Memphis blues guitar is one of the deepest, horn-friendly, singer-friendly styles in American music. It was the sound of Hi Records in the 1970s, the rhythm section behind Al Green and Ann Peebles, the driving eighth notes that propelled Teenie Hodges into songs like “Love and Happiness,” and the kind of tight, heavy compositions that made a producer fall in love with a guitar player. In a featured lesson, TrueFire teacher Scott Sharrard breaks down exactly how this force works on the instrument, using the one-chord A-flat minor vamp of “Love and Happiness” as his laboratory.
Scott has the credentials to teach this material from the inside. He recorded half of the album Saving Grace with Hi Rhythm Section members themselves: Howard Grimes on drums (the player was nicknamed “Bulldog” because of the way he refused to let go of the groove), Leroy Hodges on bass, and Charles Hodges on the key. What he teaches in this video comes directly from that stage experience. Read on for a complete breakdown of each concept Scott covers.
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Why Memphis Blues Guitars Still Matter
Memphis blues guitar sits at the intersection of blues, soul, gospel, and R&B. Genre lines are intentionally blurred. What holds this game together is a deep commitment to the groove and the singers. Guitarist Memphis works as an architect of feeling. They make singers sound great, they give the horn section something to latch onto, and they hold the pulse so the drummer and bassist can breathe.
It is one of the most rewarding roles a working guitar player can master. The producers loved it. Songwriters love it. The band leader loved it. If you can play tight, Memphis-style rhythm guitar, you’ll be called on for sessions and gigs for the rest of your career.
Hi Record Sounds and the Players Who Create Them
1970s Hi Records sound, produced by Willie Mitchellset template for soul-blues guitar. Al Green Catalog (I still love you marking the peak of the era) is the most famous example, but the list of other Hi names is just as deep. Syl Johnson. Ann Peebles. Otis Clay. The Hi Rhythm Section served as the house band on every classic record that came out of the label.
If you want an introductory look at Memphis’ broader recording heritage, the TrueFire blog has an article about the Memphis sound that frames the city’s overall musical story. For a guitar player, the Hi Records era was a master class in how rhythm guitar fit into soul-blues arrangements.
Memphis Soul Guitar: Teenie Hodges and “Love and Happiness”
Memphis soul guitar has no more important practitioners than Mabon “Teenager” Hodges. Teenie co-wrote “Love and Happiness” with Al Green, and its guitar parts in the Hi Records catalog are a clinic in restraint, flow and tonal character. Scott uses Teenie’s long A-flat minor vamp from the end of “Love and Happiness” as the basis for this entire lesson. It’s a one-chord groove that allows every other part of the arrangement (Al’s vocals, horn line, backup singers, rhythm section) to breathe and build on top.
The choice of A-flat minor is important. As Scott notes in the video, each chord carries a different emotional resonance. Moving a song even half a step can change how the singer performs it, how the band perceives it, and how the listener receives it. A-flat minor is an unusual key for guitar players, and that unfamiliarity is the reason the piece feels so different on the original recording.
Blues Rhythms Accompany the Memphis Way: The Chop
The foundation of a blues rhythm composed in the Memphis style is what Scott calls the “Memphis chop.” Short, percussive notes on chords. The fretting hand applies pressure on and off the strings to rhythmically strike and release chords. The right hand uses all the downstrokes with a big emphasis on low E (or whatever bass note your voice uses). The result is a guitar part that functions like a drum as well as a chordal instrument.
For Scott’s A-flat minor variation, the chord is at the 4th fret with the thumb wrapped around the bass note to give extra weight to the sound. The fifth is taken out of the chord. The first finger borders the top four strings. The thumb anchors the bottom edge. From there the right hand became a percussion instrument. Long notes on the low strings, short notes on the chords, and the muffled attack of the fretting hand pulse all drive the pattern.
This is one of the most difficult skills in rhythm guitar to master cleanly. Scott’s advice: take your time, and remember that good quarter notes, good eighth notes, and good sixteenth notes in your right hand will make you one of the most valuable guitar players any singer-songwriter, arranger, or producer will ever employ.
