Work Out on the Blues in E— Fingerstyle Lesson with Jontavious Willis
For many guitar players, the key of E is home. It’s where a lot of us first learned a shuffle riff or an open-string run. But even though blues in E is familiar territory, it never has to sound the same way twice. Lightnin’ Hopkins kept it loose and hypnotic. Muddy Waters made it heavy and driving. Robert Lockwood Jr. brought a sharp, swinging touch, while Tampa Red found unexpected harmonies. Same three chords, totally different worlds.
This lesson is about finding your own way through the E blues. We’ll start with a 12-bar groove that locks everything in place, then play around with chord shapes that move up the neck. We’ll dig into the eight-bar blues and finish with a single-note phrase to tie everything together. Try things out, tweak them, and make them yours—that’s what the blues is all about.
Week OneA great blues rhythm should feel steady and strong, like a train rolling down the tracks. One of the simplest ways to get there is what I call the lump, a groove built around the fifth, sixth, and flatted seventh of each chord. You might know this sound from honky-tonk piano or Jimmy Reed’s shuffles. It’s been around for decades. One of the earliest recorded examples of this feel is “Little Rock Blues,” recorded by Pearl Dickson in 1927, featuring guitarists Maylon and Richard “Hacksaw” Harney.
For this groove (Example 1), use the fat part of your picking hand to mute the bass strings lightly, keeping the sound tight and percussive. Picking near the bridge gives a sharper tone, while moving toward the neck softens the attack. Find the sound that works for you, but aim for that deep, guttural quality. Lightnin’ Hopkins and Muddy Waters mastered this feel—listen closely and learn from them.
That’s the end of Week One. The complete lesson features four weeks of workouts (plus a bonus exercise.) There are two ways to access the full video and musical examples: Join our community at Patreon.com/acousticguitarplusOR Buy the May/June 2025 issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine.
This article originally appeared in the May/June 2025 issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine.
