Urban Blues Revolution

Modern Approaches for Blues Improvisation & Comping

Marty FriedmanTommy EmmanuelSteve VaiEric GalesEric Johnson

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Urban Blues Revolution

About this course

Everybody knows that the blues comes out of the south, and was played on acoustic instruments. Then the blues migrated to the cities, and the urbanization of the blues brought about a lot of changes with all the influences that were there. The most radical was the electrification of the blues - the use of amplifiers and electric guitars gave rise to a variety of tones and signature voices.

Robben Ford’s Urban Blues Revolution examines this modernization of the blues with rhythm and soloing examples, both of which illustrate traditional approaches followed by a more contemporary approach. For each of the 6 sets of Performance Studies, Robben will first play rhythm guitar over the track, and then solo over the track providing insight for his approaches.

”We're going to work with six tracks that are inspired by the modernization of the blues. For each of these rhythm tracks, I'll show you the way that it was traditionally played, and then show ways that I'd play it today. Also, I'll show you how I'd solo over these tracks.

Robben will explain and demonstrate all of the key concepts and approaches along the way.  You’ll get standard notation and tabs for all of the rhythm and soloing Performance Studies. Plus, Robben includes all of the rhythm tracks for you to work with on your own. In addition, you’ll be able to loop or slow down any of the performances so that you can work with the lessons at your own pace.

Grab your guitar and let’s get urban with Robben Ford!

What you'll learn

  • Apply pedal point concepts to create melodic continuity through chord changes
  • Apply jazz chord voicings to blues progressions
  • Use open strings effectively in blues rhythm playing
  • Master voice leading techniques using common tones on top voices
  • Develop multiple voicing options for the same chord progression
Release date: 05/24/2018 • 1h 45m runtime
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Sample lessons
Sam's Jam
Sam's Jam
Rhythm Overview
Sam's Jam
Sam's Jam
Rhythm Performance
Sam's Jam
Sam's Jam
Rhythm Breakdown
Sam's Jam
Sam's Jam
Soloing Overview

What's included

32 lessons • 12 charts • 6 Jam Tracks

Urban Blues Revolution
Hi, I'm Robben Ford, and welcome to Urban Blues Revolution. Everybody knows that the blues comes out of the south, and was played on acoustic instruments. Then the blues moved to the cities, and the urbanization of the blues brought about a lot of changes with all the influences that were there. The most radical was the electrification of the blues - the use of amplifiers and electric guitars gave rise to a variety of tones and signature voices.

In this course, we're going to work with six tracks that are inspired by the modernization of the blues. For each of these rhythm tracks, I'll show you the way that it was traditionally played, and then show ways that I'd play it today. Also, I'll show you how I'd solo over these tracks.

Everything is tabbed and notated, and you'll get the rhythm tracks to play along with on your own. You can loop or slow down any section of the videos so that you can learn at your own pace. So, grab your guitar and let's go!
Blues Boogaloo
"Blues Boogaloo" is inspired by a song by Slim Harpo. I'm going to play the basic rhythm part for that, and then expand on it.
Blues Boogaloo
"Blues Boogaloo" is inspired by a song by Slim Harpo. Here I'm playing the basic rhythm part for that, and then expanding on it.
Blues Boogaloo
Now we'll break down "Blues Boogaloo". Let's take a look at some of the rhythm techniques I used over this progression.
Blues Boogaloo
Now that you've seen my rhythmic approach to "Blues Boogaloo", I'll play a little bit so you can get some ideas for soloing.
Blues Boogaloo
Here are some soloing approaches for "Blues Boogaloo".
Dance Hall Slim
Now I'll play rhythm over a track we call "Dance Hall Slim", which actually has some Cuban influence in it.

+ 25 more lessons

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Reviews

16 results

claudoleva

Verified buyer

05/10/24

Excellent

Uschmed

Verified buyer

12/16/21

Urban Blues Revolution

Learning from the Masters again!. Like all of Robben Ford's courses that I own this one offers a lot to benefit and gain from. Mainly in the rhythm parts though, as he breaks those down, whereas the solo examples are not broken down. That is why one star is missing.

philrey

Verified buyer

06/05/21

Robben au top

Du grand Robben Ford. Des explications pas à pas sur la rythmique et les solos proposés.

brosblues

Verified buyer

06/05/21

A disappointment

I was somewhat disappointed in both the video and the associated book published by Truefire and Fundamental Changes. I think the book was a sloppily prepared knockoff of the video. The video itself shows the virtuosity of Robben Ford, but in my opinion lacks clear explanations of his solos and rhythm patterns. The book has no audio for the first two examples and contains errors and misleading statements at least in the first two chapters

Miguel

02/14/21

So Happy to have this one.

This is yet another must have by Robben Ford. I'm just smitten and obsessed with his rhythm playing approach. Once you get it down you realize that you have really cool chops under your belt.

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