Blues “I Want to Be an Inspiration to Young Girls”: Blues Phenom Ally Venable Steps up to the Big Leagues With New Album, ‘Real Gone’ “If I can be a role model to girls and get them to pick up the guitar, then I’ll feel like I made a real impact,” says the Les Paul-toting Texan Have the Same Old Blues Chord Shapes Become Stale and Boring? Here’s How to Avoid Sounding Predictable Avoid the trap of humdrum chords by getting command of a few alternate dominant voicings Fatten Your Chops With Double-Stops in the Style of Blues Legends Like B.B. King, Lightnin' Hopkins and Robert Johnson These essential phrases will help you speak the language of blues guitar Latest Blues Watch Howlin’ Wolf’s Electrifying “Smokestack Lightning” Performance Featuring Hubert Sumlin on Guitar By Guitar Player Staff published 27 March 23 Video The biggest, baddest voice of the Chicago blues scene, Wolf was a far-reaching inspiration Video The Mixolydian Blues Scale Could Be the Most Useful Scale of All By Guitar Player Staff last updated 15 March 23 This scale reigns supreme as the chief source for carving those major/minor blues-based licks that sound so good over dominant 7th chords 21 Top New Blues Guitarists As Chosen By You By Mark McStea, Jimmy Leslie, Joe Bosso, Matt Thayer published 26 December 22 Meet the young guitarists who are shaping the blues for a new generation of players “We Try to Always Make a Record That We Would Want to Listen to”: GA-20 Guitarists Matt Stubbs and Pat Faherty Show Us the Gear That Fuels Their Authentic Blues-Rock Tone By Mark McStea published 21 December 22 Their stripped-down approach has propelled the “Lords of Lo-Fi” to the top of the blues charts “Blues Is Life”: Christone “Kingfish” Ingram Talks the Future of Blues By Joe Bosso published 20 December 22 Here’s how the Mississippian guitarist is taking music forward Christone “Kingfish” Ingram's Top Five Tips for Guitarists By Joe Bosso published 13 December 22 Mindset, bending, solos, rhythm and the pentatonic scale – here are some invaluable pointers from one of the hottest blues players around “Keep Going Until Everybody Knows Who You Are”: Rory Block Talks the Blues By Jimmy Leslie published 24 November 22 Koko Taylor's “Little Miss Dynamite” gives blues women their due on new album ‘Ain’t Nobody Worried,’ with acoustic covers of Bonnie Raitt, Tracy Chapman, Elizabeth Cotten and more Vote for Your Favorite New Blues Guitarist By Guitar Player Staff published 2 November 22 Take part in our “New Breed of Blues” poll Five of the Most Radical Electric Guitar Designs You've Ever Seen By Rod Brakes published 18 October 22 Groundbreaking artist Nikita Gale reimagines the solidbody form at Frieze London’s pioneering 63/22 exhibition The Evolution of Hill Country Blues By Jim Beaugez published 6 October 22 From Mississippi Fred McDowell to Cedric Burnside, here’s how a new generation is taking the juke joint sound forward 123456789Archives Get The Pick NewsletterAll the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors MOST READ1“I was playing the Breeders' Divine Hammer, and my whole hand cramped up, I couldn’t move it... It seemed so simple, but it was something I would never play”: J Mascis went electric for his new solo album, but (mostly) without his usual Jazzmaster2“I was using a Telecaster because it had a really clean tone for my fingerstyle approach. Fleetwood Mac's pre-existing sound was much fatter, and they felt the Tele really didn’t fit”: Lindsey Buckingham on his turn to Turner guitars 3“I went to Mickie Most's office with an acoustic guitar and played it. It was almost like one of those clichéd movie moments: he said, ‘That’s going to be a hit!’”: Session guitar ace Chris Spedding reveals the stories behind five of his best songs 4“If Seven Worlds had come out at the time it was ready, instead of being held back, he would have been as big as Jeff Beck”: Stevie Ray Vaughan details his friendship with Eric Johnson5“This exciting era of acoustic-electronic innovation hasn’t seen much action on the amp front, which makes this a welcome addition”: Taylor Circa 74 AV150-10 acoustic amplifier review
Watch Howlin’ Wolf’s Electrifying “Smokestack Lightning” Performance Featuring Hubert Sumlin on Guitar By Guitar Player Staff published 27 March 23 Video The biggest, baddest voice of the Chicago blues scene, Wolf was a far-reaching inspiration
The Mixolydian Blues Scale Could Be the Most Useful Scale of All By Guitar Player Staff last updated 15 March 23 This scale reigns supreme as the chief source for carving those major/minor blues-based licks that sound so good over dominant 7th chords
21 Top New Blues Guitarists As Chosen By You By Mark McStea, Jimmy Leslie, Joe Bosso, Matt Thayer published 26 December 22 Meet the young guitarists who are shaping the blues for a new generation of players
“We Try to Always Make a Record That We Would Want to Listen to”: GA-20 Guitarists Matt Stubbs and Pat Faherty Show Us the Gear That Fuels Their Authentic Blues-Rock Tone By Mark McStea published 21 December 22 Their stripped-down approach has propelled the “Lords of Lo-Fi” to the top of the blues charts
“Blues Is Life”: Christone “Kingfish” Ingram Talks the Future of Blues By Joe Bosso published 20 December 22 Here’s how the Mississippian guitarist is taking music forward
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram's Top Five Tips for Guitarists By Joe Bosso published 13 December 22 Mindset, bending, solos, rhythm and the pentatonic scale – here are some invaluable pointers from one of the hottest blues players around
“Keep Going Until Everybody Knows Who You Are”: Rory Block Talks the Blues By Jimmy Leslie published 24 November 22 Koko Taylor's “Little Miss Dynamite” gives blues women their due on new album ‘Ain’t Nobody Worried,’ with acoustic covers of Bonnie Raitt, Tracy Chapman, Elizabeth Cotten and more
Vote for Your Favorite New Blues Guitarist By Guitar Player Staff published 2 November 22 Take part in our “New Breed of Blues” poll
Five of the Most Radical Electric Guitar Designs You've Ever Seen By Rod Brakes published 18 October 22 Groundbreaking artist Nikita Gale reimagines the solidbody form at Frieze London’s pioneering 63/22 exhibition
The Evolution of Hill Country Blues By Jim Beaugez published 6 October 22 From Mississippi Fred McDowell to Cedric Burnside, here’s how a new generation is taking the juke joint sound forward