Tim Lerch Blues Lessson #1
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- In the first installment of Jet City Music's lesson series, Seattle guitarist Tim Lerch explains how the notes of a scale, represented by numbers, relate to their underlying chords, and can be used to create moveable blues melodies. The tablature for this lesson is available at JetCityMusic.com
This should be mandatory for every beginner/ intermediate player. Thank you so much!
As a novice guitar player and blues enthusiast I have to say that this video is among the most clear-cut and easily accessible ones I've seen. And I've seen many.
As someone who started playing in 1977, had a spinal injury in 2005, and haven't been able to play since 2010, but who's been studying non stop since them, I concur: I just discovered Tim's teaching on TrueFire last month.
He is truly a phenomenal teacher.
I highly suggest you check out his lessons over there. If you'd like a recommendation, in case you want to buy one instead of join the All Access, please let me know.
I love Ted Greene's teaching and playing (only one album, but look him up: he's so joyful and kind and what a master... my friend Steve Vai told me if I only buy one book to study chord voicings, make it Ted Greene's Chord Chemistry.
I just found out today that Tim Lerch was a student of Ted's! That makes SO MUCH sense. So kind. Both masters. The most excellent of teachers.
I just left a message that was much too long stating that THIS was the lesson I've been looking for forever.
I LOVE that Tim uses the A Ionian chord numbers (plus the flat 7 and flat 3rd, e.t.c... but he is naming the intervals, rather than the fret numbers... teaching people music by naming fret numbers is akin to teaching them to type their favorite book, rather than teaching them how their favorite book was written. )
Enjoy!
You're looking at least a decade younger than last time I saw you Tim. Good for you my friend. Thanks for the guitar stuff.
Tim, I believe that there is nobody who can explain the blues guitar playing as you do. Thank you, and thank you again for sharing your artistic knowledge
Ah, Tim!! THANK YOU SO MUCH for explaining these melodies using chord tones!! (Or tones as they relate to the Root note.) Thank you! I so appreciate this. Give a man (case, a woman) a fish, and he'll eat for a day... kind of thing.
Over 40 years ago, my guitar teacher made me memorize the notes on the entire fretboard (took less than 10 seconds to find all 12 of each note, thanks to the way he taught me).
I so appreciate the way you teach.
Thank you!
And what a fabulous sound you get from your playing style (it's all [most of it] in the fingers).
I study your work on TrueFire starting last month.
I lost the ability to play due to spinal injury, but I'm going to beat that issue. Chinese energetics already got my nerve damaged fretting hand to open after being shut 13 years. Never say never.
I played by ear for 30 years, including early Stray Cats (Cliff Gallop guitar parts on their first US release! Brian laughed when I told him I loved his homage to Cliff. I meant it as a compliment! He said he DID borrow them. Mel Bay books and Gene Vincent albums taught him how to play! 😂)
At the behest of my friend Mr Vai, I have been studying theory non stop since 2007. I already knew enough to figure out tunes by ear, but when, for ex, Brian Setzer and I were jamming in 1995, I didn't know the names of a lot of the chords I played by ear (but he said they were right. And that he "never heard girl play like that!" Then he mentioned Rosetta Tharpe. Amazing it took me almost playing 30 years to ever learn about a female rockabilly guitarist who ran circles around most of the guys. She was black and gay... thank goodness she's getting the respect she deserves, thanks to TH-cam! )
So, now I know the chords and now that I'm really studying jazz daily, the jazz theory is finally sinking in.
Thanks to great teachers like you!
I can't wait to continue watching this series of videos.
And I have you saved as a Favorite Educator on Truefire.
It's rare that a Master can teach as well as he plays. So far I've found that you, Mimi Foxx, and Robben Ford fit the bill.
(Of course, Brian Setzer does, too. But he hasn't released anything new lately. )
This was long... but Im so excited to learn what you're teaching. It's starting to make sense!
And thank you to my childhood guitar teacher who made me memorize all of the names of the notes on the fretboard before he'd teach me a KISS song when I was 11! 😂
Thank you so much, Tim!
(Your daily Bb Shorts were ...WOW!!!🔥🔥🔥 INSPIRING!)
