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Essentials: Texas Blues Solos

Performance Studies & Analysis

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Essentials: Texas Blues Solos
Corey Congilio

Corey Congilio

Educator

blues, texas blues, blues-rock

Genres

About this course

Stevie Ray Vaughan, Johnny Winter, Billy Gibbons and Freddie King are just a few of the guitar legends that helped shape the distinctive Texas Blues sound. In this edition of Essentials: Texas Blues, Corey Congilio will guide you through 10 Texas blues solos that pay homage to 10 masters of the genre.

“When I explore a new music genre, technique or style, I tend to not only focus on the pioneers of that style but also consider the unsung heroes. This Essentials course will highlight the stylings of the best known players while also shedding light on some of the lesser known Texas Blues guitar slingers. As I was putting this course together, I was pleasantly surprised at how unique all of these examples are, even though they are all rooted in the Texas Blues vernacular. We’re all using the same words but our voice is our own!”

Each solo is designed to impart the styling, techniques and melodic approaches you’ll need to hone your own Texas blues soloing skills. Corey gives you a quick overview of the artist and their signature approach before demonstrating a full-length solo in their style, over a rhythm track. After the performance, Corey breaks it all down in detail, emphasizing the right and left-hand techniques required to pull it off authentically.

Here’s your Texas Blues playlist for the practice studio…

The Iceman Is In Charge: Albert Collins
Gate's Girl: Clarence Gatemouth Brown
Watson Store?: Johnny Guitar Watson
Cope With This: Johnny Copland
Ready for Freddie : Freddie King
Fast Winter: Johnny Winter
Funky Dogs: Billy Gibbons
Holy Smokes: Smokin’ Joe Kubek
Voodoo You Do: Kenny Wayne Shepherd
CC Does SRV: Stevie Ray Vaughan

All of the performances are tabbed and notated for your practice, reference and study purposes. You’ll also get Guitar Pro files so that you can loop and/or slow any section down as you work through the lessons. Plus, Corey generously includes all of the rhythm tracks for you to work with on your own.

Grab your guitar and head down to the Lone Star State to play some blues with Corey Congilio ….

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

Accessories & More

What you'll learn

  • Master 10 complete Texas blues solos in different styles
  • Create emotionally expressive ballad solos
  • Compose solos that navigate key changes in funky blues rock
  • Blend country, rock, and jazz elements into blues solos
  • Understand the distinctive techniques of 10 Texas blues masters
Release date: 08/24/2015 • 2h 07m runtime
intermediatelate intermediateadvancedguitarelectric guitartechniquesoloing
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Sample lessons
The Iceman Is In Charge
The Iceman Is In Charge
Overview
The Iceman Is In Charge
The Iceman Is In Charge
Perfomance
The Iceman Is In Charge
The Iceman Is In Charge
Breakdown
Voodoo You Do
Voodoo You Do
Overview

What's included

32 lessons • 10 charts • 10 Jam Tracks

Essentials: Texas Blues Solos
Welcome to Essentials: Texas Blues! When I consider exploring a new music genre, technique or style, I love to not only focus on the pioneers of that style but to consider the unsung heroes and those who are at the forefront. This Essentials course will highlight styles from those great Texas blues artists we know and love and shed some light on perhaps some lesser known guitar slingers. As I was putting this course together, I was pleasantly surprised at how unique all of these examples are. I hope this compilation will show us that even though we are all using the same words...our voice is our own.
The Iceman Is In Charge
I never realized how influenced I was by Albert Collins. Much of what I sought after in my early years of playing was directly related to Albert. I loved his short phrasing, staccato attack, and of course, that stinging tele tone.
The Iceman Is In Charge
This solo is over a 12 bar blues in A. The chord changes are where you'd expect them, however there is no V chord on the last bar as in most 12 bar forms. I composed this solo based on many of Albert's signature ideas. Notice the space in between phrases. Great blues players really understand the idea of space, and you'll notice how I employ this in many of the forthcoming solos. I use many half and even quarter step bends too.
The Iceman Is In Charge
Spend some time on these bends. They add a lot of character to your playing, and it's a technique that doesn't require much speed. I'll talk about how I managed to incorporate the Iceman-like vibrato too!
Gate's Girl
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown was one of the "swinginest" bluesmen of all time. I was really taken by his playing when I saw him open for Clapton many years ago. I loved how he put just the right amount of jazziness in his playing. I used a tune called "I Want You For My Girlfriend" for this solo. First, I wanted to literally transcribe the melody of the tune so that you could use this as a real life example of what you might do when soloing after a melody of an instrumental tune.
Gate's Girl
We're in the key of Eb here. Guitarists don't often play in Eb and it can sometimes feel like a no-man's land when navigating the fretboard. The best way to get familiar with less "guitaristic" keys is to jump in and work on some tunes in flat keys. I played in a swing band for many years and most of the tunes were in flat keys. I think this solo is a great way to navigate the key of Eb, so like I said: Jump in!
Gate's Girl
First, I want you to notice the chord changes. This is a normal 12 bar form, but bars 11 and 12 contain the I-IV-II-V chord progression. This style of turnaround is very common in jazz and swing tunes like this one. The melody contains some great "licks" on it's own. The solo employs some typical jazz blues phrasing, but you'll notice how many of those phrases start on upbeats. I'll explain this more in the video, but starting phrases on upbeats is a great way to jazz up your solos. From a technique standpoint, this solo isn't very difficult. The key is playing "behind the beat" at some points and to really stay loose throughout the entire piece.

+ 25 more lessons

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Reviews

22 results

LouisPRS

Verified buyer

01/02/25

Great instructor and course!

Corey Congilio is one of the best instructors. The material he teaches is immediately helpful and taught so you can quickly learn it. This was a great course, and I recommend anything he teaches!

TCAV73

Verified buyer

07/30/24

Yet another great course by Corey Congilio!

jowenblues

Verified buyer

12/15/23

Cory can break down music concepts & ideas that are easy to learn & apply. He's an outstanding guitar player who can practice what he preaches or teaches.

mmmaestro

Verified buyer

10/26/22

Great stuff from Cory again - lots of ideas and just love the Winter!

Uschmed

Verified buyer

04/04/22

Texas Blues Solos

Corey is both a highly talented musician and a natural as a teacher. Again a highly recommendable course and great selection of solos.

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