Don’t you just wish sometimes you could sit down, grab a guitar, and just play?
I often call that “Playing On The Porch” style playing, because it reminds me of my youth and playing on the porch or in the living room with my family when we would all get together.
Turns out, that style of playing requires some vital skills – and will help you develop them if you don’t have them already (win/win!)
Watch today’s video – but DON’T download the TAB below unless you get stuck. Instead, try and do it for yourself because the process of working it out will be worth its weight in gold to you over the long term.
And if you do decide you need to download something, you can do it here:
This Video (MP4)Use this link to download this video in MP4 format
- This Video (WMV)
Use this link to download this video in WMV format.
The TAB (PDF)You can use this link to download the TAB... if you HAVE to. Try not to and do it on your own first!
71 replies to "Blues In A With The A Minor Blues Scale"
Way better description here of the muting technique for the 12 bar rhythm than in BGU 2.0 “Blues in E” lesson. Thanks and I suggest you use this in your next update of BGU.
Been with you for a long time and in my opinion this is the best lesson you have ever put out, Robert
I play by ear so this counting thing I am still working on. This was another lesson to go on the wall somewhere it is pretty full now. But you said ” if you land on 4 and then you are right ” so I a;lways remember that…….. really another great teaching…
Thank you
Thanks Griff. Something new to play with. Keep up great work 👍👍
First, I really like this and all your lessons.
I’m a stickler for language especially when it is used to explain things.
You say in this lesson that you start in the middle of the “scale”on an A, but to my understanding A is either the beginning or the end of the blues scale in A. You start in the middle of the Pattern, which has a Scale above and below it in that box. No others contain 2, so the starting points for other boxes are not so central. You’ve mentioned that blues licks start and finish well on a root, top or bottom, what also may be pointed out is that roots seldom fit well bent, bending from a blue note to one in the scale, is magic!
After demonstrating Box 1 played from “the bottom” and then from “up high”, he points out the A on the 4th string, i.e. “in the middle” of Box 1.
He states, “I want to get you used to playing the scale, not from the very bottom and not just from the very top, but also in the middle”.
He does NOT say to start from the middle of the scale, but to play the scale from the A in the middle of the Box.
Ken – just a couple ideas – since the “scale” has 5 notes, you arrive at the “end” halfway up the strings, at which point you start over – or you could say you playing TWO octaves of the same scale, . A scale does not have to begin on the “Root” note, but in this case it starts on the root, proceeds up an octave (the next root), and then proceeds up another octave to the next root (one on the bottom, one in the middle, and one on top – btw – you can play another octave proceeding up the high E string. ..
you mentioned that “no others contain 2” actually, if you are talking about “Box 1”, there is no “2” if you mean 2 to be a scale step…otherwise, not sure what you would be referring to…
He’s suggesting that only Box 1 has 2 complete “scales” (octaves), one above and one below the A in the “middle”. He’s apparently unaware that Box 5, which is connected to Box 1, has the same 2 octaves.
Ken, box 5 and box 1 both are boxes with three roots in them. The other three boxes have only 2 each
If we do the fundamentals it’s amazing how advanced we become.
When I played football in high school and we lost a game, Coach would say “We’ve got to get back to the fundamentals.” If practicing the fundamentals is so good for us, why did we ever leave them?
Did you know your name translates roughly to swartznegger?
Griff maybe this sounds dumb and for that I apologize. What I find most difficult is timing the rest with the strum. Are you twisting your wrist or lifting and applying the side of your hand? It’s hard to see on the video.
Alan, I think the lifting was just to emphasize the rhythm. Once you get the idea you will find that muting the strings at the bridge will give the same effect without having to lift your hand. Hope that helps
Thanks so much, this is exactly what I have a hard time doing , going from chords to melody, getting lost in the timing. Hey Griff , can we have some more of this type of thing in he future. I continue on with BBG and unleashed…slowly 1 &a, 2&a,3&a,4&a
Thanks! I think this is something I can actually do.
Never too late to be a beginner! …not that I ever felt like I wasn’t.
There are always takeaway’s from your videos. They are not always exactly what you talk about in the videos. Oddly enough I have always seen those open string rhythm vamps as just patterns unto themselves, since I usually play them barred elsewhere. In my mind I relate them to the barred chords. Just now watching and playing along with the video I suddenly saw a relationship to the D chord (IV) with the open D string version.
Now that I have a new view of that I have more fret-board to explore.
