My first professional gig was with John Lee Hooker when I was sixteen years old.  I have since performed with R.L. Burnside, Jimmy Rogers, CeDell Davis, Otis Rush, Hubert Sumlin, and many other classic blues artists. I’d like to pass on to you my insights from those experiences, because I want this beautiful music to live on.  My first and most important insight was that the blues is a language, and as such it’s best to learn it like a language. When kids learn to speak, they don’t start with a course in grammar.  They listen to the sounds around them — the word combinations, the inflections, the rhythm, the pitch — and they imitate them until they can say what they want to say using their own voices.

That’s how I teach the blues here at Pickin’ The Blues. Scales, chords and theory have their place, but first I show you the various styles, what to listen for, and how to put together phrases.  I’ll be adding new lessons on a regular basis. Click on the video above for more information. Any questions?  Contact me.  Let’s get started.          – Louie X., aka Sunny Lowdown