How to Play Ragtime Blues in 3 Simple Steps

[@BluesGuitarInstitute]

Q: What do you struggle with the most (chords, patterns or melody)? We're working hard on fingerpicking skills over in the premium membership. Check out premium membership here: mybgi.net/2Inc2k1

[@jairogerald7958]

A trick : watch series on Flixzone. Been using it for watching all kinds of movies these days.

[@leebo8482]

@Jairo Gerald yup, I have been using flixzone for since december myself :D

[@F20ization]

So my question is:for Rag time do you play streith rythm no swing?

[@jonthomas1487]

i had a hard time with the "pinch, pinch, pluck" like it felt so unnatural to do but im starting to get the hang of it

[@udayanmustafi3963]

🎸

[@derekgreenacre9530]

I am now 76 years old and have been playing ragtime guitar all my life. Firstly let me say to all you beginners learn the alternating bass picking pattern as very few people play it these days and it transfers well to almost any genre of music. Playing this style makes you stand out. At first the style is daunting to learn but once learnt it can be used in thousands of contexts. Listen to and learn as many Mississippi John Hurt songs as you can this is the key to learning this type of music. Once you have learnt this right hand technique then work on the more elaborate chord sequences listen to Rev. Gary Davis and Blind Blake for that area. Learn to read tablature for guitar it will help to see exactly what notes are played. Good luck and stick with it as it is just like riding a bike it's difficult at first but it suddenly becomes second nature.

[@optimusmaximus9646]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@JMacque]

Great comment. Thank you!

[@daveclemans4922]

I'm 55, and have been playing for a little over 2 years. I try to play every day, even if just a little. I find this "linear" video incredibly helpful and enlightening. Getting the finger syncopation down between the two hands is challenging to a new player like me, but the song is not out of reach. It sounds like music, even if it's not super polished yet. I love your easy approach and well explained steps. Kudos.

[@bushman9315]

I have been playing for about 30 years and I still find this helpful....do you know how hard it is for an old man to learn new tricks? Its actually not that hard and I find these vids helpful. Thank you the upload and best to you and and yours.

[@BluesGuitarInstitute]

Thanks so much, bushman. I dig your comment, we can all improve no matter what age. Really appreciate you watching, have a great one!

[@rocha_ethereal]

I have been learning how to play quite demanding classical music pieces so I was pretty confident about ragtimes blues to be picked up just like that, but this video keeps on giving my fingers brain damage, definitely basic is not easy, amazing lesson and just shows how infinite music can be, always learning. Thank you

[@andrejz8954]

Same here. Just can't seem to get it going :S

[@rocha_ethereal]

@@andrejz8954 Keep going, everything will fall in place when you least expect, when you feel overwhelmed stop and have a coffee break so your mind can rest, most important don't feed the expectation of having to master everything in very short time, enjoy the process!!

[@zuvarian]

Me too, but I'm having success ... the thumb IMHO is the real challenge ... slow the speed to half and it really helps... cheers

[@davidmacleod9313]

I just gotta say that I love these lessons and they don’t cost me anything.....well, maybe my humility. Thanks!

[@aprylrittenhouse4562]

I love playing guitar, I was just playing metallica, now I'm having fun with ragtime.

[@smokyranger5786]

Wow sir! This made total sense to me after banging my head on ragtime and fingerpicking for over a year! Thank you for sharing this!

[@artvandelay1555]

This is a cool sound. The alternating bass is not the problem, it is when & how to insert the melody with the bass! Thanks

[@swirlingdervish1]

Your lessons are very good. I took 12 fingerpicking lessons about 40 years ago and haven’t learned much sense. I think this one is at the right level that I could probably learn to do it. Thank you very much.

[@KeithFinnie]

Exactly what I was looking for. Thank you.

[@BluesGuitarInstitute]

Glad I could help! Have a great day, Keith!

[@KeithFinnie]

I spent the most time getting the first C sequence down. Lots of repeats, starting slow and repeating a few minutes every day. The 3 7th chords were easier.

[@danbgt]

Really appreciate your videos. I’m an old guy. Took up guitar in retirement. Been playing a little over a year now. I spent most of 2019 working on right hand thumb and finger control. So I guess I kind of neglected my fretting hand. What you have here is a very good exercise. 2020 is working on left hand technique and learning more about the fret board. Thanks dude!

