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Blues Guitar Institute

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How to Play Ragtime Blues in 3 Simple Steps

Lesson ID: TB268

In this lesson, we’ll have a look at a straightforward, linear approach to learning a ragtime blues piece.

Ragtime music can sound a bit daunting. No doubt, it’s complex. Moving basslines, odd chord choices and the syncopated melody are all difficult to play on the guitar.

And as if that weren’t enough, many of our favorite guitarists in this style (Blind Blake, anyone?) did this all on one instrument!

Let’s take things step-by-step to make things a bit more manageable.

We can build a nice little ragtime blues piece by focusing on three different aspects of the music.

You’ll learn:

  • A great way to approach learning your first ragtime blues piece
  • How to embellish chords with nearby notes to create a melody
  • Why fingerpicking patterns can be extremely helpful when you’re just getting started

Related Lessons

When you are ready, there are two ways I can help you:

Back Porch Blues Course:  A proven system to fingerpicking the blues.  This step-by-step course guides you through building fundamental fingerpicking skills.  Plus, you’ll learn three levels of a delta blues style performance study to put your new skills into action.

Become a myBGI Member: Membership comes with access to Back Porch Blues plus over 70 step-by-step courses.  Get proven results with one of myBGI’s structured Roadmaps.

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