Truefire Mike Zito Take 5 Swamp Blues TUTORiAL

Louisiana Swamp Blues Essentials for Guitarists
Swamp Blues, also referred to as the Excello sound, is a variation of Louisiana blues with zydeco and Cajun influences. Slim Harpo, Lazy Lester, and Lightnin' Slim are just a few of the legends that made this laid-back, rhythmic dance music so popular in its heyday back in the '50s and '60s. Today, dozens of popular bands continue to keep this style of the blues alive.

Mike kicks off the course with a primer where he explains how to dial in your tone along with other key insight for getting an authentic swamp blues sound. He'll talk about the history of the style, tremolo and reverb, slide and open tunings, and some left and right-hand approaches you'll need to know.

”In the primer, I'll give you an overview of the history of Louisiana swamp blues. We'll talk about the players, the style, the guitar techniques needed to play with feel and authenticity, and I'll demonstrate some of the techniques and tunings. I'll also talk about playing electric and acoustic, and using a slide in swamp blues. Then, I'll give you an overview of using effects like tremolo and reverb to capture the vibe. When playing this style, it's important to understand the basic blues changes in a 1-4-5 and 12-bar blues and 8-bar blues. There's also a fair amount of droning on the root for tension and mixing the major and minor scales for dynamics.”

Mike will then guide you through five Swamp Blues performance studies, from basic to more sophisticated approaches. He will first perform the study over a backing track and then break it down emphasizing the key techniques and approaches in play.



home page: