daveyhunt
Verified buyer
11/02/26
Crash course in blues rhythm
A really nice crash course in blues rhythm guitar. Corey is a chill guy and expalins things in an accessible way but builds up the complexity over time.
50 Blues Rhythms You MUST Know
50 blues rhythms, voicings, fills, and techniques you must know.
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About this course
You're nursing your brew at the local blues jam waiting on your turn. You've got a solid six or so blues grooves under your belt but darn, someone already called the Stormy blues and that SRV jam. Next guy called the minor blues ala B.B. and then, as luck would have it, the Chicago shuffle groove in the same key you do it in. Fingers are crossed but of course cat number three calls both your slow blues and that uptempo straight-ahead thing you feel solid on.
So, you finish your beer, cross your name off the list, and head out the door promising yourself that you'll get there earlier next week. Well, sit back down my bluesy friend 'cause Corey Congilio's 50 Blues Rhythms You MUST Know will keep you there all night long.
You can spend years going through chord books, transcribing blues tunes, clocking what other players are doing and learning little bits and pieces here and there OR you can spend a few weeks in the shed digging into 50 Blues Rhythms You MUST Know. You'll emerge with a blues rhythm arsenal that will put you to the top of the list at the local jam and keep you on stage all night long.
So, you finish your beer, cross your name off the list, and head out the door promising yourself that you'll get there earlier next week. Well, sit back down my bluesy friend 'cause Corey Congilio's 50 Blues Rhythms You MUST Know will keep you there all night long.
"One of the coolest things about the material presented by Corey is that it offers something to learn for almost all levels of guitar players." - Mark Varszegi, TrueFire Student50 Blues Rhythms is much more than just 50 grooves you can call up at the jam. It's actually 40 different rhythmic and chord voicing approaches for the 12-bar blues that Corey demonstrates in the same key for continuity purposes. ALL of these 40 approaches can be transposed to all keys, and ALL can be combined to craft countless blues grooves that you can jam over, compose with, or use for accompaniment purposes in any blues setting. The last 10 examples illustrate how to combine various approaches from the previous 40 examples.
"Corey Congilio is a great player and an excellent instructor. I am working my way through a couple of his different courses and really like the way that he communicates the information. One of the biggest things about education is presentation, if the teacher has style and charisma it can truly make a world of difference." - Travis Ziegler, TrueFire StudentUnlike many of our 50 Licks courses, this one is the proverbial "Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for life" type of learning experience. You'll learn a truckload of new voicings, new rhythmic patterns, new fills and even new right-hand techniques, all of which can be combined, transcribed and crafted into countless blues applications.
You can spend years going through chord books, transcribing blues tunes, clocking what other players are doing and learning little bits and pieces here and there OR you can spend a few weeks in the shed digging into 50 Blues Rhythms You MUST Know. You'll emerge with a blues rhythm arsenal that will put you to the top of the list at the local jam and keep you on stage all night long.
Corey Congilio's Preferred Gear
Below is a list of Corey Congilio's preferred gear including guitars, amps, pedals, accessories, and more. What you see in Corey's lessons may or may not be this actual gear, but if you are trying to capture Corey's sound and tone, the gear listed below is recommended by Corey and it's a great place to start!
Guitars
Amps
Pedals
- J. Rockett Tim Pierce Signature Overdrive Pedal
- DOD Carcosa Analog Fuzz Pedal
- Dunlop DVP4 Volume (X) Mini Pedal
- Universal Audio UAFX Golden Reverberator Pedal
- Universal Audio UAFX Starlight Echo Station Delay Pedal
- Universal Audio UAFX Astra Modulation Machine Pedal
- Korg Pitchblack Custom Pedal Tuner
Accessories & More
What you'll learn
- Play movable 9th chord shapes across the fretboard
- Navigate I-IV-V changes with consistent chord shapes
- Integrate melodic licks with chord changes
- Combine pentatonic lines with dominant chord voicings
- Create horn section-style rhythmic figures
Release date: 01/24/2013 • 3h 52m runtime
Sample lessons
Piece By Piece
Rhythm 24
Mother Funker
Rhythm 31
Not Finished w/ Diminished
Rhythm 34
Unusual Sus-pect
Rhythm 37
What's included
53 lessons • 50 charts • 50 Jam Tracks
Welcome to 50 Blues Rhythms You Must Know! Let me start out by saying that I love the "50 Licks" format. This Blues Rhythm course fits perfectly into the 50 Licks style.
First, I've created 40 rhythms in the same key.
Why? Well, I didn't want to confuse you with different chords in different keys. I thought that playing a bunch of rhythms in the same key would develop continuity. The goal is to put as many ideas as possible into your rhythm playing. Keeping them in the same key will help focus those ideas. The last 10 examples will be combinations of everything we've learned in the first 40 examples. At that point, we will change keys and develop some new rhythmic ideas.
There are several goals to be achieved in this course.
We will learn new and interesting chord shapes that primarily center around I-IV-V progressions. We will also learn about what I call harmonic continuity. We'll also tackle different rhythmic feels.
The most important goal here is to learn to LOVE playing rhythm guitar! I do and I think it will come through on the videos. I'm really excited for you to dig in on this course.
50 Blues Rhythms You Must Know could potentially change your guitar playing forever!
First, I've created 40 rhythms in the same key.
