Tag: Es335

Blues Lick Lesson #05 (Jump Blues Lick)

In this 5th blues lick lesson, I show you how to play this jump blues lick in the key of C scale. This lick uses some interesting concepts, like the use of the major 3d, grace notes and a reverse sweep (or rake). Recommended playing level: intermediate and up.

C major pentatonic

This is mostly an C major pentatonic blues lick that is used on the I-chord. The lick has a triplet feel and is played mostly in the 8th position on the guitar neck. On the figure below you can see the major & minor pentatonic (in the 8th position) next to each other as a comparison (R=root). Look specifically at the major 3d, because this is a recurring theme in this blues lick.

C minor pentatonic vs C major pentatonic
C minor pentatonic vs C major pentatonic
Concepts in this blues lick lesson

In this blues lick lesson, you get the guitar tabs on screen, a detailed explanation of the picking technique and 2 variations (adaptations) for a slower blues. Concepts that are present in this video

  • Using the major 3d (mixing major & minor pentatonic)
  • Grace notes
  • Reverse sweep (upstroke sweep) and rake.
Backing Track

Up-tempo jump blues backing track (150bpm) here.

Gear

The guitar used is my 2013 Gibson ES-335. The guitar has a warm, vintage sound. Everything is recorded through my pedalboard and the Fractal Audio Systems AX8.

👉 Check out my gear page on Thomann: gear-thomann.guitar-inspiration.com

Practice Tips

Practice this lick slowly first, then with the backing track on my channel. The lick is also easily transposable to other major blues songs, so I hope you’ll get some mileage out of this one.

Keep on playing that guitar!

Hope to see you again next time,

Maarten

Pics Ann Lee Blues – 09/02/20

We played a bar gig with Ann Lee Blues last week. Thanks a lot to Jan Valcke for taking these pictures. There are a lot of times you come home from a gig without a photo or video, so it’s always nice when someone in the audience proposes to shoot some pictures and then mails them to you, free of charge. #grateful