ESSENTIAL BLUES LESSONS

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Hubert Sumlin backed up

Howlin’ Wolf with simple yet lyrical
lead-guitar lines – follow our
lesson to master the basics

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 ESSENTIAL BLUES LESSONS

EXAMPLE 1

ESSENTIAL BLUES LESSONS

PART SIX
COMBINING BASIC RHYTHM AND LEAD
WORDS LEIGH FUGE

In the previous instalment of our
guide to the basics of blues-guitar
playing, we discussed the minor
pentatonic scale in its first shape.
This scale willbe used to start
forming our lead-guitar lines
your fingers moving and serve as a fantastic
starting point for your lead-guitar skills to
develop. The examples over the page make
up the pattern in full. I’ll break this down
into four-bar segments so we can look at
what is going on each step of the way:
In the first bar, we’re sticking to our
now substituted by a D and C note – the
7th and 5th fret on the third (G) string.
This is the first embellishment. It locks
into the rhythm of the piece, but adds a
melodic touch.
The third bar retains a similar feel to
the first bar, except the final two notes.

U
shuffle rhythm to get our groove locked in. On the “4 a”, go from the 7th fret of the
sing notes from the A minor This is played as it was in the lesson which fourth (D) string up to the 5th fret of the
pentatonic scale below, in this covered blues shuffles:“1 a 2 a 3 a 4 a”. third (G) string.
lesson, we’re going to look at some In the second bar, we stick with the same The final bar ends with a descending
12-bar blues rhythms and combine rhythmic feel, but the last two notes are four-note run, starting on the 5th fret of the
some simple lead lines with the rhythmic
patterns that we have learnt over the last THE A MINOR PENTATONIC SCALE
few lessons.
First, we should cast our minds back to
lesson two and refresh on the second shuffle
pattern that we learnt, which you can find
in full at Guitar.com.
We’ll be taking this shuffle pattern and
adding some simple embellishments from
the minor pentatonic scale to incorporate
lead-guitar playing.
This will not instantly make you sound
like a blues hero, but it will start to get

GUITAR MAGAZINE 137

ESSENTIAL BLUES LESSONS
EXAMPLE 2
EXAMPLE 3
EXAMPLE 4
fourth (D) string on the “a 4 + a”. In bar 5,
we play the IV chord shuffle over the D
chord as normal. In the sixth bar,we start to
go up the pentatonic scale from the fourth
beat,playing the 8th fret of the second (B)
string and the 5th fret of the second (B)
string on the “4 a” beats.
In bars 7 and 8,we can see the end
phrases start to form into some patterns
which we might then recognise as being
typical of playing lead guitar. Both phrases
follow the timing of “a 4 + a”,but both use
the pentatonic notes in a different order.
In the ninth bar,we move up to the V
chord (this is E in the key of A minor)
and this phrase ends with a four-note
descending run on the “a 4 + a”. This starts
on the 9th fret and runs back to the 7th and
5th frets. This position shift may be a little
tricky at first. Take your time to make sure
you’re hitting the notes cleanly.
Then we go back to the IV chord over
the 10th bar,but now ending with another
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descending run from the 8th fret of the
second (B) string also over the “a 4 + a”
beats of the bar. You will want to reach
up to the 8th fret with your little finger,if
possible to make the jump up from the 5th
fret of the third (G) string a little easier.
The final two bars are back on the
I chord,as expected with a standard
12-bar cycle. The 11th bar is just the
straight shuffle rhythm and the final bar
ends with a longer,ascending run up the
scale. This final run encompasses two full
beats and rhythmically fits into “3 + a 4 +
a”. This is a tricky run to get started with,
as you want the rhythm of the 12-bar to be
undisrupted. Immediately after ending on
the 8th fret of the second (B) string,you
would be back on your ‘1’ beat of the first
bar and the cycle repeats.
TRY IT YOURSELF
If you’ve followed the series so far and
you’ve tried out some of the shuffle
rhythms in other keys,you will find this
lesson is also transposable around the guitar.
The added notes here are not a ‘set in stone’
method for learning lead guitar,but I think
they will certainly help your fingers start
to move and it will also allow you to see
how important rhythmic aspects of lead
guitar can be when playing blues. If you feel
particularly adventurous,try to substitute
the added notes for notes of your own
choice from the pentatonic scale.
If you have enjoyed this lesson and
you’re looking for a guitar tutor in your
local area,check out our guitar lessons page
at Guitar.com and speak to one of our
highly recommended teachers.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Leigh Fuge is a guitar teacher and professional
musician from Swansea in the UK. He’s taught
hundreds of students face-to-face and via the
MGR Music platform. To find a qualified guitar
tutor in your area, visit mgrmusic.com