Learn to Play: Isaiah Sharkey Teaches Two Piano-Like Blues Riffs on Guitar

Isaiah Sharkey's blend of styles and virtuosic skill have earned him a place at the vanguard of modern blues and R&B guitar, playing with everyone from John Mayer to D'Angelo to Anderson Paak. We recently had the opportunity to sit down with the Grammy-winning guitarist to learn a couple of his favorite tricks.

To keep things fresh, Isaiah often draws inspiration from other instruments, utilizing those playing techniques to spice up his blues and rock riffs. In the video above, Isaiah shows us how he sidesteps typical guitar playing cliches in favor of more alternative methods, like transferring a typical piano roll to his Custom Framus Panthera's neck while playing a twelve-bar blues. Isaiah also demonstrates an open string technique that lets open strings ring out in a scale, not unlike melodic banjo style.

Poised to take center stage as he fuses together his background in rock, gospel, jazz, R&B, blues, and funk to create an original sound with an unmistakable dose of soul, Isaiah's First Digital Album is Now Available. Check out his debut release entitled Love.Life.Live here.

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