Rhythm Guitar in a Band: Locking in with a Drummer
The rhythm of a guitar in a band lives or dies depending on how tightly you lock it with the drummer’s right hand. In Memphis style, that means hi-hat. Howard Grimesthe Hi Rhythm Section drummer Scott toured with in Japan, physically playing hi-hats on cymbals, leaning on every eighth note. The sound of these recordings is mostly his hi-hat sound emphasizing the groove.
Your job as a rhythm guitar player is to shadow those hi-hats. Your right hand’s downward stroke should land where the cymbal lands. Once you lock it in, the whole setup starts to feel like a breathing organism. The bass and bass side of your voice reinforce each other. The chords cut and the snares support each other. The horns and vocals can soar above because the foundation underneath is solid.
Playing the Guitar with the Horn: Stabs, Triads, and Two-Four Accents
Playing guitar with trumpet is a special discipline in Memphis style arranging. Horn handles punctuation. Your job is to support them and stay away from them. Scott demonstrates one perfect approach: take a higher-pitched minor triad, play it on notes two and four like a horn section stab, and let the lower-note chops carry the underlying groove.
The sound he uses is an A-flat minor triad in the neck (a different inversion of the rhythmic chord at the 4th fret). The accent pattern is short and strong on number 2, with a slight variation on number 4 that goes against the beat. The result feels like a horn line voiced over a guitar, which is the kind of part that earns you a permanent spot in a soul band’s rhythm section.
Soul Blues Guitar Vocabulary: Bends, Slides, and Phrases Behind the Rhythm
Once the groove is locked in, the soul blues guitar begins to open up melodically. Scott layers a single note motif over an A-flat minor vamp using reverse bends, pull-offs to minor thirds, and upward slides with vibrato. The notes come from the A-flat minor pentatonic scale, and the phrasing carries more weight than the form of the scale itself. Each phrase has space around it. Each note sits slightly behind the beat, like a great singer leaning into a phrase.
Scott’s repeated instruction throughout this piece is to think like a singer. Think like you’re Al Green. Let the guitar phrasing breathe. Back off the beat. Let listeners catch up. It’s that kind of patient phrasing of his vocal style that differentiates his soulful Memphis lines from generic blues licks. This is also what makes the part feel like the “cherry on top” of the arrangement, complementing the rhythm section and vocalist without ever competing with them.
Incorporating Memphis Blues Guitar into Your Playing
A practical seven-day plan to start absorbing this style:
- Day 1: Listen with intention. Use I still love youan Al Green Hi Records compilation, or anything by Ann Peebles or Syl Johnson. Focus your ear on the rhythm guitar part. Pay attention to how short the cuts are, how stable the timing is, and how much air is between the guitar and the other instruments.
- Day 2: Learn the A-flat minor chord sound with the thumb-in-bass at the 4th fret. Clean up the sound before you worry about the rhythm.
- Day 3: Add Memphis pieces. Practice the short notes of the chords with a vibrating hand. All punches down. Stable time. Use a metronome at 80 to 90 BPM.
- Day 4: Add a long note to the low E between the pieces of meat. Bring the bass side and chord side together so that the parts move like one breathing pulse.
- Day 5: Add in the tug-of-war and triplet styles that Scott teaches. Don’t worry about speed. Worried about feelings.
- Day 6: Add the top line of the melody. Reverse turns, pull-offs, glides with vibrato. Practice following the rhythm. Leave space.
- Day 7: Play along with the actual recording. Try to lock in with Howard Grimes’ hi-hat. Record yourself. Listen again honestly.
For a more in-depth, instructor-curated catalog of blues guitar styles, TrueFire’s free Blues Guitar Greatest Hits download combines technique-focused lessons from across the catalog into one resource, including material that touches on the soul and traditional side of Memphis. It’s a useful companion to everything Scott covers in this lesson.
Take Your Memphis Blues Guitar to the Next Level
Memphis blues guitar rewards every minute you spend in it. Teaming with a drummer, playing tight chord cuts, layering single-note lines behind a vocalist, backing a horn section, and enunciating lines like a singer are the same skills that make a rhythm guitarist invaluable in any performance, in any genre, anywhere. Scott Sharrard’s lesson above is a perfect entry point into this tradition.
Try TrueFire All Access for FREE with a 14-day trial. Get unlimited access to thousands of lessons from world-class blues and soul instructors, interactive learning tools, and a structured path designed to take you from your first Memphis cuts to your first Teenie Hodges-style guitar parts.
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