[@songman610]

Thank you for this John, breaking it down makes it so much better and easier to target the tricky parts. Love the blues lessons too.

[@BluesGuitarInstitute]

Glad that helped, songman! I hoped it would. Thanks for commenting and hope you have a great day! Play On!

[@stephenviana2077]

Very informative,am a flat picker.Looking forward to improving my fingerpicking skills.Thank You!!!

[@paulweiler6494]

figerpicking kicks my butt!!!

[@optimusmaximus9646]

Thank you for sharing. Your videos are always very helpful as they are pitched just right. The thing I really struggle with is trying to finger the lower E string with my thumb as I have always used my index finger to make full or half barred chords. I know the former is a very common way of playing but to me it feels quite strange. Beautiful guitar, BTW.

[@BluesGuitarInstitute]

Thanks! The thumb fretting isn't necessary. I find it helpful to play country blues and rags but you can re-finger chords that use that to eliminate the thumb.

[@optimusmaximus9646]

@@BluesGuitarInstitute Thank you for the encouragement, John 🙂 Indeed, playing an F-chord with a bar is tricky if you need to play the open G string (then hammer on the A) but I've managed to become adept at lifting the bar on the treble strings while maintaining contact with the bass strings to effect this.

[@NTh3L3tt3r]

This is teaching me advanced picking technique in a way that I can digest in my own time so I think for me the toughest part will be adding in the melody. Just because it's all new! Thanks for the excellent content!

[@NTh3L3tt3r]

5:03

[@artvandelay1555]

You slow it down pretty good on when to pinch and pluck each chord. I will just practice 1-2 chords over & over until it comes naturally. Reminds me of when i was learning "Blackbird" a vein in my head wanted to explode, but now it seems so simple.

[@BluesGuitarInstitute]

I had that same vein screaming at me when learning blackbird :)

[@jc7636]

Thanks John, love your teaching. Extra notes are the most difficult for me. Cheers

[@johnnybx3254]

Melody is my challenge! Thanks for your lessons 👍👏👏😃

[@BluesGuitarInstitute]

Thanks for the reply and for always commenting! I appreciate it, John!

[@davidmacleod9313]

Wow! 2 years later and I still can’t get exactly what’y’re doin’, BUT!!! I did c9me up with a pretty song! Lol It’s called “Walkin’ To That New Life Of Mine”. Thanks!

[@nicolen.9642]

Thanks John for the ragtime blues lesson! Fun and enjoyable!

[@BluesGuitarInstitute]

Thanks as always for the comment, Nicole! So happy to know you're out there watching and digging these :)

[@daveb1437]

love the teaching thanks again

[@rafdaddy1]

Very good lesson! Glad I stumbled across this.

[@zenichi1209]

Thanks for the lesson. The most difficult part for me is adding the melody notes on top. Easy to do if the melody note lands on the same beat as the bass but not as easy when it lands in between bass notes. And more difficult when it switches from landing on the bass notes and then switches back to landing in between the bass notes and if it gets syncopated as well.

[@markjones3404]

Great lesson, very well explained. I'm still struggling a little playing this style but trying to put in the time.

[@binoOMM]

Love lurking on your channel! Wish I had time for the Premium Membership program. The fingerpicking part would be the stinker for me.

[@anthonyifasi8026]

Finger picking pattern is most difficult, to get that ragtime feel!

[@guitarDad100]

Great lesson. I like how you take 4 simple chords and show how solid technique make them sound so nice. Thanks for sharing.

[@danroberts999]

Thank you for the lesson!!

[@BluesGuitarInstitute]

You're welcome! Thanks for watching! 👍

[@davidmacleod9313]

What a cool lesson! Can’t believe I’m actually playing stuff like this! Lol Although I haven’t learned your picking pattern yet, I am having fun using these chords in barre positions! So cool! (If I do say so myself. Lol) I start with C in the third position then to A at the 5th fret then D7 at the 5th and then G at the 3rd and my pinky working overtime! Lol Thanks, man! (Seriously) Oh! And I resolve on a C on the 8th fret. Cool! (Or C in the 1st)

[@ismaelfreytes1106]

ragtime is granddaddy of swing music and rock n roll

[@Fluse]

thanks!

[@tinicumlegend]

Great lesson! I'm pretty sure the chord progression is identical to Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant Massacre as well.

[@arniecampo5260]

Great lesson. Love ragtime blues but believed to complicated. Your lesson is a great beginning but step 3 is by far the most difficult for me to master

[@BluesGuitarInstitute]

I think that's the case with most pickers and it takes a good bit of practice to get it down. But it's really worth the work.

[@DAZZA6061]

nice - helpful..keep it up - more tips on honing finger-picking please...drills etc

[@BluesGuitarInstitute]

You got it!

[@subestimado2128]

Colter Wall brought me here. Thanks for the lesson!

[@Australia__]

Awesome. Thank you.🎸🎸

[@BluesGuitarInstitute]

Thanks for checking it out, Chris! Hope the lesson helps 👍

[@Australia__]

@@BluesGuitarInstitute Lesson helps heaps. Thanks for that John.

[@donpattonjr]

Good lesson John! I personally find finger picking patterns most difficult. ..

[@BluesGuitarInstitute]

Thanks, Don! Appreciate the comment about picking patterns seems that folks are having that same struggle.

[@goodtimefolkrock]

Great

[@paulj7094]

Adding the melody is the hardest part for me. If you could tell us what beats those notes fall on it would be helpful.

[@davidmacleod9313]

I’d have to say putting in the melody in along with the thumb notes.

[@kevinbodnar448]

Cheers for that ,😎 Kev in the uk

[@BluesGuitarInstitute]

Right on, Kev! Thanks!

[@calebstratos2387]

Dude looks like Bill Paxton. :D Thanks for the tips bud

[@BluesGuitarInstitute]

happy to help. Play On, Caleb!

[@dankeck6230]

I can play a "folk picking" pattern (Gordon Lightfoot or John Prine) but can't seem to grasp the rhythm of ragtime or even John Hurt style blues. Is there any lesson you hve or will make to get this rhythm skill down? Thanks

[@Chicken-Emperor]

It's tough to break out of that pattern once you get used to it. I'm in the same boat after learning to fingerpick on Prine, Van Zandt and the likes. Good luck!

[@Keef335]

@@Chicken-Emperor same... Townes' style is what I learned, and though I can sort of do a half convincing ragtime feel when I play it fast enough not to care about the precision, its sloppy and it doesn't have this precision. I can add rolls and really get the melodies to pop, but the bass losses precision and is just slop. I know what I'm doing is wrong and its so hard to break out of the pattern I've played for years

[@eamontrolleybus1289]

@@Keef335 the brilliant Tommy Emmanuel has a trick for that. Get some heavy box tape and place your right hand over the strings in the normal playing position, flatten out your 4 fingers and tape them to the body of the guitar. Play along with music playi

[@hunterklemz781]

Melody

[@tralalalatrollin]

1:40 chords

[@jonibobs]

Love the lessons you make them so easy to understand by explaining them so much better than the majority on here. Thank you so much Although I am struggling a lil, not with lesson or any of the three steps. I'm off my lil tities. I think I've taken too much Amphetamine lol

[@nhahash2628]

Which step is the more difficult... What do you think Sherlock??? Ils like spliting one hand in two.

[@crispycat4852]

Showing the Bass notes picking pattern FIRST would have been a good idea maybe ? Thats the key to this , keeping the thumb going but the video just tells us to "practice them " without actually demonstarting what they are Then it goes straight to the picking on the high notes?

[@BluesGuitarInstitute]

We go deep into thumbpicking in alot of other videos on the channel. Agree getting the thumb under control is huge.

[@advokris]

In my head, I am hearing the melody to Alice's Restaurant from these chords.

[@michaelcerkez3895]

Getting my thumb moving, it's lazy. Always wanted to learn Travis Picking though.

[@jeanineczumak8844]

Picking pattern difficult you move to fast

[@scottdayman5101]

It's a video just rewind lol

[@themeggzerz]

My pinky does NOT want to reach to that 5th fret 😂😭

[@BluesGuitarInstitute]

The pinky never behaves! I have a video on how to work up to that stretch if you're interested. It's a tough one for a lot of us :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4Czp2upja2tbc0

[@marshalmaddening9011]

music

[@johnboggess6701]

Tab would have helped

[@BluesGuitarInstitute]

Tab for this one is available in the myBGI Membership. It's lesson TB268 if you're already a member and want to search it up. Thanks!

[@antoniosantorini9355]

Talker

[@hardwoodflooringguy1]

Talk too much.