Blues Roadtrip

Genre and Style Guitar Course from David Isaacs

Have you gotten the basics down on your guitar and are now looking to hone your skill set in a specific musical direction? Dave Issacs invites you to hop in the car with him as he takes you on a road trip to experience the different styles of blues! From the Mississippi Delta, Chicago, New Orleans, Texas, and even some British Blues in the 1960s, this course will give you an overall feel of the Blues genre as a whole and what it has to offer!

25 Lessons

Complete course with step-by-step lessons and practice examples.

Multi-Camera

Course filmed with 6 cameras for the perfect angles.

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Full Course Breakdown

Dave starts out with some foundational grooves, chords, sounds, and basic licks that you can take and really branch out and go in whichever direction within the blues that you wish! He also touches on subgenres of blues covering; vibes, tones, and how to distinguish between different shuffles within the varying styles of the blues!

1

Introduction

David Isaacs introduces us to "Blues Roadtrip"!

6:22 Runtime

0.0 Difficulty

2

Foundation Blues: Rhythm The Delta Stomp

For this first lesson Dave gets us acquainted with the stomp rhythm.

12:51 Runtime

1.5 Difficulty

3

Foundation Lick 1 in E

Lets add 3 new licks to the stomp chord we just learned in the previous lesson!

13:22 Runtime

1.5 Difficulty

4

The Bass String Shuffle

In this lesson Dave starts to unpack the Chicago Shuffle, starting with a blues bass pattern also called a 5/6 pattern.

10:55 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

5

E Minor Pentatonic Scale

We dive into some rudimentary lead guitar using the pentatonic scale!

14:00 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

6

The 12 Bar Form

Dave breaks down some blues theory for this lesson, giving us a stronger grasp on how to artistically converse with other musicians.

13:08 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

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7

Adding Fills

Over this course we gotten an arrangement of parts under our fingertips, now lets combine some of these parts together!

11:34 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

8

Memphis Bounce

We make our way to Memphis, TN with this swing feel urban blues piece.

13:37 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

9

Walking Bass

For this lesson, we lock in on the bass line of an ensemble band.

12:38 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

10

String Bending

Ready for some string bending? Dave guides us through the mechanics of string bending.

12:58 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

11

Blues Rhumba: Syncopated Rhythm

For this lesson we dive into a track that is a 12-bar blues in A minor.

13:22 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

12

Syncopated Bass String Riffs

Let's jump back to focusing on the bass groove as we take a look at this bass riff that partially follows the bass guitar in an ensemble setting.

10:43 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

13

More Pentatonic Melody

For this lead guitar lesson, we come back to working with the minor pentatonic scale in the key of A minor.

11:04 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

14

The Backbeat Chop and 12/8 Feel

We arrive in New Orleans for this lesson! Dave walks us through a shuffle that is in 12/8 time.

12:12 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

15

Chords Up the Neck

For this lesson, we will follow the same 12-bar blues in C but we will move up the neck and use some partial chords and new voicings!

10:47 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

16

Major Pentatonic Melody

We venture into some new territory for this lesson and use the major pentatonic scale for this melody.

14:14 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

17

Straight Feel and Moveable Voicings

We dive into a different "straight feel" of the blues which uses 16th notes to create the primarily rhythm.

10:42 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

18

Movable Bass String Riffs

Let's take that 12-bar in D from the last lesson and add a riff!

10:10 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

19

Signature Rhythm Riffs Up the Neck

For this lesson, we are going to slide up and down the neck using triads, sixths, and a 7th chord to create a signature rhythm riff!

11:53 Runtime

3.5 Difficulty

20

The Texas Shuffle

Lets go back to the shuffle feel with the Texas shuffle! Dave walks us through some different aspects of this shuffle one of which is the emphasis on the off beat.

10:45 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

21

Texas Walking Bass

In this lesson, we get our fingers moving to an SRV-style bass string riff.

10:44 Runtime

3.5 Difficulty

22

String Bending and Slides

Let's dig into some lead guitar with some string bending and slides sprinkled throughout this riff.

9:46 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

23

Transatlantic

For our last section of this course, we head on over to the British Isles in the 1960s where notch on the blues genre was really amped up! Dave walks us through a riff that includes a bit more distortion on our guitars.

11:09 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

24

Pentatonics Beyond the Blues

We continue working with our Minor Pentatonic scale for this lesson, but this time instead of open strings we will use some fretted notes.

9:59 Runtime

3.5 Difficulty

25

Improvisation and Phrasing

For our last section of this course, we head on over to the British Isles in the 1960s where the notch on the blues genre was really amped up! Dave walks us through a riff that includes a bit more distortion on our guitars.

10:35 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

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Dave Isaacs Group

  • Nashville, Tennessee
  • Playing since 1980
  • 478 lessons at JamPlay
Nashville-based Dave Isaacs has made a name for himself as one of Music City's top guitar instructors, working with both professional and aspiring songwriters and artists at his Music Row teaching studio. He is also an instructor in the music department at Tennessee State University and is the coordinator and artistic director of the annual TSU Guitar Summit.

A seasoned performer as well, Dave has released eight independent CDs and gigs steadily as a solo artist, bandleader, and sideman. He continues to write, record, and perform as well as arranging and producing projects for other artists.

Reviews & Feedback 95/100 with 75 ratings
CHoutved

Easy to understand and a cool way of getting started :-)

StickemD

Great lesson. Real foundational music and lesson. Thanks

FrankPalpieris

Let's do it!

bobdharris

This was an amazing journey! I will be referring back to these lessons regularly for some time! Thank you, David for the wonderful trip!