Call It Stormy Monday (T-Bone Walker) Guitar Lesson with Backing Tracks + TAB

In this guitar lesson, we first work out how to comp this blues standard, including all the original chord substitutions — and then move on to the solo over the Backing Tracks!

Call It Stormy Monday | TAB

Before we start studying T-Bone’s licks, let’s first work out how to comp the complete tune. Here’s the intro.

Verse 1 + Solo

This is the first — and simplest — verse. You can also use this comping pattern during the solo, so either loop it the first time through or play it while someone else takes a solo.

In all of these examples, I’m playing a more blues-style bass line. T-Bone’s approach is more jazz-influenced, but I felt it was easier to make this work when playing on your own by using the ascending bass notes before each chord. If you’re playing along with T-Bone, or with a band that includes a bass player, simply leave the bass lines out.

Verse 2 + 3

Next, we start changing the chords. When T-Bone and his piano player performed this, he was almost certainly improvising — but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First, we’ll work out exactly what they played and learn from it. Take note of the tritone substitutions here.

In verse 3, things calm down a little. Notice how some ideas are recycled, then deliberately held back.

Licks

Now you can record all of that comping — using a loop pedal, for example — and then try out these two incredible licks.

The first lick is unbelievably difficult to play, not to mention to transcribe. I spent hours on this one. Your goal here is not just to learn it, but to learn from it.

We’re playing a G minor blues scale with an added 9th. Practise extremely slowly and aim to play along with T-Bone at around 14 seconds into the recording.