Why? Well, I didn't want to confuse you with different chords in different keys. I thought that playing a bunch of rhythms in the same key would develop continuity. The goal is to put as many ideas as possible into your rhythm playing. Keeping them in the same key will help focus those ideas. The last 10 examples will be combinations of everything we've learned in the first 40 examples. At that point, we will change keys and develop some new rhythmic ideas.
There are several goals to be achieved in this course.
We will learn new and interesting chord shapes that primarily center around I-IV-V progressions. We will also learn about what I call harmonic continuity. We'll also tackle different rhythmic feels.
The most important goal here is to learn to LOVE playing rhythm guitar! I do and I think it will come through on the videos. I'm really excited for you to dig in on this course.
50 Blues Rhythms You Must Know could potentially change your guitar playing forever!
Throughout this course we'll be focusing on the 12-bar blues, a twelve measure song form commonly used for playing blues songs.
We'll work with the I IV V chord progression throughout in different keys, which will give us a nice consistent approach and sets up the focus for the course, the rhythms! Let's dig in!
We'll work with the I IV V chord progression throughout in different keys, which will give us a nice consistent approach and sets up the focus for the course, the rhythms! Let's dig in!
This first batch of grooves revolves around what I consider to be the most basic of blues rhythms.
If you've played any blues at all, you've probably used these first few rhythms. Many of the rhythms we're going to play revolve around the common 12 bar blues. The 12 bar blues is a musical "form" or "song structure" that consists of 12 measures. The chords in this first example consist of the open (or first position) root-V chords. You'll also be incorporating the root-VI shape. These examples can be traced to guitarists like Chuck Berry, Elmore James, and as far back as Robert Johnson. I believe these rhythms were invented to mimic the stride piano styles of the 30's, 40's and 50's.
Even though this may seem simple, we need to start here to develop a trend throughout the course. Even if you know this progression, watch the video as it will set up future examples.
If you've played any blues at all, you've probably used these first few rhythms. Many of the rhythms we're going to play revolve around the common 12 bar blues. The 12 bar blues is a musical "form" or "song structure" that consists of 12 measures. The chords in this first example consist of the open (or first position) root-V chords. You'll also be incorporating the root-VI shape. These examples can be traced to guitarists like Chuck Berry, Elmore James, and as far back as Robert Johnson. I believe these rhythms were invented to mimic the stride piano styles of the 30's, 40's and 50's.
Even though this may seem simple, we need to start here to develop a trend throughout the course. Even if you know this progression, watch the video as it will set up future examples.
I wanted to establish some understanding of musical "feels."
I'll be playing many of these examples in what is commonly referred to as a "straight" feel or "shuffle" feel. This example is a "straight" feel.
Think rock n' roll when you think straight. To keep up with the Chuck Berry idea - think Memphis, Tennessee.
I'll be playing many of these examples in what is commonly referred to as a "straight" feel or "shuffle" feel. This example is a "straight" feel.
Think rock n' roll when you think straight. To keep up with the Chuck Berry idea - think Memphis, Tennessee.
So, you've just started playing some blues rhythm guitar and you want to spice up what you've learned.
We're going to stay in what is often called "first position" or "open position".
This example is a shuffle that incorporates the b7 note into the riffs we've already tackled. Again, if you've done this before, just play along.
We're going to stay in what is often called "first position" or "open position".
This example is a shuffle that incorporates the b7 note into the riffs we've already tackled. Again, if you've done this before, just play along.
Here is another "straight" rhythm. Again, I'm incorporating the b7 note into the rhythm.
You'll notice that I’m slowly adding riffs to the rhythms as well. Notice how I'll create "melodic" rhythm examples too.
There is melody in everything so, let's keep that in mind early on!
You'll notice that I’m slowly adding riffs to the rhythms as well. Notice how I'll create "melodic" rhythm examples too.
There is melody in everything so, let's keep that in mind early on!
This is a turnaround that can be added to the straight 7ths example. If you don't know what a turnaround is, let me explain. The turnaround refers to the last 4 bars of a 12 bar blues example.
Again, this stuff may seem basic at first. I've created this course for beginners to upper intermediate players. There were times in my life where I didn't know some of the simplest things because no one showed them to me! My goal is to leave no stone unturned.
We're going to cover a ton of stuff, let's continue!
Again, this stuff may seem basic at first. I've created this course for beginners to upper intermediate players. There were times in my life where I didn't know some of the simplest things because no one showed them to me! My goal is to leave no stone unturned.
We're going to cover a ton of stuff, let's continue!
+ 46 more lessons
Reviews
106 results
medt10
Verified buyer
12/11/25
I purchased this course as a supplemental to the Blues Learning Path. I have enjoyed other courses from the instructor and I look forward to this one.
Jake1955
Verified buyer
12/02/25
Ok
Knew the first 15 already. I’m an intermediate, so I went through the first 15 in short order and haven’t been back to it. We will see…
ace40
Verified buyer
11/21/25
This course really helped me with my rythm blues guitar chops. Laid out in a user friendly way, easy to get through. Covers tons of blues patterns. And, a lot of fun!!
studdley2121
Verified buyer
11/16/25
50 Blues Rhythms
Excellent tutorial So easy to follow
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