The Real Country Blues

Learn to play authentic country blues guitar — the deep, soulful styles that shaped American music. In this course, ethnomusicologist, recording artist and MacArthur Fellow Corey Harris guides you through three foundational traditions: the raw, driving Delta blues, the syncopated bounce of ragtime, and the intricate fingerpicking of the Piedmont. Featured in Martin Scorsese’s PBS documentary film Feel Like Going Home, Corey brings decades of stage, studio, and fieldwork experience to every lesson you take.

Working song by song, you’ll build real repertoire while developing the techniques that define the genre — alternating-bass fingerpicking, slide, bends, turnarounds, and the rhythmic drive that makes the blues come alive. Each lesson breaks the music into clear, repeatable steps, so you can play along at your own pace and actually retain what you learn.

This course is for guitarists who know the basics and want to go deeper into traditional acoustic blues, whether you’re chasing the sound of Son House, Charley Patton, or Fred McDowell. All you need is an acoustic guitar and the will to practice.

By the end, you won’t just play blues licks — you’ll understand the language, feel, and history behind the music, straight from a working bluesman who lives the tradition every day.