As a beginner guitarist, learning some blues fundamentals is one of the absolute best ways to build proficiency on the instrument. Getting to grips with those minor pentatonic box shapes and learning where that b5 note sits can be done relatively quickly and have you sounding like a pro in no time.
But learning the scales and the typical blues progression is all well and good, but you’ll want a good vocabulary of phrases, licks, and rhythms to accompany it. And there’s no better way to do that than by learning as many incredible blues songs from world-renowned artists as you possibly can!
So today we’ve created a list of 40 popular blues songs that any beginner can try their hand at learning. We’ve even provided both tablature and video lessons to make it easy for you!
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When it comes to learning some fantastic blues fundamentals, some B.B. King is the perfect place to start. He places a lot of emphasis on phrasing (things like bends and vibrato) as well as careful note choice. This minor blues piece was originally written by Roy Hawkins and Rick Darnell, but B.B. King’s version from his ‘Completely Well’ album made the song much more popular, and even won him a Grammy Award!
In addition to all the great bending and vibrato fluency B.B. showcases, one thing to pay close attention to is his tone. He’s extremely good at knowing when to swap between his bridge and neck pickup, try to ensure you swap at the same times he does and you’ll get a huge leg up in sounding great.
One of John Lee Hooker’s most iconic and well known songs, it does a really good job of interweaving lead guitar and rhythm in a call and response fashion. Released in 1962 as part of his album ‘Burnin’. Since its release and success, it’s also been covered by a number of notable artists including a rendition from the popular British Rock band ‘The Animals’.
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This song is played in the key of E minor which makes many of the lead sections require good use of the open strings. It’s a great chance to get used to that blues phrasing and lead playing very low down the neck. The rhythm section for this song is also really good, so you can easily choose to play that instead if you don’t feel like tackling the leads.
This is a great example of how to do blues-style lead playing by incorporating tasteful lines and powerful bends. This was the title track from his album of the same name released in 1991. There was also an expanded version that contains 2 extra tracks. The album performed quite well, hitting the number 42 spot on the UK charts and reaching number 18 in NZ.
There’s a nice simple bassline motif happening in A minor underneath this song which essentially serves as a backing to solo over. So don’t feel you need to play exactly what Buddy plays here, this is your chance to come up with your own lines too! One thing worth paying attention to is the wonderfully low gain and gritted up clean tone he uses here.
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The interesting thing about this song is it’s a 1 chord blues track, where the bassist stays glued to that low string which really grounds everything together. This was a promotional single released in 1958, despite the fact they had been playing it for over 20 years already in some form or another. It was able to reach the number 42 spot on the US singles chart.
The song does a great job of keeping the key steady by having that main motif keep repeating. This leaves the lead guitars free to string together all the best lead lines and cool blues licks. A fantastic song to learn as a beginner as it’s going to get all those juicy blues lines into your vocabulary.
This is an iconic blues tune of which you’ll see many of the phrases and rhythmic motifs used here show up time and time again in hundreds of other popular blues songs. McKinley Morganfield (aka Muddy Waters) was a phenomenal blues singer/songwriter and had a significant impact on commercial blues music. He won no less than 6 Grammy Awards, and 6 blues foundation awards, and was even inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Big Bill Broonzy
This is a good opportunity to step away from the blues leads and instead focus on a very simple, repeating rhythmic motif. It sticks firmly within that first position of the A minor pentatonic scale, so if you’ve learned that already you’ll have a big advantage when learning this song!
Also known as ‘crosscut saw blues’, this is what some describe as a ‘dirty blues’ song, which means it uses some very tasteful dissonance and atonal note choice on purpose to give it that raw and unfiltered feel. The track was originally released by Tommy McClennan but it was the Albert King rendition that made it so popular and a staple of the blues during that time.
As mentioned this is a fantastic opportunity to get to grips with intentionally hitting jarring or unexpected notes. Purposely choosing not to head to the ‘right’ note, or to include harmony that’s not in key is a very powerful tool to have when you wish to express a complicated feeling that doesn’t fit in the box of simple minor pentatonic playing.
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A nice change of pace from the more soulful and somber blues, this one is an uptempo and lively piece that is justly just vocals and guitar with no drum accompaniment aside from John Lee’s footsteps keeping the tempo. Recorded way back in 1948 and released as a single, many prominent blues musicians have cited this song as the reason why they decided to begin playing the guitar.
The main thing to really nail in this song is the strumming pattern, it has a softer hit on the downstroke with the upstroke acting as the main accent. As there’s no drum accompaniment here either tapping your foot to the song is a great way to keep in time. You’ll also need a capo on the second fret of the guitar.
A brilliant and soulful blues song that interweaves small lead phrases in between vocal hooks. It’s been called by many ‘a timeless staple of the blues’. Released as a single from the ‘Born Under a Bad Sign’ album. It was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1988 as it’s considered a signature blues song, and was also covered by the band Cream where Eric Clapton performs an extended guitar solo.
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This is a really nice track for beginners to learn as it tends to keep a lot of its runs and passages in a single position on the guitar, so there’s not too much jumping around and hard work. Instead, you can just relax and enjoy jamming some cool blues licks.
You might already know this for the Stevie Ray Vaughan rendition, but today we’re going back to the source with the original Elmore James version recorded in 1989. After its release, it was able to reach the number 15 slot on the R&B singles chart. Despite the higher commercial success of other renditions, this original blues standard was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame.
It’s a really slow ballad in the key of C and is often used as a backing to improvise over, so although we have provided a tab, it’s completely valid if you want to just jam over this and find your own ideas.
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Immediately switching gears from the slow, ballad style blues, this is an upbeat and groovy tune that was originally recorded by Rober Johnson back in the 1930s. I say recorded and not written as there have been a few other similar songs that preceded it. It was able to garner a lot of additional popularity due to its prominent use in the classic movie ‘The Blues Brothers’.
This is a great all-around blues song for any beginner to learn as it does everything, it has that driving rhythm which follows the standard blues chord progression we all love. But it also works lead lines and phrases seamlessly in between everything, and even has a few dedicated leads to boot! You can really round off your skillset by learning this song.
While pretty much all of B.B. King’s songs are known for being iconic, this one in particular has become a true classic and is one of the most covered and re-recorded blues tracks of all time. It’s loosely based on the 1951 song ‘Rockin’ and Rollin’’ by Lil’ Son Jackson, but B.B. made sure to give it his own signature flair. The piano also really adds a lot to the song and makes a welcome change from just pure guitar-based blues music.
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This is a mid-tempo song and we’ll be playing it all around C. The key to really nailing the vibe and feel is in those small lead guitar ‘fills’ between the rhythmic breaks. Getting a few of them into your vocabulary
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