When a classical guitarist tries to play BLUES...

Brandon Acker takes his first Blues guitar lesson from a professional Blues player ‪@samuraiguitarist‬ Watch me teach him his first classical guitar lesson here: • I Tried Classical Guitar
0:00 What is the blues?
0:35 The 12 Bar Blues
4:12 Oral tradition
5:22 Rhythmic improvisation
7:09 Call and response
9:05 How to solo
12:53 Phrasing
13:32 Conclusion
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#guitar #brandonacker #blues

[@samuraiguitarist]

What a pleasure, you show much potential!

[@harmvanessen1324]

listen to how Jimmy Reed does the 5, just play the A in the bass and don't bother with the stretch

[@creationinspired200]

Love to see you around!!!

[@grogueQ]

This was great, I'd love to see you guys do more stuff together.

[@SirPraiseSun]

2 humble guitar players and musicians respect

[@phungmoe2302]

SameG.... Love ur channel too 👍

[@ldamoff]

"I'll start here and see what happens" is the soul of the blues my guy.

[@sdepountis]

Look at Brandon pretending that this is ever remotely difficult for him...

[@Wills.musicpage]

Man.... Two very accomplished musicians delving into each other's worlds, and showing a relative understanding and, at it's core, being willing to potentially "fall on your face" in front of your respective audiences (neither of you did, for what it's worth), MUCH respect, from a fellow musician.

[@lynwood77]

One of the myths about classical players is that they tend to lack the necessary "feel" for improvisation. Watching Brandon shatter that gave me a lot of joy.

[@collinbeal]

Classical guitar is a tradition that stems from Spain, and most people who learn classical guitar probably also dabble in flamenco, a heavily improvisatory style.

[@drothberg3]

In my experience, some Classical players are skilled improvisers and some are not. It’s a skill like any other that needs to be learned and practiced, and some classical players choose to develop the skill and some don’t. Also, it’s worth remembering that Brandon played rock before focusing on Classical.

[@RZ_9]

he used to play metal of course he can do it

[@Muzikman127]

He also has a history in popular music and is generally an atypically broad and talented musician. My experience of classical musicians trying to play other styles tells me that Brandon is not necessarily representative! He also shows a lot of respect for other music styles and different performance practice, which really helps (and is probably one of the reasons why his early music playing is so vibrant!). Basically what I’m saying is is that this guy is a gem haha

[@foljs5858]

It's not a myth, as many do. They break down when asked to improvise. Brandon doesn't but most do...

[@beatrixguitar]

I was studying classical guitar since I was 9 and I have masters degree in it. During my education no one ever told me about the pentatonic scale, none of my teachers until I was 24 and finished school, it's somethign I had to look up when I was playing for several years already :D And I know this is not a special case, lots of friends have had the same :/ It's funny to see how things that counts as common knowledge or as something that guitarists usually learn at an early stage can miss. We need more crossovers like this with other styles and other guitarists to get a wider perspective on music :) Thanks for this one, I loved it!

[@nuberiffic]

I had a similar experience to you, but from the opposite side. I started playing rock / metal guitar when I was 8, and it wasn't til I was 35 when I went to uni for music where I was exposed to ideas like 7th chords and a ii V I progression. Even a basic concept like chord tones was alien to me because that's not how the music I'd been playing really worked.

[@mitch5944]

Soo interesting to me considering how important the pentatonic scale is in blues and rock lol. Shows how diverse the instrument can be

[@high_surv]

I find that crazy. How do people play guitar for years and have some shallow knowledge of how most people play guitar?

[@nuberiffic]

@@high_surv ...did you miss the entire point of this thread? Like, on purpose?

[@beatrixguitar]

@@high_surv well when you're a kid you just try to avoid the theory part I guess, than later on you think you can manage without it, and then it's like a snowball rolling, and the snowball is so big it scares you, so you're trying your best not to get under. I had crazy impostor syndrome because I could play any pieces I wanted to but they didn't make sense to me because I was lacking fundamental knowledge. I think a lot of us takes responsibility for ourselves after spending some time in confusion and avoidance for a few years. Music schools often don't teach you how to understand music but only how to play it mechanically. Pressure grows, you need to play more and more difficult stuff for your exams and the theory stucks behind. This is a very common story.

[@AJ-sr2yp]

Brandon already knows all of this. He was playing 12 bar blues on a baroque guitar years ago in a video. Even said something slong the lines of 'every good guitar player knows' how to play 12 bar blues.

[@ENomad]

But he's humble and realizes that people from samuraiguitarist's channel may watch, or folks new to the channel altogether may be viewing and aren't familiar with the concepts. So it makes for a good "introduction" video. I enjoyed watching two skilled guitarists play a 101 video regardless.

[@lusiek81]

I'd love to see you guys playing different genres together for an hour. As weird as it sounds. So much feel in such simple playing and the way you complete yourselves being at the different ends of the same stick. I want to hear more serious music you make together the other day.

[@tj03297]

Next up Mongolian throat singing

[@leomahmet7555]

Oh hell yes. These two would make some sick jams in many a genre is my hunch as well. Would love to hear some jazz, funk, disco and maybe even some metal with maybe Rob Scallon or someone like that.

[@sebg2086]

blues pro............lolllllllllllllllllllllllll

[@emielhasselt2518]

That opera singer litteraly gave me goosebumps.. I knew man sang opera but accually seeing a man doing that is so inspiring

[@skylarhowes9322]

What a terrifically nice and humble guy Brandon is over here acting like he doesn't already know every single thing 😅 jokes aside though this is a great collab from two very different but very excellent creators ❤

[@crazycat1345]

Playing the blues would be a great exercise for classical players. I know because I am one, classical music really flattens you out There is little to no swing in that music at all and playing and by infusing some blues feelings will make your classical playing more interesting. Julien Bream was a huge Django jazz fan and player and it helped him greatly in his playing.

[@Muzikman127]

Wow that makes so much sense! I didn’t know that about Bream

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

"Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" seems to swing pretty good.

[@vladislavvaintroub2674]

Ah that Crossroads movie scene, with some blues infused into Rondo alla Turca ! kzbin.info/www/bejne/n5zcdXaHpaelaqcsi=328U4kKhDzT9gXDy :)

[@RC32Smiths01]

It's fun just branching out on guitar, never know what you're gonna learn in style, technique, or advice. Love this collaboration.

[@herculesrockefeller8969]

Since you used to play metal, I'm sure you'll be fine, Brandon!

[@jonkerr2050]

This was perfect timing. I’m only a couple of years into playing and have started trying to do some blues improvisation. This opened my eyes up to some things I hadn’t really considered.

[@mrsmilefailrocker]

I really like the sound of nylon string guitar to play blues and rock strumming

[@jacobbaker6376]

Another thing to note is that blues was also commonly played in alternate tunings such as open g and open d. Also kinda going against what Samurai said is that the blues doesn't always have to sound pretty as long as it makes you feel something. Three artists as examples are Charley Patton, Mississippi Fred McDowell and Scrapper Blackwell.

[@wallacejohnson7083]

Great to hear Steve-san teach the roots of blues tradition, from which comes rock n roll, r&b, country, jazz, so on…

[@robertray2714]

The mixture of tonality in blues is always fascinating. Aside from playing minor pentatonic over major (dominant) chords, blues musicians frequently bend up to a so called "neutral third" in-between the major and minor.

[@IssamUAhmed]

That was lovely! Well done Brandon on your very first go you did so well

[@boomerdell]

Great collaboration from two superb teachers and players -- thank you!

[@SimplyNotReally]

This collab was SO COOL! Shows that no matter the depth of knowledge, there is still so much to learn in music. Please make this a reoccurring series!

[@simon66766]

Great collaboration here, you two work well together. The most interesting part for me was letting go of the formal structures of classical playing and just feeling the flow, it's not easy. Hope there'll be more to come!

[@gro_skunk]

No matter how many different videos I've seen about it it's always great to see two really talented people doing the same thing with vastly different ideologies come together and not only respect each other but learn and become better with each other's knowledge.

[@laurensvanminnen9550]

what a great collab! it must have been a sea of tranquility in that room

[@creationinspired200]

Much love for samurai guitarist! Thanks ben!!

[@mrdefendo]

Awesome stuff, Brandon! Kudos to you and SG. Very inspiring and insightful.

[@crazy-4-cooking]

Two awesome and amazing musicians, showing their world of strings to each other. That is just so nice to see, also how that opens uo new ways of creativity. You two should one day combine your two backgrounds and create some music together, with totally unlocked creativity and no limits on what the result might be.

[@mikec6733]

That was a fascinating idea , and the results did not disappoint.

[@DoctorMandible]

I started with classical but quickly switched to blues. That was over 20 years ago. This video was really fun and I learned too. More!

[@0bm31770]

Great job, Brandon and Samurai!

[@TheErikjsm]

you guys should keep doing this, it was a fun watch

[@jonasxie5230]

Nice show. I learned a lot from it. Thank You

[@c2damak]

THIS was awesome. Really shows the massive scope of our instrument!

[@docDeutschmann]

That was sweet. And big thanks to Sammy, for shedding a light on some basic principles of "The Blues". You two should make this a loose series of videos, where you show each other things "from the other side" - I can see the inspiration and the respect in what you guys are doing and I appreciate it.

[@kacywilliams1]

What fun! Liked and subscribed to both channels. Thanks for posting this.

