The “Excello” sound, or as we call it, “Swamp Blues,” is a unique combination of sounds. It is an adaptation of Luisiana-style blues, but adds elements of Cajun music and zydeco. This rhythmic, yet chilled out genre made its rise to popularity in the ’50s and ’60s with iconic players like Lazy Lester, Slim Harpo, and Lightnin’ Slim at the forefront.

In his course, Take 5: Swamp Blues, Mike Zito gives you tone tips, historical context, and most importantly, technique tips and approaches to authentically performing this unique style.

Here are three video swamp blues guitar lessons from the course. For the full course, check out Mike Zito’s Take 5: Swamp Blues on TrueFire!

Swamp Blues Guitar Lesson – Level 5 Overview


Download the tab & notation for this swamp blues guitar lesson

The more difficult performance study I have for you today is based on a track by the great modern swamp blues artist Tab Benoit. This is reminiscent of his song “Fever for the Bayou”.

Swamp Blues Guitar Lesson – Level 5 Performance


Download the tab & notation for this swamp blues guitar lesson

Here, I’ll perform this swamp blues for you up to speed so you can get a feel for how it sounds at tempo.

Swamp Blues Guitar Lesson – Level 5 Breakdown


Download the tab & notation for this swamp blues guitar lesson

For this one, we’re in the key of E. This is based on Tab Benoit’s “Fever for the Bayou”. What I like about it is that it has a Cajun beat and utilizes accordion licks on the guitar. Guys like Tab Benoit and Sonny Landreth love to do this. Let’s take a look at some of the stuff I did on this one and break it down.

Digging these free video swamp blues guitar lessons? Check out Mike Zito’s Take 5: Swamp Blues.