😊
I live in WA and have been in voluntary isolation for over three weeks, and am now ""shelter in place for who knows how long. Stumbled on this video quite by accident. Love this little melody, it is both calming and fun to play. Thanks for your lessons. Really like your music.
Well I'll be . I finally found a guitar teacher that I can relate to . An even better , a Tele teacher ! In my 53 years and 40 years of playing ( of which I'm self taught , sadly ) , I can now truly learn . I cant tell you how pleased I am 😊 . Now , I'll have to figure how to do the pdf and all that , as well as follow your channel . Thank you so much for posting
I often can't stand the blues, but Tim makes anything he plays sound so sweet.
Was not expecting that wonderful blues voice!!!! first guitar teacher ive heard on youtube that can actually sing !!! haha thanks for the video
woww the sound is...Charlie christian..fantastic
Dang your hide, Tim! I was gigging and taking lessons before you were born, and you just taught me something I never knew and never thought about! How do you do that?
I discovered your videos a few years ago and recommended them to guitar player friends...now I’m revisiting your lessons. Your a great player and teacher. Thank you!
The blues and rockabilly are my favorite styles of music to play. I found these videos while researching CC neck pickups in telecasters. I must say, I love your playing and teaching style! Excellent stuff! The nocaster with the Lollar pickups sounds fantastic. I will be sure to watch and pay attention to all of your future lessons. Thank you so much, Tim!
I totally agree on what you said about repeating phrases! Great lesson, Tim!
I have Desi Serna's guitar coures, many True fire guitare lessond, as well as Siggie Merts songs and many others over the years and your lesson right here is by far the nuts and bolts of the blues. While all these others are great in them selves your is so uncomplicated as to be applied easly. Thank you and I'll be back
Inspirational. Thank you, Tim.
best blues lessons ever, so much to apply to my repertoire, thank you so much!
I like your style of teaching.
A woonderfull lesson from a really Great!
And my love with the Tellys start with him and Ted!
Tim, I love your approach to teaching and your really cool playing.
I learn from you because I never did the deed on a solid body before. Never learned the popular styles, only jazz and classical. You may think it's simple, but there is a lot to this stuff!
Bravissimo Tim!!!
I'll surely watch every lesson from this great player and very nice guy!
THX for these amazing vids
I've been wanting to go back and take lessons again, and improve my blues playing. Your videos are very helpful. Thank you!
Taste, touch and tone. Tims' got it all. I really enjoy his playing and I'm very glad to get a some great teaching from a master.
Yes, more please!
Nice one Tim, I’m a big fan of the intervalic system . Keep up with the videos there much appreciated, cheere
excellent lesson!!
Wonderfull Tim!
The best blues lesson ever!
Thanks a lot!
I love your class very clear, fantastic
What a great lesson. I love the blend of music theory with technique!
Tim - I'm not going to embarrass myself and say how long I've been playing - I thought that was a great lesson which I got a lot of pleasure learning. Even just looking at some of your techniques (slight rake before ringing the note) has inspired me. Thanks a lot for posting these videos.
this is a great lesson! good job jetcitymusic, good job Tim!
Great! a very mature approach, thanks
genial
That was so awesome and look and sound so fantastic an easy but, when I trying i’m going no where and get all frustrated but, even though I had played for years as a self taught. I love guitar and I owned a several of them and I love the guitar sound and I love to play it regardless even though I didn’t do right, that is why I need a patient master guitar guru like Mr. Tim Lerch that can break the hard Puzzle into easy to understand.
Really great! I wish I could play guitar like you!
Great lesson my friend. Thnx.
really appreciate that you upload this. profound. thank you.
YOU sir, are a GREAT teacher! Fantastic approach. (I too can't find the PDF), but your teaching style is outstanding!
Very useful and what is important - good and simple presentation !
So helpful indeed, I think you can't even imagine how much !! I learn how to play the guitar on the internet, basically getting some tabs to learn song I like from. The more I played, the more I was thinking about how really works this awesome instrument. So I watched many videos since, talking about solo improvisation and stuff, and I really, really felt like it missed something, I was too .. robotic and couldn't really play what I "meant". Sorry for my bad english, but I still can say :
You're the best ! Thank you a lot Tim !
