Blues Guitar - Jim Bruce Takes An Afternoon Nap (He's at that age ...)

Blues Guitar Lessons http://www.play-blues-guitar.eu I found this old video I'd done some time ago, when I was playing around with video techniques and stuff. Sharing a little of my strangeness with you! Mind you, it's true that there aren't enough strange people in the world - don't get too serious. Have fun, and don't forget to keep on pickin' Cheers Jim

Blues Guitar Lessons With Jim Bruce - Mississippi John Hurt

Blues Guitar Lessons http://www.play-blues-guitar.eu News Letter Sign Up and Free Lesson Video http://youtunerecords.com/lp/jblet.html

Mississippi John Hurt was a giant amongst blues guitarists and had a huge influence on later generations. However, it's rare to find modern players carrying the same feeling - it's certain that I can't, but I though I'd put out this lesson so we can take a closer look at what he did. Often, we change the style for various reasons, mostly because some of the stuff is too time consuming to learn for most people - this isn't a criticism at all - we don't have time to copy all styles perfectly.

In some cases, like John Hurt, it's pretty easy to get the idea because his style is crisp and clear, but it's something else that blocks us - we have difficulty capturing that special 'feeling' Here again, this isn't surprising. we haven't lived it and we didn't create it. The very least we can do is to try and bring a little of that special flavor into our music and pay homage to legends such as John Hurt.

John had a superbly almost unique style, in that he kept his third and fourth picking fingers on the sound board while his other two finger picked the melody. because of this firm anchor, his timing was great. In my case, my hand lifts away from the finger board when I use the second finger and it messes up the timing. Oh well, back to the drawing board - talk later, I have to go and practice Spike Driver ... Have fun. Cheers Jim

Jim Bruce Blues Guitar - St Louis Tickle Cover - Reverend Gary Davis

Blues Guitar Lessons http://www.playbluesguitar.eu Dragging up some stuff I used to play way back and in the style of Reverend Davis. St Louis Tickle is a lovely laid back little piece - it seems like there's not much going on, but of course there is - it's the Reverend's music after all! If you're going to try it, try and make use of picks and use just one finger - it changes all the timing if you bring the second one in. Well, it does for me anyway, but I don't play things properly as it is. I'm thinking of putting out some Davis lessons. I haven't done in the past, because there are loads of guys on the Tube who can play his stuff better than me, and much closer to what he actually did - basically, I thought it wasn't worth doing it. However, maybe my simplified versions might hit the spot for lot of people - let me know. If we tried to play in exactly the same way as all of our old guitar heroes, we just wouldn't have enough lifetimes after all, to paraphrase Clapton. Main thing is to go for it, have a lot of fun and try to capture the spirit of the thing. Cheers - don't forget to have fun ... Jim Blues Guitar Lessons http://www.playbluesguitar.eu This video http://youtu.be/75_vK09Kh3k http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75_vK09Kh3k

Feel Just Like Going On - Reverend Gary Davis

Blues Guitar Lessons http://www.playbluesguitar.eu Another great example of the Reverend thrashing that guitar with astounding accuracy. Enjoy. Cheers Jim This video http://youtu.be/9oBZvBnNIkY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oBZvBnNIkY

Jim Bruce Blues Guitar - Death Don't Have No Mercy - Reverend Gary Davis

Blues Guitar Lessons http://www.playbluesguitar.eu I've got a cold and feel like death - the song seemed appropriate. Sorry about the voice. When I first heard Gary Davis his voice was past it's best, but the overall power of this great original blues music just bowled me over. Some friends didn't like it too much, as he sometimes fluffed notes, but this kind of performance behavior is a massive thing that has all but disappeared now. We all try to get a perfect sound, with no missed notes or buzzing - well it was never like that. It was vibrant and real, and moved people. A master like Davis didn't really care if he missed note or two. He knew his power and message, and was very secure in what he did. That's a great lesson for all of us right there, and not just a blues guitar lesson! Have a great year. Cheers Jim This video http://youtu.be/HiOxlughTRs My channel http://youtube.com/user/acoustictravellersl http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiOxlughTRs