For this months lessons we have special guest Brad Hallen sitting in on bass fiddle and electric bass. In our first lesson are going over playing the slow Chicago blues in the key...

@Corey...here's your favourite blues nightmare....:).....I've tried the slowest I could...I'm tryin also to brush the strings in different positions...I've seen that you do this a...

Juke 5th Chorus: This chorus begins with a stop-time break played in octaves at the top end of the harp. You'll have to practice making the jump from the low end of the harp to the...

Duke just has the audience right where he wants them. It's being able to create an atmosphere with the music, not just playing the notes that really defines the true masters...

Thanks Bluesman, I appreciate that very much. Please spread the word to fellow guitarists who our lessons here may be of interest to, Ciao, Duke

Thanks Jerry,  very interesting.  It hadn't occurred to me that My Babe is based on This Train, but now that you mention it I can hear the similarities. Lately, I find myself...

Mike   I couldn't help but notice two things in the loop beginning at 10:14 to practice mixing riffs.   1. At the very end of the loop Dukes words match up with the words at the...

Walter wrote most of the songs he recorded under his own name though his biggest seller, My Babe, was written by Willie Dixon based on the old traditional This Train. He was a fine...

@Corey....I'll do it as soon as possible...I don't want to miss my status of your best personal nightmare as a sonic junction user!!! :DD In these days I've been very busy cause...

Hi Jerry I have been working on this and some other songs off Little Walter's "His Best" album, and had some questions.  First, I was wondering if you knew if he wrote some his...

My next lessons will be with my bassist Brad Hallen, demonstrating the best bass lines to be played with the Chicago style blues in E we have been working on. Coming very soon...

@Alex...post a video when you are ready so I can hear what you doing.

@ MIke ....thanks.  Good question...I always play the brushes in the same place in this song.  I use the brushes to keep the rhythm going and to put a break between phrases.  Think...

@Alex...thanks.

Hi Corey .. one thing I'm noticing is you brush the strings at times ... like at 5:55 on the timecode ... and it adds this nice depth / feel.  How do you approach / choose when to...

Yet again, Iceman's take on things is essentially correct though, personally, I don't recommend tilting the harp. Whatever works though - the proof is in the sound. The basic...

Tongue blocking is an essential technique of blues harmonica - especially the Chicago style. It's a technique that produces a certain sound, and the harmonica's capacity to make...

As usual, Iceman's comments are right on the mark. I never learned any scales, though I am not discounting their potential value. Practicing scales may help some with your facility...

Hi Brian .. I would be happy to transcribe some more.  Any riffs in particular you would like me to do?     (start and stop timecodes would be great) Thanks!  

Hi Corey, What's in your mind when you play?  Do you see scales, hear notes, have a feeling, totally let go?   Thanks!

What's musical moment makes you laugh the most when you look back on it?   For me .. I use to play with a group at a friends house every Wed night.  We played mostly classic rock...

Certainly I'd never heard of him until someone on a list sent a link to this video.  He played in the 30s -50s, and apparently most of his work is in first position in the high...

Hi Donald, great question.   The video Duke's going to publish on Friday (Chicago Blues in E Lesson 3) demonstrates a hybrid picking technique using the pick for the bass and one...

I always recommend the Special 20 to new players, especially to those who are learning from my teaching materials where I tend to demonstrate everything on one harp in the key of...

i first tried guitar and realized i didnt' have a ear.. but i figured if i kept at it,,i may get it. one of the favourites movies of mine was crossroads and not soley because of...

Duke,     You've had an absolutely amazing career. We are extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to benefit from someone who has personal firsthand experiences as you have...

Jerry, I wonder if you could explain why you switch between lip pursing and tongue blocking at various points?  Thanks. Rich

Thanks Mike, I did spend most of my mid-teens to twentys really listening ane soaking up all the blues styles. It didn't hurt that i was able to play with Muddy Waters at least a...

I was learning this last night, and the thing that struck me is the phrasing.   How important it is ... and how much working on it will improve my playing.  It's hard to describe...

Thank you everyone, The more I teach these type of things the more I realize the wealth of riffs i have stored in my brain from 50 years of playing the blues!