Play Blues On Guitar In Any Key (with this riff)

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🤘 You've Never Played Guitar This Consistently

Whether you’ve been stuck in a practice rut or you want to learn to play the blues better, understanding and practicing some basic blues riffs will help you on your acoustic guitar learning journey. If today's video is helpful, you'll love Tony's Acoustic Challenge...

Learning blues riffs on guitar will help you learn the fretboard, gain greater dexterity in your fingers, and solo better. While you can’t apply the same riff over and over to the same song, you can use riffs to help you learn how to solo on the guitar.

In this blues guitar lesson, I will show you one blues lick that is incredibly useful because after you learn it, you will be able to play the 12 bar blues in ANY key. That’s right — you can use this riff in any blues.

Beginner guitar players and experienced veterans alike will gain valuable insight into the blues and the guitar as a whole.

Using this blues riff as a springboard, you can launch your guitar improvisation practice. Even if you weren’t sure you could solo, using this blues riff will give you the confidence to keep improvising on the guitar; just remember for a 12 bar blues, your pentatonic scales are your friends!

[tacguitar]

Wow guys! I love that this has been so helpful. If you dig this format (quick lesson, but always musical) I release one every day on Tonys Acoustic Challenge. Type it into Google and check it out :) Cheers!

[xnavynuc]

I played guitar in my teens (late ‘60s early ‘70s), but then life happened and I put the guitar away until a few years ago when I got cancer. I pulled it out to have something to do during my recovery after treatment, but my short-term memory had been devastated by the chemo, making it hard to learn anything new. Videos like this are a blessing to me because they’re simple enough for me to follow and I can even expand on them. I’ll never be able to play great, but at least I’m having fun again! (BTW, I’m now 3-1/2 years cancer free)

[stevenanders]

This fellow has a skill set for teaching....nothing about folks' heads. Clear, concise, nothing extra, nothing to be overwhelmed or confused by. ENcouraging, not DIScouraging. A huge plus. You're a good human, Guitar Man.

[OnTheEdge]

Great lesson! I’m 61 years old and literally just picked up a guitar a couple weeks ago. I’ve really only been doing finger exercises for dexterity. This is the first thing I’ve really tried to play. I was able to understand and do it. Thank you for the great lesson!

[seamusdoran]

No show off fancy guitar work to prove how good you are, just a straight forward lesson that is easy to follow. Thank you. By the way, I’m eighty and just learning to play guitar. 👍👍👍

[maryalferez]

Normally I dont mind blues....but i stayed on just give myself a moment to listen to a blue riff that can be played in any later....
I am enjoying this new discovery of this riff....try it, guys!....thank the Philippines.

[dennismcwhertersr.]

I enjoy Tony lessons, 4 a person like me with so many issues he has made me a guitar geek. I have been with his program 10 months and thanks to him I have PTSD somewhat controlled. I thank God for his teaching methods and encouragement to play. I am a 100% disabled veteran after 33 years of service. I was truly lost before I started playing!! He is one of the best and I subscribe to others as I never want to stop learning this beautiful instrument, but Tony started my journey and I will never forget. Yes I am a life member before the 1st month was over!

[joesan]

Great video! For the impatient like me, the riff starts at 5:14

[adrianbruce]

First time I’ve *ever* played something on the guitar that isn’t a chord. A brilliant lesson, thank you!

[joeglazewskicmtlmt]

I have to say, played this on my Squier Strat and it sounded awesome!
At the age of 66, I'm relatively new to playing guitar, making decent progress. But this simple routine is a great addition and building block for more!
Great job, teacher!!!!

[michaelbrooks]

I'm a TAC member (Tony's Acoustic Guitar) and this is typical of his concise, laid back and friendly style! Kudos, I love this kind of stuff!.

[SundarBJJ]

FANTASTIC TEACHER. If every teacher had this simple, calm, straightforward, educational, encouraging, principle-based approach, the world would be teeming with axe shredders in no time flat.

[GnomehollowatDHF]

I started playing guitar when I was 6. I played up until I joined the Army in 1992. I’ve wanted to play again but never took the time to start up again. I want to learn to play the blues and I have to say that you are the first person I’ve ever heard that, even though you used some technical jargon, broke it down to simple fretting and finger work. I’m a disabled veteran and my big chunky 1988 Oscar Schmidt is so thick that it hurts my back to lean over it. I need to buy a thin model. Thanks for being a true teacher!

[paulgordon]

This was one of the first things I learned on guitar that actually sounded somewhat like music. Essential lesson for all beginners I reckon.

[Pat-nlwk]

“How Many More Times” is in that pattern. Just perhaps with couple of more notes and some down and up picking pattern?

[washywashie]

Dude, this was fantastic. I just joined a band and I’m really taking guitar super seriously now and a professional jazz musician told me every pro guitarist must have a concept of the blues. Thank you for giving me my start!

[redmed]

Great to be able to play music within minutes by learning a simple pattern and by moving it around. And it's good practise for moving from string to string and moving along strings. And it fosters good coordination between the left and right hand actions.

[AF-gglw]

This lesson was awesome. I’ve had my guitar for 10 years and have never been able to pickup anything as quickly as this! Thank you!

[allenmckinney-vkib]

Thank you soo much, I am 63 and played a lot when i was younger. i forgot most of the things i used to play. i had a left hand injury and it was too painfull to play. i just started playing again and your lesson opened up the world for me, i can take off from this and climb up the fret board into some great things in just a few days of practicing your lesson. cant thank you enough.

[checkyourself-ish]

Instant FUN!
The beauty is everybody recognizes the riff!
Im re-entering learning guitar and all I can say is this is an outstanding jumpstarter and string skipping exercise. It also opens up fretboard for immediate exploration. THUMBS!