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Is blues just pents?


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Posted

Finally finished my exams for the year, wanna spend the whole summer learnin theory (been prepping by doing technique exercises on and off when i can) and well, simply playin.

 

I'd like to start improvisin blues on a daily basis, while i go about memorisin other modes/scales and drilling in theory.

 

I am right arn't i? Most if not all blues is just minor pents? Coz i could memorize that in a few hours and then just spend time actually playing the guitar, while i do other things like memorize the fretboard, train my ear, get deep with theory and learn my other scales/modes.

 

Bit of a pointless thread, but cheers,

-John

Posted

Yes, traditional blues soloing is pretty much all pentatonics/blues scales. Of course, you don't have to limit yourself to just that, but then you start to venture away from the 'blues sound' that you get from those scales.

So go ahead and spend your time on those other areas you mentioned; those will help you out immensely in the long run.

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Posted

YES: pents, rythm and touch.

many of the better blues licks are done by particular "touch" that is more important than the notes that are played.

listen to ZZtop blue Jeans blues. there is nothing so esoteric, Just touch and Rithm between sound and silence.

the Rithm tha pause generates expectation in the listener.. think about it. :)

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Posted
Originally posted by grafemberg

YES: pents, rythm and touch.


many of the better blues licks are done by particular "touch" that is more important than the notes that are played.


listen to ZZtop blue Jeans blues. there is nothing so esoteric, Just touch and Rithm between sound and silence.


the Rithm tha pause generates expectation in the listener.. think about it.
:)



great song ;) thanks for recommending it.

:cool:

-john

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Posted
Originally posted by grafemberg

spaces without notes ("pause") are as important as spaces with.

this is the difference between a blues and a "just pents" solo.
:)



I agree 100%. In blues, it's what you don't play that often tells the story. It's all in the phrasing.

You might be bored by them if you're more into blues-rock and heavier stuff, but check out BB King and Albert King and Freddie King and Elmore James and Albert Collins and definitely Hubert Sumlin (he played for Howlin' Wolf) and Robert Johnson. Hear the spaces.

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Posted

Bends, passing tones, reverse bends, vibrato, chromatic, and letting the notes breath is very very important.
Think of blues as having a conversation with someone. You speak, wait for an answer, then speak again etc....
Also mimicing your phrases is a great technique. Like doing the same lick up and down octaves and intervals keeps it familiar to the listener, but adds a ton of texture.
And most important is your touch and phrasing. Adding variety in your pick attack, volume, and overall tone.
Steve

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Posted

Originally posted by SteveLINY

Bends, passing tones, reverse bends, vibrato, chromatic, and letting the notes breath is very very important.

Think of blues as having a conversation with someone. You speak, wait for an answer, then speak again etc....

Also mimicing your phrases is a great technique. Like doing the same lick up and down octaves and intervals keeps it familiar to the listener, but adds a ton of texture.

And most important is your touch and phrasing. Adding variety in your pick attack, volume, and overall tone.

Steve

 

 

I definitely agree with this, but these are some advanced techniques.

 

Personally, I don't think a blues-intent player should add anything to the pentatonic until they can fluidly play the pentatonics in all 5 positions. Once you know how to go from note to note and where the notes lay in a given scale, then you can throw some other stuff in. I don't mean vibrato and bending. Vibrato and bending are too important to not learn first and practice every day. I mean the passing tones and the chord tones, chromatic tones and blue notes, double stops and major scale tones. These things, I feel, are kind of advanced for someone just starting out with the music.

 

But, FUSION, if you get anything from this thread, hopefully it will be this: PLAY WITH A RECORD. Go out and get yourself some blues that you like. I don't care if it's Freddie King or Johnny Winter or Jimi Hendrix. And just jam to it. It's almost always easy to figure out what key one of these songs is in because for the most part they follow very strict rules in structure of progression. Find out what key it's in and just play along. Try to find the notes they're playing (this is easier with the older guys like BB that don't play so many notes like SRV or Buddy Guy).

 

Just jam to a record. You wouldn't believe how useful and helpful this is.

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Posted

No way! Blues is not just pentatonics. In fact, real blues isn't pentatonic at all, there's a b5 in there and only really stupid rock players avoid it or use it only for a passing note.

There are also microtonal aspects that you need to listen for. How much do you bend that b3? It's different from player to player and is one of the things that creates a unique voice.

Also, most jazz players who play blues will add notes from the major pentatonic scale as well. Or more specifically, the major 3rd, the 6th and the 9th.

That said, yes the rest is a lot about the minor pentatonic and how it is played. The touch is ever important and basically the only difference between for instance John Lee Hooker and T-Bone Walker.

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Posted

I agree with Terje,

When I think about bb king for example: Sure he uses pentatonic, but all his signature licks play around the 9th and 6th.

Nils

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