Thanks for the breakdown on the fills and timing, too. Good stuff!
Thanks mate nice and simple ,Cheers from Australia,Nth Queensland
Good basic blues lesson. Thanks so much, Griff!
Love it Griff!!!
THIS HOW CHUCK BEERY DID JONNIE B GOOD. SAME . CORDS. A D E .
Griff I have been playing guitar for about 67 years, Over the last two years I have gone back to easy blues solos. It make me fill good that others also enjoy just playing and reviewing .
Thanks Griff!
I am a rank beginner and in the past have found your video lessons to be interesting but very difficult to follow in terms of watching and then attempting to play.
This slower and more detailed explanation makes it fun and attainable
Cheers!
This is a lesson I’ll have to come back to many times to refresh myself on the fundamentals of what I’m doing. As a refresher lesson it’s a beauty! Thanks again Griff.
Just curious why you use the open string chords rather than the fifth position sixth string A and fifth string D chords? Especially for a beginner, wouldn’t it be easier to be right at the fifth fret to jump right into the lick more easily rather than having to shift your hand? This is a great one for improving timing which it seems nearly all of us need. Thanks for all the great info. Even when you are going over something I already know its great reinforcement.
Just what I needed. I’ve had a challenge getting the chord change timing correct with different licks and this really helps set a pattern to know what comes next. I’ll work on this and should help me get the feel for other licks that are more complicated. Also shows how some simple patterns (like playing the box 1 scale) can give a nice little solo.
Great lesson once again and a good refresher from last year. This is one of my strengths which now good thanks to all the BGU Courses I now have and these email lessons are great refreshers. I am even learning stuff that I have invented by practicing every day or evening, now I know how the Pros play and How songs have their beginnings, just the tip of the iceberg..
All Good.
Michael-Sydney-Australia 3rd December 2017.
Can you bounce the left hand fingers the get the mute rather than use the right hand palm?
Yes. Especially because it works and is very directed. No unintended consequences of misplaced fingers.
More like this please, thanks Griff.
Would be ok, to bounce the left hand fingers for the mute rather than use the right hand palm?
Whatever sounds good is good!
Perfect exercise for players at my level. Pushes me on some fundamentals that I need to improve on…while having fun! Thanks for this, Griff!!!
GREAT lesson.. walk before running. Counting… the timing is everything in music. Like you said in the end. Get the basics down, everything should come naturally. Thanks for breaking it down….wish someone would have shown me this at the beginning of my guitar journey. Thanks for keeping it simple easy to follow. GOD Bless
I have been playing the blues power chords for years and have got virtually the same thump sound but I think I am cheating by muting with the heel of my hand all the time. It is hard for me to be sure exactly what I am doing with the heel of my hand. its certainly close to the bridge. When I try to consciously lift and lower my hand I find it very frustrating and tricky. I guess if I want to improve I just have to make a determined effort. It seems like a lot of effort for such a small return! As I say, I cant hear much of a difference if any at all. What are your thoughts on this Griff?
Rod
Amazing insight to the context. Gypsy Jazz Student feels that it is truly your style. Sometimes it is so difficult to play a simple tune. But an expert like you has played the difficult with such an ease.
Hi Griff. Just picked up your Blues Guitar Unlimited and happened to be between lesson 1 and 2 when you sent this link. For me, I struggled with how you broke it down in the first lesson. I understood, but at a top level without what I felt was a command on the counting. This Blues in A with a Minor Scale video unlocked it and I then went back to lesson one beginning and now feel that I have the counting down. You may want to add this as a lesson 1a to BGU for just that purpose. Thanks, ready to start lesson 2.
NN
The one other gem of knowledge to unlock, and I think you said this, but did not understand that the timer in BGU was counting in what I think is triplets.
Great little exercise Griff. I really like how you found a way to challenge the more experienced players by encouraging them to add more challenging licks. That and your ongoingl reminder to keep counting and keep track of the chords.
Secondly, It’s a good compliment to your new “how to improvise” course as I tried adding some of those first few licks to see how they’d fit as well.
what a great nugget of information….have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year.
Ok Griff………I’m a bit confused on one aspect of this.
From all I have been taught, and I don’t recall if you told me this or not, but I thought you should always begin and/or end a riff on the root note of the chord. The first chord is an A, but you begin the first riff on C and end on G!….????
