How to Use Open Strings for Blues

The folks over at Texas Blues Alley—makers of "How to Mix Chords with Blues Licks" and "10 Ways to Start a Blues Guitar Solo"—recently (ish) posted a lesson video on the subject of how and when to use open strings in a blues context.

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**

Join now for unlimited access

US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year

UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year

Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Prices from £2.99/$3.99/€3.49

Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.

Latest

"As ridiculous as it might seem to recommend a product with Hello Kitty on the front as a decent option for woolly stoner metal riffs, we’re going to do it": Fender Hello Kitty Fuzz pedal review

See more latest ►

Dave Keuning’s uncanny ability to craft huge songs like Mr. Brightside from simple melodies is at the heart of the Killers’ blockbuster sound – here’s how you can use his rhythm approach and hook-filled lead style

Players like Larry Carlton use chords as a launching pad for improvisation, and you can, too. Learn how polychords and slash chords hold the key to musical exploration, just as scales do

“An unapologetic approach to thrash rhythmic precision”: Weaponize your picking hand with this lesson in the bruising thrash-stomp riffing style of Anthrax rhythm kingpin Scott Ian

It worked for the Beatles on Yesterday and it can work for you, too – here’s how to use the melodic minor scale to add intrigue to your songwriting and glide over minor chord progressions

“McLaughlin’s ferocious picking and mastery of the fretboard raised the bar for what could be achieved on the guitar”: Learn the trailblazing style of John McLaughlin, one of the true pioneers of jazz-rock fusion

Think punk is just power chords and rubbish technique? Think again – here are 10 lessons you can learn from the last 50 years of punk

“The idea of the ‘rhythm’ side and the ‘lead’ side as distinctly separate entities has become somewhat blurred”: Mateus Asato is a modern master of combined rhythm and lead playing – he shares his poetic soloing secrets

“Over time, her arrangements became more creative and composed and could stand on their own as melodic instrumentals”: A pioneering protest singer, American folk legend Joan Baez draws on jazz and flamenco for her intricate picking patterns

3 easy rock guitar solo licks you need to know

What if Jimi Hendrix jammed with Eric Clapton, or Gary Moore traded solos with Joe Bonamassa? We imagine 5 all-star fantasy blues jams and what they would sound like

“Everything I do in life is left-handed, except for guitar playing… Using a plectrum never felt comfortable in my right hand”: Jared James Nichols on how he came up with his unique fingerstyle approach – and why it can make your playing more expressive

Get The Pick Newsletter

Most Popular