Playing the blues helps you lose the blues! The blues is improvisational...it's a language...and in this 80 minute lesson, Fred Sokolow shows you how to speak that language and ad-lib solos and accompaniment, whether you play solo or with other people. You'll learn to play in any key, all over the fretboard, with special attention to six keys: F, C, G, D, A and E. In each key, you'll learn:

• The first-position chords you need to play a 12-bar and 8-bar blues,

• Boogie licks for accompaniment,

• Blues turnarounds,

• A blues scale and blues licks and how to use them to improvise solos.

Fred also shows you:

• Moveable blues chords you can use to play in any key,

• Three moveable blues positions (blues boxes) you can use to play single-note solos in any key,

• Moveable, double-note Chuck Berry-style licks for soloing.

• You'll also learn several classic blues tunes: See, See Rider, Stagerlee, Backwater Blues, St. Louis Blues and more.

It's a crash course designed to get you playing the blues and making it up as you go along, jamming with other people and inventing your own solos. The blues sounds great on a uke, and here's all the info you need to get started playing it!

80 minute • Level 2 • Detailed tab/music PDF file on the DVD