[@jebwatson]

Love these conjunctions of the spheres. Seems like we discover new ways to describe and think about the same thing and universalities that make it easier to understand the magic of guitar.

[@aaroncardoza5281]

The look of the Soprano singer is not what I was expecting... Incredible voice, and playing the background fill was fantastic.

[@quailstudios]

Very fun. Classical... Blues... Rock... Pop... Jazz... love it all.. !!!

[@onebigboy1861]

Two of my favourite guitarists!

[@PinkMawile]

I’m excited to see how these two might explore and incorporate the different styles into one another as they grow their own styles.

[@patoenos]

Fantastic video, Im learning blues and its so expressive. Its blows my mind how blues fits every player, if you want it simple, it works, if you reach complex, also works.

[@scabezas147]

Love it, two masters make it look so simple

[@ronaldl9085]

So cool! Thanks for sharing your know-how.

[@twoeagles19]

That was fun just watching ! Music is Awesome in any Genre ! It is the 2nd greatest gift in life .

[@ricktheexplorer]

"Swing Tempo" is what we are doing with the "ba baba ba ba baba". This was great; Brandon Acker really lives "The Life" of a true String Player, and I am glad he is now a part of the Blues' Magic. When Samurai broke out the Blues Solo, the human soul cries with joy. Magic only found in Blues, and maybe a Mozart or Beethoven motif. Thank You both for being a part of the Music Community on KZbin, we love you guys.

[@nuberiffic]

Blues isn't swung; it's a shuffle

[@ricktheexplorer]

@@nuberiffic In my DAW, it's called swing tempo; the thing that makes it shuffle.

[@nuberiffic]

@@ricktheexplorer ok, and? Just because it says it in a DAW; it doesn't mean it's correct. My DAW says "loop duplicate" but in correct terminology it's know as a "repeat". The DAW doesn't use musically correct terminology.

[@ricktheexplorer]

@@nuberiffic It also says it in all sheet music. Give up, you lost.

[@nuberiffic]

@@ricktheexplorer that same sheet music that says "swing" also says it's not swung. It says "swing" because that's an approximation based on the conventions of classical notation. Can you show me where on notation it shows the exact amount it's swung by?

[@sandro-nelemichetti-vanbra9190]

Best quote from the video: "it's universal". Love this !

[@dalgguitars]

Such fun!

[@TheBunniesTerrarium]

So cool Brandon! Would love to see you so this with a flamenco player!

[@iblong9505]

Super informative! Thanks guys!

[@frickxnas]

Astonishing video. Thank you guys.

[@CaptainTedStryker]

I enjoyed both lessons, guys! Cheers!

[@Visual_Piano]

Been looking forward to this video! ever since i saw samurai's video

[@kevc-69-]

I love this type of get together sessions. Bravo.

[@brianclifford8487]

It’s so obvious you both love music a lot! Sharing each other’s styles while you both get into each other’s lane is great thing! Very proud of being a musician (who is in no way in either of your leagues).

[@rodrigomorenovillamar2932]

Great show! As a classical player this is very illustrative.

[@jimyon8259]

So cool, looks like fun hanging with you guys !

[@TheRussianGenius]

had to click it when I saw the title :D Idk if it's me, but sounds like Samurai had 2 mics hooked up when he talks

[@MathGeekQ]

Awesome!

[@Picasso_Picante92]

This was fun! Thanks Brandon.

[@kilgoretrout321]

Man, blues can be so cool. Listening to some of the Robert Johnson stuff, the timing is so different than what we're used to. There're some great effects that come from playing with the time signature between bars

[@Music--ng8cd]

Blind Willie Johnson - I'm Gonna Run to the City of Refuge kzbin.info/www/bejne/aIe2fZZ6r8iNq5o

[@prandallwright1]

That is a fine, fun video... Thanks!

[@davedavem]

Loved this, thanks

[@03timdol]

Fantastic colab. Loved every minute of it from both of you. Cheers

[@J0nny61]

That was wonderful, I didn't learn anything, but I sure do appreciate the video.

[@Juan0003]

Dayum! Brandon's got chops! 😂 Cool videos (both)! Learned a lot!

[@Heidinskapur]

I'd love to see a video of Brandon playing the guitar or just having a chat with the great Brazilian guitarist Fabio Lima. Two figures who for me are the greatest classical guitarists of our era. I see that they have a very similar passion for music and the instrument.

[@Idiomatick]

I once asked a blues guitarist for tips on how they could play so well and they said: Well, first, you gotta feel a lotta pain.

[@CossuttaDario]

This video really makes clear what Blues is and isn't - and also made me think about how clear it is to me now what Jimi Hendrix took from the Blues, as opposed to what was his new development/his style. BTW you should publish a video of you 2 just jamming. Make it a long one. Don't think about analytics. it's such a pleasure to witness good musicianship.

