When I thought I wanted an actual espresso machine, two of the biggest coffee nerds I know both advised against it. Mary, who co-owns Top Hat studio in Knoxville with her husband John, said the machine they used to own spent more time in the shop than in their kitchen. 

This, coming from someone who does all of the wiring for an analogue 24-track studio, is saying something.

And my friend Jeff ("One of the Many Jeffs," as he is known around our house) had the same advice. Again, this is someone perfectly happy relying on vintage guitars with sixty-year-old wiring, while maintaining a healthy appreciation for boutique amplification.

In other words, these are not people who settle for modern mediocrity when they have a choice. And yet they both said, without hesitation, "Dude. No. Just get the Nespresso and be done with it."

So, fine. Many questionably-recyclable pods later, we have one Essenza Mini at home, and one at the studio. Until yesterday, when I brought the studio machine home to A/B with the home one, which despite a recent by-the-manual cleaning, is introducing rogue notes of unwanted bitterness into the mix.

Which is how I have come to find myself dragging, with no immediate caffeine recourse, as I write this on a Wednesday afternoon. Rather than walk two and half blocks for further liquid stimulation, I have pulled up Miles Davis' Walkin' and turned it up pretty loud in hopes of, as Bertie Wooster would say, getting the grey matter to surge round.

It seems to be working, particularly this Horace Silver solo at the six-minute mark of "Blue 'n Boogie." Which is good; I need to be at my sharpest for the segue into the explanation of this week's Youtube lesson.

Which is all about how to include the sound of 9th chords when you're playing the blues. The lick in this lesson comes from a tune of mine called "Soulstice," which in turn was inspired by a move from the William Brown classic "Mississippi Blues." 

You can find today's lesson here:

9th Chords On The Blues

Here's William Brown playing his astonishing "Mississippi Blues:"

"Mississippi Blues"

And here's my recording of "Soulstice," which I'll be teaching this summer inside the Fingerstyle Five:

"Soulstice"

Finally, don't forget, I'll be live-streaming my Three Rules For Playing Better Fingerstyle Blues this Sunday afternoon on the channel. The class will run for an hour and a half, with plenty of time for questions at the end.

Live Workshop: Sunday, July 6, 2:30pm Central

More soon,

David