If you’re a guitarist looking to improve your playing one of the best things you can do is learn Beatles songs.
Each one is jam-packed with golden nuggets that will help you level up your guitar playing and musicianship in so many ways.
In this post, I’ll break down the guitar style behind the classic tune “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away.” So grab your guitar and let’s get to it!
"You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" was written and sung by John Lennon although it is credited to Lennon and Paul McCartney. It was released in 1965 on the Beatles album Help! The song is a beautiful blend of folk and rock that has captured the hearts of many music lovers. Lennon described where he was with his writing in an interview about the song as “That's me in my Dylan period again. I am like a chameleon, influenced by whatever is going on. If Elvis can do it, I can do it. If the Everly Brothers can do it, me and Paul can. Same with Dylan."
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Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate
Unlock this sliding 6ths riff used in countless slow blues tunes. This lesson is in the key of Bb.
Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate
This blues uses a power-chord-based rhythm part in the key of Bb.
Level: 🎸🎸🎸Advanced
If you’re looking to improve your 12-string blues guitar playing, look no further than this ‘Life By The Drop’ guitar lesson. In this post, I’ll share with you how to play the version of the song as recorded by Stevie Ray Vaughan. Vaughan’s recording was done on a 12-string acoustic guitar, and it is chock full of incredible blues guitar techniques, chords, scales, and concepts you can steal and add to your own guitar playing. Check out a longer lesson here.
Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate
Break out the slide and tune your guitar to open G for this clas...
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See See Rider | The Animals
Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate
This blues is in the key of C but the tricky part is it stretches the form and plays everything double the length as a typical 12-bar blues.
Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate
Here’s a great exercise for your picking hand. The majority of the melody of the song is played using a lot of triplets.
Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate
This classic Willie Dixon tune being interpreted by Cream is chock full of great blues licks.
Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate
An uptempo blues instrumental featuring Clapton at a pivotal point in his career.
Steppin' Out | Solo Lesson | John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate
And of course, the solo to go with it.
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Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate
"Got My Mojo Working" was written by Preston "Red" Foster, and it was first recorded in 1956 by R&B singer Ann Cole. This version has a great upbeat groove to it. The lyrics of the song describe something called mojo, which has been associated with hoodoo, an African-American folk magic tradition.
Later in 1957, Muddy Waters put his own spin on the arrangement and changed the lyrics just slightly. His most famous version of the song was actually recorded live in 1960 and this version received several awards from various publications and organizations.
At this point, it is now a blues standard and is a great one to add to your repertoire for blues jams and playing with other musicians. Check out a longer lesson here.
Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate
"Green Onions" was first released on Stax Records in October 1962 as the title track on the ...
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Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate
Discover this iconic blues jam by John Lee Hooker. This one uses a capo and is in an open A tuning. Check out a longer post about it here.
Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate
Here’s a fun old-school blues in the key of E. The original riff was played on the piano in the key of F, but here is a great way to play it in the key E on guitar.
Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate
John Lee Hooker originally recorded this tune in 1961, and music critics called it "the greatest pop song he ever wrote".
Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate
The majority of this song is an 8-bar blues chord progression in the key of C#. It features biting leads and big string bends from the legend Albert King!
Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate
Here’s a classic Jimmy Reed-style rhythm in the key of A. This gr...
In the vast world of music, few genres capture the raw emotion, soulful melodies, and electrifying energy quite like the blues.
In this post, I’m going to share with you a journey through 101 epic blues songs to learn on guitar. Whether you're a beginner eager to dive into the world of blues or an experienced guitarist seeking new challenges, this curated list will guide you through essential tracks that define the genre's diverse landscape.
From the haunting melodies of Robert Johnson to the scorching solos of Stevie Ray Vaughan, we'll cover iconic and influential songs that have shaped the blues into what it is today.
You’ll get a video for each song and also a skill rating for each guitar lesson:
Level: 🎸Easier
Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate
Level: 🎸🎸🎸Advanced
Each song on this list has been chosen for its significance, popularity, and unique guitar techniques that make it an excellent learning experience. However, they are not in any kind of order other than alphabetical. So whet...
"Last Child" was originally written by Steven Tyler and Brad Whitford. It was first released as a single from the album Rocks in 1976. The song reached number 21 on the Billboard charts and became one of the many hits for Aerosmith during the mid-1970s.
The opening guitar part for “Last Child” starts off using a guitar technique called arpeggio picking. This is where you plant down a chord with your fretting hand and then pick out individual strings one at a time. Instead of strumming the chord, you are breaking it up and creating an arpeggio.
You’ll need 3 shapes for your fretting hand, Dm9, G6, and E7.
Here’s how I would play each shape.
Dm9 looks li...
Unlock this crowd-pleasing song, and iconic Clapton style with this lesson on how to play “I Shot The Sheriff” on guitar.
In this post, you’ll get a breakdown of tips and tricks for playing this classic tune as well as diving into some signature Eric Clapton guitar techniques and tones. So get tuned up and let’s dive in!
"I Shot the Sheriff" was originally written by Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley. It was first released on the album Burnin’ in 1973 with his band Bob Marley and the Wailers.
A year later, Eric Clapton recorded the song and released it on his album 461 Ocean Boulevard. Both Clapton’s version and the original Marley version are in the key of Gm, so the chords are the same however in this post, I’ll be focusing more on Clapton’s version.
To play “I Shot the Sheriff” you’ll need to know 4 core chords, Gm, Cm, Eb, and Dm. These chords are going to be bar chords and here’s how I ...
"Black Coffee in Bed" is a timeless classic that has been a favorite of music fans for over four decades now. The song was written and recorded by the British band Squeeze. It’s a soulful track that captures the pain and heartache of a relationship gone wrong. With its unique chord progression and catchy lyrics, "Black Coffee in Bed" has become a staple of radio playlists and concert performances around the world.
If you're a guitar player who loves the sound of soulful rock, then learning how to play "Black Coffee in Bed" on guitar is a must. In this post, I’ll take you through the key elements of the song so you can start playing in this style today.
So grab your guitar and a cup of coffee, and let's get started.
The story behind "Black Coffee in Bed" is an interesting one. According to Squeeze's lead vocalist and songwriter, Chris Difford, the song was inspired by a real-life experience. Difford had recently gone through a tough breakup a...
The Eagles are widely regarded as one of the greatest rock bands especially known for their exceptional guitar skills.
If you want to level up your rock guitar game then look no further than this guitar lesson on how to play in the style of “Witchy Woman”.
"Witchy Woman" was written by Don Henley and Bernie Leadon. Leadon a founding member of the Eagles had actually already started writing the "Witchy Woman" riff when he was a member of the band the Flying Burrito Brothers.
The song came to life when Leadon went over to Henley’s new spot where he was living in an old house near the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Henley recalled Leadon coming over one day and playing a “Strange, minor-key riff that sounded sort of like a Hollywood movie version of Indian music.”
He thought it had a haunting quality to it and this became the rough version they put down on cassette tape. Later it was recorded in the studio with the full band and released as the second si...
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