Open Tunings For Blues Guitar 2
An Easy Guide To Open Tunings
For Blues Guitar (2)
In this lesson you will learn the typical riffs and licks that every Blues guitarist
needs to know when playing in Vestapol tuning (Open E or Open D). They are
easy to play and sound great – an unbeatable combination. These are building
blocks that can be played in many Blues songs. At the end of this workshop I put
together the pieces and play an example chorus. If you haven’t already done so
please read the first part of this series . All examples are taken from my new
ebook ‘An Easy Guide To Open Tunings For Blues Guitar’, which contains many
more examples and ideas (available at my website).
Classic Blues Songs In Vestapol Tuning
Here is a list of well known Blues classics that were recorded in Vestapol tuning.
By listening to these recordings you get an idea what Vestapol tuning sounds like
when used in a Blues context:
Police Dog Blues – Blind Blake (CD: Any ‘Best Of’ compilation)
Ramblin’ On My Mind – Robert Johnson (CD: ‘The Centennial Collection’)
I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom – Robert Johnson (CD: ‘The Centennial
Collection’)
Preachin’ Blues – Robert Johnson (CD: ‘The Centennial Collection’)
If You Don’t Want Me – Mississippi John Hurt (CD: ‘D. C. Blues – The
Library Of Congress Recordings, Vol. 2’)
Kassie Jones – Furry Lewis (CD: ‘Furry Lewis’ Folkway Records FS 9829)
Poor Boy A Long Way From Home – John Fahey (CD: ‘The Legend Of Blind
Joe Death’ und ‘On Air’)
Little Woman You’re So Sweet – Blind Boy Fuller (CD: ‘Volume 2’ JSP7772
(4-CD-Box))
You Got To Move – Fred McDowell (CD: ‘You Got To Move’ Arhoolie 304)
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl – Fred McDowell (CD: ‘The Alan Lomax
Recordings’)
Boogie Woogie Dance – Tampa Red (CD: Any ‘Best Of’ compilation)
Baby, Please Don’t Go – Bukka White (CD: ‘Sonet Blues Story’)
Vestapol-Licks For The I Chord
You need just one finger to play a whole lotta Blues! There are countless licks that
use just the open E string (root), it’s third fret, the open B string and it’s third
fret. Here is one example:
Don’t forget to bend the notes on the third fret to get the bluesy feel.
Now try to invent some licks on your own with these four notes and improvise –
while playing a Steady Bass .
And here comes the legendary train whistle – another must-know-lick!
Please note that you could play both examples in standard tuning also – they only
use the three strings that are tuned to the same pitch in both tunings!
Vestapol-Licks For The IV Chord
The root note of the IV chord is on the 5th fret of the low E string. It’s much
easier to reach the major third on the 2nd fret of the A string. That’s why a typical
move in Vestapol on the IV chord is to walk up to the major third in the bass.
Please note that this is a pickup (that is it begins in the measure before).
You can play these two notes with your index (1st fret) and your middle finger
(2nd fret) or with just your middle finger. Once you hit the destination note (2nd
fret) you form the complete chord. Hold this chord and move only the pinky to
play the melody from the next example.
Another very common move is to use the pinky to play note on the 3rd fret of the
highest string:
Now try to invent some licks on your own with these three notes (2nd fret
B string, open and 2nd fret high e string) and improvise.
Vestapol-Licks For The V Chord
On the V chord there are again only four notes that are commonly used:
Again: Form the complete chord, hold it and move only the pinky to play the
melody. To play the high E string open remove the ring finger from the fretboard,
but the rest of the chord stays intact.
Putting It All Together
The last audio example shows a complete 12 bar Blues with intro in Vestapol
tuning with just the riffs you have learned so far (the turnaround is from the first
part of this lesson).
Now it’s your turn to come up with your own variations. Sing something about ‘I
woke up this morning and my baby was gone’ or about ‘drinking moonshine
whiskey’ and you could make a whole career out of this. It happened before!
You’ll find many more examples like this in my new ebook ‘An Easy Guide To
Open Tunings For Blues Guitar’ (available at my website). In the next article
you’ll learn to play in Spanish tuning. Stay tuned!
Lesson by Andi Saitenhieb. www.andisaitenhieb.de