Below is the lesson for “Uke Blues no. 2” by Rock Class 101.

Helpful Tips

This fingerstyle piece teaches you bluesy licks and a chord progression that dances between a somber, yet hopeful tonality. This composition is a continuation of a songwriting technique that I love to use, which is: Borrowing a melody (or harmony) from a popular song and using that as your starting point to compose around.

The intro (and outro) of this composition is borrowed from a short phrase heard (from 49 to 55 seconds) in Ry Cooder’s song “Feelin’ Bad Blues”.

Borrowing a melody is an excellent way to begin songwriting (or to break out of a songwriting rut) as it eliminates the pressure of starting from scratch. This idea is something I’ve done for a few arrangements on RC101, including: “Spanish Nights” and Variations on “Ghost Riders in the Sky”.

Part 1 – Performance & Free Lesson

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