Well you're a drummer.
Great explanation, thank you.
Kept watching and you threw my fave bend in! lol
Really enjoy your style.
Haha, few weeks ago, I started to use the I-IV repetition because of Coltrane, I thought that's really bluesy, and 'root stuff' - in modern music show respect to the history. Thanks Tim, you 'verified' me, in this :)
Thanks
Tim great lessons ang guitar playing thanks from mexico city
The number system is awesome the first one I heard about was the Nashville number system but when you really get into it and you look at the numbers I have the cords play the numbers that show you how to transpose really quick
Man you are a great teacher!!
Great Tim!
@gjfanatique I have checked you page and you play very beautifully! I can't imagine what you might have learned from this except for perhaps how to wear the wrong color sox on camera!
all the best, please keep posting your wonderful videos.
that was a great lesson! i think i just moved to the next level.
good work Tim
Very well done Tim. You have a really nice and natural style of teaching. Keep you the great stylistic playing and did I mention your tone is awesome too! Found you through Rick Fass on FB.
For my students .They say ask him to explain, the 1 to 7 .they want it from you! Thanks much
Rick Shipman can you please clarify your question? I’ll answer if I can. Thanks
Thank you, very soulful :-)
Great!
Here’s how to be able to use every single note on the fretboard in a Blues and never get lost:
1: Play the 5 minor pentatonic positions in the key of E that are associated with the 5 chord shapes that spell CAGED. (Start with learning it in E because the guitar is tuned to E minor pentatonic EADGBE or EGABDE.) Those notes in E are:
1-b3-4-5-b7-(1).
2: Add in b5 from the Blues scale.
3: Add in 3 from Mixolydian.
4: Add in 2 and 6 also from Mixolydian.
5: Finally add in the “outside” notes of b2, #5, and 7. Play these as chromatic passing tones which should quickly resolve to chord tones.
- - -
A: You must always know both the letter name of the note that you are on AND it’s numerical function over the chord.
B: The most “important” notes are the “guide tones” of the chord so 3 and 7, as well as of course the root or 1. As you move from one CAGED position to another, aim for one or more of those three notes of 3-7-1.
D: Think of all 12 notes as being either CHORD TONES of 1-3-5-7, or SCALAR PASSING TONES of 2-4-6,
or BLUES NOTES of b3-b5, or CHROMATIC PASSING TONES of b2-#5-7.
- - -
Do this and you will be able to play any note on the neck over a chord.
Now if the Blues song has 3 chords, do this “mapping” for each of the 3 chords by applying what you now know about the key of E to ALL THE OTHER KEYS.
Learn ideas from Blues players and analyze them numerically, like “B. B. King hits 1 on the high E string and slides down”. Acquire a lot of these analyzed ideas.
There you have it.
Nathan Cirillo wow Nathan, this is great, you ought to make your own video about this and post it on your own TH-cam Channel.
Timothy Lerch :
Thank you for saying that.
I am working on something right now.
“It’s all chromatic”, “think of the guitar as tuned to Em pentatonic AND an Em7 chord (EADGBE, EGABDE), if you can play in E then you can play in all keys”, “take that first pentatonic “E” box using open strings, first map out the minor Pentatonic (keep track of every note and interval name), then add in b5 from the Blues scale and invent licks, then b3 to 3 - always resolve up and invent licks, then 2 and 6 from Mixo and invent licks - 2 is tricky - try b7-2-1, then the remaining chromatic passing tones of b2, #5/b6, 7 - these are the “stinkiest” and must be used judiciously so b2 like 1-b2-2-b3-3 or #5 like 5-#5-6-b7 or 7 like b7-7-1” ...
Soon that entire first position up to the 5th fret will be completely available to you, all notes and all intervals.
A Blues is the best way to start using all of this.
I’m also working on exercises with ascending and descending tritones to develop speed-picking.
Thanks for the encouragement.
I’d love it if you’d try this to see what you think, and possibly give me some feedback.
@@freecitizen2760 Nathan, have you ever checked out Ted Greene's guitar books?
