"Better Git It In Yer Soul" Blues Guitar Workshop
Presented by Gord Robertson, Mike Agranovich, Mark Pepe, John Rogers
Objectives: This introduction to blues music and blues guitar involves learning to play blues songs in
E on the guitar. This workshop is designed as an introductory session for beginning blues guitarists.
Musical Concepts to be learned: These comprise the following skill areas:
 riff blues: "Mannish Boy", by Muddy Waters
 dominant 7th chords
 pentatonic scale and its use in improvisation
 understanding of 12-bar blues harmonic form
 understanding of the storytelling nature and poetic form of the blues.
 practice writing a simple blues song
Materials:
1. Guitars for all students, must be tuned in advance.
2. Music stands for all students.
3. Sound system and audio recordings
4. Handout of workshop topics
5. Pencil and paper
6. White board and dry-erase markers
Anticipatory Set: The workshop leaders will play a blues tune as a guitar ensemble while students
come in to the room.
Guided practice: show students riff blues using E, G and A on 6th string (open, 3rd fret, 5th fret).
Teach and play: "Mannish Boy" by Muddy Waters by rote, no notation – we will use a heartbeat
metaphor to describe the shuffle rhythm of swung 8th notes.
Short Lecture: Storytelling aspect of the blues – lyric content and idiomatic elements.
New Material: 12 bar blues chord progression and form.
The 12 bar blues form diagram will be on the board, and on the handout. The students will play roots to
start in a shuffle feel, guided by the leaders, through the 12 bar blues form.
Teach and Play: Students will be taught how to play dominant 7th chords used in basic 12 bar blues
from chord diagrams on handout. The students will play the 12 bar blues form in E, strumming the 7th
chords using a shuffle feel. The leaders will demonstrate a blues song by singing "Sweet Home
Chicago" over the 12 bar blues while the class plays along.
Introduction to melodic improvisation over the blues:
The leaders will describe the use of the E minor pentatonic scale for improvisation purposes over the
blues form. Students will learn to play four notes of E pentatonic scale on the top 2 strings (B-D-E-G).
Modeling: The leaders will demonstrate the call and response aspect of blues playing, and lead the
class in examples of this. The leaders will ask for student volunteers to take turns leading the class in 2bar phrases, as demonstrated.
Lecture:
Introduce typical lyrical form and content, and storytelling aspect, of the blues idiom: the first line
states the situation, the second repeats it, and the third line rhymes with lines one and two and resolves
or clarifies the situation described in the first line (Goble, 2013).
Music exemplar: “I’m Gonna Fight For You J.B.”, by John Mayall.
Activity: Students will then create groups of four to write their own blues lyrics, using the formula
described above. Students will then rehearse a performance of their song with each person playing a
different aspect of the blues as covered earlier in the workshop. The roles will include:
 Playing chord roots through the 12 bar blues form
 Playing pentatonic licks during the spaces at the end of lyric phrases
 Playing the 7th chords through the form
 Singing the lyrics
Informal performance: students will perform their blues songs in their groups for the class.
Conclusion:
The workshop leaders will recap the objectives, suggest further study and possible courses, and answer
any questions that arise.
References:
Brackett David, Preaching Blues Black Music Research Journal , Vol. 32, No. 1 (Spring 2012) , pp.
113-136
Caluda, Glenn, Guitar: An American Life The American music teacher, vol. 55, No.3 December 2005
pp.62
Ferris William R, Blues Greats, Southern Cultures, vol 15 , #3, fall
Jones, Fernando. Teaching the Blues Effectively. Journal of Popular Music Studies, 21(1), 108-112.
Oliver, Paul. [1960] 1990. Blues fell this morning: Meaning in the blues. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Perlmutter, A. (2013). Teaching Guitarists the Blues. Teaching Music, 21(2), 46-47.
Titon, J. (2009). Teaching Blues and Country Music, and Leading an Old-Time String Band—at an Ivy
League University. Journal Of Popular Music Studies, 21(1), 113-124.
Wald, Elijah. 2004. Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the invention of the blues. New York:
Amistad.