Got the same question. Looking at the tab and not understanding the start and stop notes
The C is the flatted 3rd of the scale. The G is the flatted 7th. I think that because you are defining the chord you are in with the rhythm figure, you can start your line on another strong scale note. I often start on the E note on the 5th string. Got it off an Allman Bros song. Ending on the C on the 3rd string if you give it vibrato or a little nudge. Also resolve to the A on the 4th string and do a short cut off C. I don’t know if any of this is proper but it sounds good to me. Play on!!!
The A minor blue scale is the one I have played the most, ever since I joined BGU . This new video will help me a great deal.If I could master this chord, I probably would be able to play more songs.Thank you
Another great lesson. That is what makes your style of instruction stand out from most – you know how to introduce playing for the fun/feel into practice. I would never hesitate to point someone in your direction who is a beginner or looking to improve on what they already know. Thanks, TW
Another explanation with loads of information. This should help me with Key to the Highway. Good lesson. Thanks Griff
Great lesson Griff, nice and slow for learning.
great basic lesson,Griff. Really helped me understand timing and not starting a riff on the 1st beat.
Thanks Griff. Great video and greatly appreciated.
Matt.
I been following you for years now and have learned a lot from your lessons. I’m 63 years old , grown up in the turbulent 60’s with all that intolls, if you catch my drift! The best feeling in the world is when folks feel that groove you’re in with your music. I’d love to be able to sit down with you and pick a little, by the way, you’re comment section sux,
Sorry but what do you mean by “your comment section sux” ????
Outstanding lesson. For where I am at with my guitar playing this lesson really helped me understand triplets better. And also a great suggestion to play this without using the tab for as you said it helped me “own” the piece.
Just a great piece of work Griff. This is very applicable to me. Thanks for taking the time to record this and explain in detail the goal.
Simple but fundamentally instructive to the sense of timing and rhythm. I still struggle with not starting on beat 1 and knowing what note to end on.
good lesson it is the basic stuff explained. combining the scale and cord is very important to me . this is a format that i use alot but never added any scale notes to it so thanks for this one .
a old repeat Griff `s got more hair that is for sure.
What a comment to make! 😡
Hey Griff … similar question to Strick … I am working to align songs in a given key with solos. As always, really enjoy these asides while working through BGU. Kind regards, Steve
This lesson is so simplistic and I am sure some of us are so beyond this, but as always there are hidden gems to learn, or be reminded of, which in this case is the muting of strings, something I work on every time I pick up a guitar. Another thing I constantly work on is playing notes on the off beat within 4/4 time. Sometimes it sounds really cool, other times it kind of sucks, but I do work on it a lot..good lesson.
Really a fun way to just sit and play not reading tabs or notes just playing and working on sound ,timing counting ,how to relax while playing guitar .really liked this one ?
Griff,Lovely info.,it might be a trade secret but can you tell me exactly what settings your using,I am using a fender super reverb with a gretsch but I cant get your sound Don’t tell me what you are thinking ha ha Thanks Len.
Griff, Ive been playing since I could hole my first Danelectro!, back in 1968! I still learn from all of your lessons. As I’m I,m listening I hear you play an em7nth. cool Dommosay1@comcast.net
Thanks for this video. Sometimes I get too far ahead of myself and things don’t sound right. This is a great exercise to help me get back on track. Not to mention it’s very enjoyable to play something simple.
A brilliantly useful “foundation” lesson. Great stuff, Griff.
This is not the first time I’ve been working on something when a video appears to offer guidance. This is the first time however, I’m left with a question, as follows. In the breaks you went to box 1 in the key of A, could I not use any box shape in the appropriate key? In closing I’ll say thanks Griff for all the videos you put out there.
Yes, you could use any box and they will all work.
Just so happens this is something I have been working on with my teacher and it blends perfectly. You are so much a similar teacher to mine at home. I’m an intermediate 75 year old that started playing 6 years ago and have almost every one of your lessons. Thanks for everything you do. RON
This lesson brought a lot of things into focus for me. I also noticed what notes you started the scale on, the root notes in box #1. But the ending note when you change from #1 chord to #4 or #4 to #5 doesn’t seem to be a root note. What am I missing?
Really clear, helpful video. Thanks Griff.
Hi Griff!
Thanks for this great video. I have a suggestion for another video lesson. Can you send me an email so I can get in contact with you?
I have watched many of your lessons on palm muting but never seen you discuss the muting with your second and third fingers . It’s subtle but seems to work well.