“Acute Blues” is a medium-tempo shuffle blues in A with a hefty dose of juicy blues licks. These include Carl’s own licks as well as classic licks from the master BB King. The slippery melody is fun to play, the first solo is pure blues bliss, and the second solo is sure to challenge your chops! Don’t be obtuse – learn the acute blues!
Audio Tracks
Here are the audio tracks for this Performance Project. The first track is the complete “Acute Blues” tune with lead guitar. The second track is a backing track with the lead guitar removed.
Overview (May 2021)
“Acute Blues” is a 12-bar blues in A with a standard chord progression:
| A7 | A7 | A7 | A7 |
| D7 | D7 | A7 | A7 |
| E7 | D7 | A7 | E7 |
The tune is built on licks from these four CVA lessons:
“Angular Blues” (Carl’s Lick Book -> Blues)
“Blues Turnarounds in A” (Carl’s Lick Book -> Blues)
“What I Learned From BB King” (What I Learned From…)
“Movable Triplet Line with Open String” (Carl’s Lick Book -> Dominant Verheyen Licks)
The form is:
Melody (2 choruses)
Solo 1 (2 choruses)
Solo 2 (2 choruses)
Melody (2 choruses)
Melody (May 2021)
The melody is built out of ideas from two CVA lessons: “Angular Blues” and “Blues Turnarounds in A.”
Part 2: First Solo (June 2021)
The first solo in “Acute Blues” lets you channel BB King. It’s based on the “What I Learned from BB King” lesson. The solo features some call-and-response between melodic phrases and chord stabs.
Part 3: Second Solo and Last Melody (July 2021)