[@mongarcia9151]

I watched both Brandon's and Sammy's lessons. Both are damn good, amazing teachers.

[@federicocarraturo]

Thank you for this beautiful lesson

[@jasonremy1627]

I've loved the two videos!

[@stevefraioli4838]

Lovely juxtaposition of two genres. Music can unite us all.

[@brocluno01]

Really like both of you guys. And this was a very cool intro to the blues. Simple and effective. Now I want to hear the blues on the lute 🙃

[@jensbomholt4529]

Such a great "intercultural exchange". I thoroughly enjoy these collab vids with the two of you! Thank you, masters!

[@holdengraham6945]

This was fun to follow along to!

[@kathyhollenbach7413]

Brandon this is so interesting. Loved it.❤❤

[@thomastucker5686]

That was fun, glad I caught it.

[@45er.ruffneck]

Huge fan of both of you! Nice lesson. When I compare both your styles it becomes apparent that in classical guitar playing, the thumb tends to wander down the neck for perfect access on the fretboard. In the Blues, the thumb tends to go upwards behind the neck even to the point where players like Stevie Ray Vaughan or John Mayer (just to name a few) use it as a fretting finger to play some bass notes. Downside to that is, that the pinky is often neglected and isn't used much as a fretting finger. Just shows the different needs the two styles have. Great job!

[@thorongil9]

It would be interesting to see a similar video with Brandon learning piedmont blues. Especially because it seems like you could try to piedmont on a lute and come out with an interesting sound

[@oldgoat381]

Again My two favourite guitar KZbinrs collaborating is the absolute best

[@plamenlakov598]

I really enjoyed that. Thank you 👍

[@andredecaires2]

Great, great video!!!!

[@FSAPOJake]

Wow. You're a seriously killer player. You picked up this stuff like it was nothing. I know you did metal in the past which does borrow a lot from both blues and classical, but it's still a joy to see how quickly you adapted to Samurai Guitarist's playing.

[@adriancamilleri4845]

Of course he did. He's classically trained. This would be peanuts for him.

[@nawel1]

Great video!!

[@goswo]

Great concept 👍👍

[@arthurxafis]

Incredible video! Just an additional thought, Brandon mentioned not realising that all chords are usually Dom7 chords. If you think about this, the E7 actually functions as the V7 chord when going to A7 (a secondary dominant). Further, the blues form has been continually expanded upon - particularly by jazz musicians. The jazz approach really just places a bigger emphasis on the (already existing) secondary dominants. For example, in bar 4 you’d play a Bm7 for two beats and then an E7 for two beats to resolve to the A7 in the fifth bar (approaching the A7 with a ii-V-I cadence). Lastly! I would say that the ‘heart’ of the blues lies in the rhythmic feel, it’s really all about that shuffle feel. I think the key difference between swing and shuffle (even though it’s notated the same) is how a shuffle feel is relatively strict and the beats are accented equally, however, in jazz that second ‘quaver’ is moved around a bit more.

[@darrenkelfkens8539]

Awesome video guys..I play Blues badly and Classical very badly so what a treat to see this from a classical guitarists perspective...please do more of these.

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

They blend somehow and was so much fun to watch

[@andrewgonzalez6208]

Amazing video. Thank you

[@Laguna69]

Yay! Thanks :3

[@johnfurlich5157]

Very cool to see two seemingly different genres of music have so much in common! Great video!

[@BookerTDooku]

Testify! 😊

[@suzanneemerson2625]

Exactly w😅hat do these two genres of music have in common?

[@NinaHansen2008]

Fabulous!!!

[@zerikaz55]

I love the level of respect Brandon puts towards musical traditions he doesn’t have a deep understanding of. I feel like it can be so easy to look at 12 bar blues in a presumptuous way as a musician and miss the little things that really make performances special. Obviously most of us know how to play a I IV V w/ dominant chords, but I feel like there is quite a bit that goes into instinctually feeling blues swing and into getting each attack to feel just write that is difficult to formalize and communicate with words

[@SixStringSlinger1]

Awesome video!

[@kamukameh]

That's some cool stuff, guys!

[@jansestak954]

I knew this was comming! I love it! Thank you two guys for amazing content.

[@mcswordfish]

"Apples, Oranges, and Lots of Other Fruit" - I like that a lot

[@MillerCustomGuitars]

How to be a good blues player quickly: 1) have a great teacher 2) already be a master classical guitarist in the first place. Awesome video!

[@dougsensei]

The audio is a bit weird at times. But I enjoyed going back to basics on this. I think this is an interestin medium of teaching.

[@lamecasuelas2]

Ah! Nice! Good job my boys!