This pack is not designed for a complete beginner. It is assumed that you have a basic grasp of the blues, at least the minor pentatonic scale in position 1, but you will get more out of this pack if you know all 5 positions of the Minor Pentatonic (see the web site in the Scales area). You should also be familiar with the bending technique as it is very common in this style. There are videos free on the site to help you with this skill too!

It is also assumed that you have the dedication to start transcribing and you really want to play the blues properly. You should be prepared to try and learn it the traditional way - by ear - it is the best way. I’m pretty sure that Hendrix and Clapton didn’t download Robert Johnson tunes for a tab web site ;)

The best way to learn blues lead guitar is to learn the way the masters did, by listening, trying to work it out, making mistakes, and trying again.

Be Prepared

When you start transcribing it may seem impossible. The learning curve is very steep and it may take a while for you to get it going and feel that you are making progress. But stick at it. You will get there. And it feels great when you do. There are so many possibilities open to you once you can transcribe songs, think about it... you can learn ANYTHING YOU WANT :). It is worth the initial struggle. I promise.

These tracks will be a LOT easier to work out by ear if you have already completed the (free) Blues Lead Guitar 1 course. You'll be already familiar with the vocabulary and the tecnical stuff like string bending and vibrato!

The Rhythm Parts

I have included the transcriptions of the rhythm parts so you can see, hear and play all the parts of the track, but they do not themselves form part of the main objective of this blues solo course. This course is designed to give you some awesome blues licks and develop your transcription skills. The rhythm parts are supplemental.

The Easy Way

I have designed this pack to help you learn to transcribe, to learn blues licks and develop your improvising skills. If you do not have the time or motivation to follow my guidelines exactly then you can still get a lot of benefit from learning the songs directly from the tab, learning the solos, breaking them into licks, and then using them! It is not as good, you won’t learn them as well, or make them as clear in your mind, but you will get the licks down and it will make your blues sound cooler!

Feed Your Ears

Make sure that in the process of learning these tunes that you also listen to the original artists. I don’t think I do a bad impression of Albert King, but I’m just an imitation - you NEED to listen to the real deal! I can give you the notes, but it’s the intention behind the notes that means the most so please seek out some cool albums by each of the artists (I recommend some in each lesson!) so you can absorb ‘the truth’.

Slow Down

I really recommend using a half-speed program for transcribing. I never used one when I learnt, but I made many mistakes and learnt far slower than my students that use these products. The one I recommend is called Transcribe! - it’s not expensive and is really, really awesome. It makes it so much easier to hear bends when a track has been slowed down. It makes it easier to hear the notes, the inflections and...

Once you have the solo down you can use it to develop your speed. Start with the tracks set at 50% speed. Play along. Once you have it down, gradually speed up the track until you are playing along at full speed. Makes playing along slowly possible, and it’s lots more fun than just using a metronome.

There is also a free option called Audacity. I don’t think it's as good. But you get a free trial with Transcribe!, so why not try them both and see which you prefer. Personally, I think Transcribe is well worth the money, and nearly all my students agree!

Don’t Give Up

Transcribing well is HARDLet'sts get that cleared up now. It is hard to learn to transcribe. It is not uncommon for people to just give up and decide they can’t do it. That makes me sad. I’ve never had a student yet that can’t learn to do it given the right material - but that can be different for different people and also for different stages.

If you have been playing for any less than a year (minimum) then you will probably find this stuff quite a challenge to transcribe, maybe impossible - and even if you do you will probably have a hard time playing it.

This is NOT A BEGINNERS TRANSCRIBING PACK. If you are just starting out I would recommend looking at transcribing basic chord sequences and power chord sequences first. Check the transcribing pages on the website - it’s free - and come back to this later. Just start with easy chord progressions, simple melodies - TV themes and such - before trying to learn the blues.

You need to have enough strength in your hands to be able to play string bends and be able to see the pentatonic scale shapes - remember that most of the notes in these solos will be notes in the pentatonic scale - so if you know the notes in the scale then you know the “most likely notes” to check when transcribing. :) But be aware that many players use notes from outside the scales too... your ear is always right!

I recommend spending a little time with it now and see how you get on. If you spend more than 10 hours doing the first solo then maybe you might want to wait 6 months and then try again - or maybe you might be a tough cookie and just stick at it - you will get there.

It gets easier and easier the more you do it!