Blues The night Eric Clapton invited Richie Sambora to a dream jam session The former Bon Jovi man opens up on being accepted by the blues community and his heroes, having cut his teeth playing the blues as a young, hopeful guitarist “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 Latest Blues He Escaped From a Chain Gang, Charmed His Way out of Prison, and Was Immortalized in Music History: How Lead Belly Became a Guitar Legend By Guitar Player Staff published 28 March 23 The forefather of rock and roll was charming and dangerous in equal measure 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 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 READ1Win tickets to see Dweezil Zappa in San Francisco2David Cassidy on seeing Hendrix, learning from the session guitar greats, and jamming with Paul McCartney and John Lennon3Martin and Reverb unite for an exclusive non-cutaway Grand Performance acoustic4Matteo Mancuso pays homage to his hero, Paul Gilbert, with new track, Paul Position 5Joe Satriani’s custom Eddie Van Halen-flavored 3rd Power amp is now available as a plugin – with real amps on the way
He Escaped From a Chain Gang, Charmed His Way out of Prison, and Was Immortalized in Music History: How Lead Belly Became a Guitar Legend By Guitar Player Staff published 28 March 23 The forefather of rock and roll was charming and dangerous in equal measure
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