Warning: Intersection Ahead
This video, and the other two "Intro and Performance" videos, will help you decide which song you'd like to tackle first in this course. If you already know which song's your favorite, go ahead and skip to that song's Intro and Performance video now. Or watch all three if you're undecided.
Notice that the three lessons coming up...
- Bass Line: "Dust My Broom"
- Bass Line: "Midnight Special"
- Bass Line: "Can the Circle Be Unbroken?"
...each teach you how to play the bass line of a different song. You're going to want to choose just the lesson for your song, and skip the other two.
And whenever you come to a similar fork in the road, skip the two songs you're not learning.
And of course, once you're done learning your song, you can always come back here and learn the other two songs.
P.S. The chord chart for the song is in the Downloads section in case you'd like a preview of what you'll be learning.
Robert Johnson version: YouTube video
For the blues song in this course, I chose “Dust My Broom,” originally recorded by Robert Johnson in 1936. It’s a classic My-Baby’s-Been-Cheating-On-Me tune. No one’s sure who wrote it--it could have been Johnson, could have been Elmore James, who recorded a great slide guitar version of the song in 1951.
But I want to teach you a simplified version of what Robert Johnson plays. His version is one of the first recordings of someone playing what is quite possibly the most badass guitar riff ever invented. I’m talking about the boogie rhythm. It also has one of the most classic blues turnarounds ever. We don’t know for sure if Robert Johnson came up with this stuff, but when I listen to this recording, I feel like I’m getting a sneak peek at the dawn of rock guitar. This song, and songs like it, are the taproot of all the great rock music that flourishes today.
Here’s the version of “Dust My Broom” I’m going to teach you. Be sure to check out Robert Johnson’s version too, which I’ve linked to here.
How's it going?
Are you loving the lesson? Confused? Have a suggestion? I'd love to hear from you.
