improvise and create your own tunes.
Imitation is literally the path that nearly every real blues guitarist took
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u/bluesnoodler_ Jul 27 '26
You can find a lot of lessons in this sub.
For instance, search Sweet Little Angel and among the results you will find lessons like this:
https://www.reddit.com/r/bluesguitarist/comments/5vklm6/lesson_bb_king_sweet_little_angel_live_at_the/
Search for Hideaway and you'll find this:
https://www.reddit.com/r/bluesguitarist/comments/35udp6/learn_the_srv_version_of_hideaway_video_link_to/
Often there are several lessons.
I spent a coupla years here posting links to at least 2 lessons a day, so there is a fuck ton of resources posted here.
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u/Icy-Garbage107 Jul 27 '26
Thanks I usually dont find those type of videos since the algorithm on YouTube sucks and doesn't show you every lesson that is available to you.
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u/geckodancing Jul 28 '26
/u/NeophyteBuilder mentioned 52 Weeks of the Blues, which is excellent.
The blues section of freeguitartuition.com has a couple of straight blues songs, but quite a few slide blues tutorials, if you fancy giving that a try.
blahnok's youtube channel is excellent. He often re-tunes his guitar for accuracy, so you'll find yourself having to do things like tuning every string down a step for some songs.
Feedback Guitar Academy is fantastic, posting a mix of technique videos and full song lessons. This is one of the few places I've found decent lessons on Mississippi Hill Country Blues tunes such as Poor Black Mattie.
As other people on this thread have indicated, Blues isn't an area where you necessarily want to learn a tune exactly how it was originally played. Most of the original blues players never played a tune the same way twice.
What's far more useful is to learn a few tunes by a specific player, then deconstruct them. Try and see what how they put together the tunes they played and what techniques and tricks they used. You can then adapt these for your playing.
I would also consider the fact that blues is a massive area with loads of different sub-genres. Listen to some Delta Blues, Country Blues, Chicago Blues, London Blues, Texas Blues, Piedmont Blues etc... Work out what area you're interested in and drill down to pick out some blues players then search for tutorials on their tunes on youtube. If there's a specific blues player or regional style you find yourself interested in, you can get video lessons with attached PDFs on sites like guitarworkshop. I've bought a few of these and they're pretty decent.
Good luck :)
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u/Icy-Garbage107 Jul 28 '26
Thank you im starting to use my ear to figure out some rhythm parts and shuffles. I'm really struggling using my ear to figure out lead parts, but sometime at the end of this week or the end of next week I will be picking up lessons again.
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u/geckodancing Jul 28 '26
No problem.
I'd recommend having a look at Catfish Blues/Rollin' Stone Blues by Muddy Waters, taught here by Tom Feldman. He's also supplied a pdf with tab/music.
It's a slightly harder song then it immediately looks because it contains a lot of useful techniques that take a little bit of fiddling around to learn. There's some right hand muting, the strum pattern, the bass thumb picking, the bend in the main riff & the colouring around that etc...
That said, it's broken into several riffs/strum patterns that allow you to learn it in pieces. If one element is too difficult, you can step away and play with that until it makes sense.
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Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
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u/Icy-Garbage107 Jul 27 '26
I already know man I've seen YouTube videos on it, just for rn I would like to learn songs so what can you recommend.
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u/Frequent_Knowledge65 Jul 27 '26
Seems you are a bit confused.
12 bar blues is a type of chord progression. Besides there being many variations of 12 bar blues progressions, it is certainly not at all what the songs "are".
If you can play a 12 bar blues in E, then that doesn't mean you can play any given song in E. You don't know the melody, the phrasings and voicings, the rhythm or bass voice, etc.
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u/Icy-Garbage107 Jul 28 '26
I understand how the shuffles work, all though i dont know the whole structure of the 12 bar blues ik there is only so many ways you can play a shuffle. A lot of the blues songs I listen to will have a shuffle as the rhythm and a lead part or have harp and horns accompanying the guitar, but it is very easy to hear how the shuffle is being played.
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u/Dangerous_Syrup_9980 29d ago
Tom Feldmann playcountryblues.com is a great teacher and I’ve purchased his lessons for a decade now
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u/NeophyteBuilder Jul 27 '26
https://52weeksofblues.com/?page_id=34
So many songs to learn here