Blues Guitar Lessons with Marty Schwartz
Blues is the foundation of rock, jazz, and modern guitar playing. These blues guitar lessons from Marty Schwartz teach you the essential licks, chords, and techniques that every guitarist needs to know—whether you’re playing Clapton, SRV, B.B. King, or creating your own blues solos.
Marty breaks down complex blues concepts into simple, playable pieces. You’ll learn the patterns, scales, and feel that make blues guitar sound authentic, plus how to apply these techniques to any song.
Master the blues: Get Marty’s blues guitar lessons delivered weekly, plus exclusive licks and backing tracks you won’t find anywhere else.
What You’ll Learn
These blues guitar lessons cover everything you need:
- Blues scale patterns – The minor pentatonic and blues scale across the fretboard
- Classic blues licks – Signature phrases from the masters
- 12-bar blues progression – The foundation of thousands of songs
- Shuffle rhythm – That swinging blues feel
- Blues chord voicings – 7th chords, 9th chords, and chord substitutions
- Bending and vibrato – Essential blues techniques for expressive playing
Blues Guitar Lessons
Blues Guitar Techniques
String bending is everything. The blues is all about expression, and bending strings is how you add emotion to every note. Practice bending in tune—this is what separates blues players from everyone else.
Learn the turnarounds. That fancy ending to a 12-bar blues? That’s called a turnaround, and there are dozens of variations. Master a few and you’ll sound like you’ve been playing blues for decades.
Play with the beat, not on it. Blues has a swing feel—notes fall slightly behind or ahead of the beat. This is what makes blues groove. Listen to how Marty phrases his licks and try to match that feel.
Start with acoustic blues. Electric blues gets all the glory, but acoustic blues teaches you the fundamentals. Learn Robert Johnson or Mississippi John Hurt and you’ll understand where all blues came from.
Classic Blues Songs to Learn
These blues standards teach essential techniques while sounding great:
- The Thrill Is Gone – B.B. King’s signature song with classic blues phrasing
- Crossroads – Robert Johnson’s delta blues masterpiece
- Pride and Joy – Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Texas blues shuffle
- Red House – Jimi Hendrix’s slow blues with expressive bends
- Sweet Home Chicago – Blues standard everyone should know
Ready to play authentic blues? Subscribe for weekly blues guitar lessons from Marty, plus exclusive licks and backing tracks to practice with.