C minor backing track (130 BPM), inspired by Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler, Fleetwood Mac, Chris Rea & other classic blues-rock tracks from the 70s and 80s. It fits the blues guitar solo I posted earlier. Enjoy! Maarten
I offer a high-quality (WAV + MP3) download of this classic blues rock jam track that you can use on your own social media channels. Get it here:
Classic, Uplifting Rock Guitar Solo in G, played on a Gibson Les Paul. Enjoy!
I turned out to be somewhat of a challenge to write a new solo for my latest jam track, but after a few improvised takes, I played this classic rock solo in the key of G. It is very much blues-inspired with a lot of minor pentatonic licks, blues licks, and rhythmic rock guitar licks. The melodic chorus is opened and ended with tasty unison bends in the 15th position As usual, you get the guitar tabs on the screen.
The lick in bars 23 to 25 is a classic blues rock lick that stems from the G minor blues scale. Bend the 13th fret on the B-string a full step up, hit the 13th fret on the E-string and alternate between those 2 strings. In the video, you can see I play this with hybrid picking. If you listen to blues, you’ll undoubtedly recognize this lick (it is often played on a blues harmonica!). Hold the bend on the B-string, and gradually release over the course of the next bar. This creates a cool, dynamic effect, fun to play and a real headturner! This lick is transposable to any key, so it fits into any classic rock solo!
Classic Rock Backing Track in G here.
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Classic, uplifting rock jam track in G. Have fun with this blues rock guitar backing track! Download the chord chart here:
Inspired by classic rock track from Status Quo & others, this guitar backing track brings the boogie rock groove to shred your favorite blues rock licks in the key of G. The A-section builds up a classic rock & roll pattern, that develops into a more modern pop rock chorus, that opens up the arrangement with fuller chords and a joyful organ. Stick around ’til the end for a little surprise 🙂
I had a lot of fun making this classic blues rock backing track, & I sincerely hope that this video will provide you with some inspiration. Keep on playing that guitar! Maarten.
After I posted the blues rock backing track last week, I started thinking about writing an original blues rock solo for the jam track. Watch the end result in the video, download the (free) tab or jam along with the backing track.
The inspiration for the backing track comes from music by Kenny Wayne Shepherd (Blue On Black), Joe Bonamassa, and other guitarists. So for the solo, I found inspiration in how these guitarists use the blues scale in their playing.
The blues solo in the video is one of the longes I’ve played to date, and it’s a long build towards the final (accented) eight notes.
In the A-section, I leave a lot of space for the slide guitar in the background and the acoustic guitar riffs. I use slides, pull-offs, and hammer-ons to embellish basic blues licks. I wrote this part last, and – before I did – I revisited Guthrie Govan’s “Remember When”, the perfect blend of liquid guitar lines and mellow groove.
In The B-section, I build up the energy with some Kenny Wayne Shepherd-style licks. Texas Blues licks always add style to a guitar solo. They sound best on a guitar with a single-coil pickup. I chose the 2nd position on the Suhr HH (split coil between the bridge and middle pickup).
In the C-section (chorus), I switch to the bridge video (clearly visible in the video) to play some modern blues licks where long notes balance out some and flashy licks in every fourth bar. It is in this upper range that the Suhr guitar shows its merits. Although this may look like a shred guitar (whatever that means); ,t has a smooth blues guitar voice that brings articulation, intonation, and feeling into every upper octave solo.
Tonewise, i added a fuzz into the guitar sound to bring out the pick attack. At the end of the solo, I push the fuzz-sound a little bit by adding an upper octave.
This is a classic D minor Texas Blues lick. The bend on the 12th fret catapults the phrase back to the upper E-string. I especially like the feel of the descending sextuplet pattern that follows.