Beautiful
My new DVD Blues Guitar Road Trip is now available from Hal Leonard. Look for it on Amazon or at your loca
!excellent!
Yes, Great Lesson !
And Best Regards too from France, by Optim Guitare (Lollar Pickups)
For your second lesson, it's possible to have the blues in C, from your demo :
"Tim Lerch / Lollar CC #3 Dirtier Still"
Thanks !
François
Damn i love these licks. I gotta learn them. Wish he had tabs
Wonderful. Thanks a million. Sub'd.
7:00 reminded me of the theme song for goron city in ocarina of time
seems like they really need to come out with a jet City guitar pick with that logo on it don't you think? by the way nice playing and I think you helped me decide on a 52 T pickup for the Esquire I'm building
I'm sitting here playing this on a baritone uke. Sounds great, just need to work out a turnaround without an A string.
thanxxx
Very Nice, thank you ! Abit more about thumb independance if you can ! Thank you.
“Now we gotta do something different...” x_x lost you there.
Can anyone recommend any recordings of blues played in this quiet style with a lot of spacing, may guitar being the only instrument? sounds wonderful. thanks
Cheers mate :)
great lesson. i'm definitely a victim of not using repetition often enough.
but I'd be open to suggestion if you have another idea
strange thing, the first things i played on my tele was "girl from Ipenema" and one of beethovens tunes with twiddly bits.sounded ok to me without any mods....tele nocaster into vox ac30 (had it for 40yrs)...mind you i am 82...........if it aint broke dont sell it...........
Is the bridge pickup a Lollar CC as well ? Thanks very much. Great video!
this is great but you showed the breakdown of the I and IV but glossed over the V and the turnaround. where is that?
why do you take your thumb off to do vibrato (in the first melody)? I like the premise of developing a vocabulary.
Your mother ship chord is an "F" form. I can tell that you enjoy a better term and perhaps you've already had this after thought on editing. (G) Your use of numbers is stellar and I enjoy using the major 6 bending up to the minor 7. Keep rocking brother!
Wonderful lesson. However the links to the PDFs for the TABs just give another webpage. There is no TAB.
Try timlerch.com/lessons.html
Don't suppose the pdf is still available for this?
FezzantPlucka visit to www.timlerch.com
Dear Tim, I love your blues lessons (1-5). I tried to download the pdfs but this just sends me to another page of JetCityMusic. Is there another way to get these tabs?
Am I the only one to find there are 3 "s" for Lesson? :P
AKA dominant 7th arpeggios
I notice that both Teles' are the same colour .. is that so the bride thinks you only have one guitar when one is living in the case ??? works for me 🤣
Local store, thanks
Hi the lesson is fantastic, but your web page does not work
Try his new site : www.timlerch.com/lessons.html
you have to pay for them :(
The Man from Epsilon Crucis and you should
never mind, you just did it two times at the start.
umm...the background's kinda ripping off PGS lol. but nice lesson nonetheless :D
Mm
Sorry, for your third lesson :-)
Why, Why, Why, oh Why...does anyone think that the Blues or for that matter any Genre of music have to fit a mold or a certain progression? To get down to where the tire truly makes contact with the road (any road) the old time Bluesmen of the early 1900’s couldn’t read music, didn’t know theory, barely had a full 6 strings on a guitar, if they even had a guitar now were giving lessons on how to play the Blues, news flash! You can’t teach the blues it is without a shape and form to put it another way to make Blues music a program, or a class for extra credit, it can’t be done. It’s like trying to draw a picture of ones soul...you can’t do it...it’s a feeling, deeply rooted in circumstance and trials of life...it’s not arpeggios, and fifths ove a pentatonic scale or whatever! Either you know the blues or you don’t either you can or you can’t, some things are just meant for a moment, and place in time, just listen, and express your self the best way you can...but stop trying to teach the blues...
Really...
Jeffery Mercer All music needs to be felt. However, there was a pattern, a basic system that evolved, based on the relationships of the notes and chords. They didn't read music, but they could hear and recognize those relationships. Those relationships are what gives the blues it's characteristic sound and feel. To deny that is just plain ignorance.
Are tabs available of these? I did sign up at the Patreon site.