Members Cranky_San Posted October 1, 2003 Members Share Posted October 1, 2003 i want to learn blues, but i just don't know where to start. scales? theory? which one should i learn first? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 335clone Posted October 1, 2003 Members Share Posted October 1, 2003 Originally posted by Cranky_San i want to learn blues, but i just don't know where to start. scales? theory? which one should i learn first? Just play the minor pent over a I-IV-V progression in any key. If that is confusing, just put on a good blues CD and play along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LanRover Posted October 1, 2003 Members Share Posted October 1, 2003 This site has some great stuff on blues, and everything else about the guitar.Cyberfret This is another site to learn the guitar, it also shocases styles of specific blues authors. This is one from my favorite blues musician, Lightnin' Hopkinsactive guitar There's enough content on both of those sites to keep a person busy for months. Hope that helps. Lan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cranky_San Posted October 1, 2003 Author Members Share Posted October 1, 2003 Originally posted by LanRover This site has some great stuff on blues, and everything else about the guitar. Cyberfret This is another site to learn the guitar, it also shocases styles of specific blues authors. This is one from my favorite blues musician, Lightnin' Hopkins active guitar There's enough content on both of those sites to keep a person busy for months. Hope that helps. Lan thanks for those sites. thanks to you also clone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terje Posted October 2, 2003 Members Share Posted October 2, 2003 Originally posted by 335clone ... just put on a good blues CD and play along. Do this one. A lot. It's the most important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 335clone Posted October 2, 2003 Members Share Posted October 2, 2003 There are a few good blues tabs here:http://www.mikesguitarsite.co.uk/tabs/blues/index.php?page=Elmore%20James What kind of blues do YOU like to listen to? There are so many greats, that if you named a few of your favorites, one of us probably has links to tabs. I have found that it is far easier to already have a song stuck in your head, hearing it so to speak, and get the tab for that song. If you start out with a tab of something you have not heard, you have little idea of the phrasing for those notes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 92Strat Posted October 2, 2003 Members Share Posted October 2, 2003 The blues is something every guitarist should put their own twist on. Blues and Jazz are the most emotional and expressive forms of music you can play. I just cringe when I hear someone talk about blues tabs or learning blues solos (sorry 335clone if I piss you off). You learn the 12-bar groove then YOU just play, play, play... I went out one night to a blues club a couple years ago and there was a local legend guy playing SRV tunes all night...note perfect just like SRV played them. This guy could have been SRV re-born! Now I ask you, what kind of artist does it take to do that? ...and are you impressed when you see it happen? ...or am I just missing the boat all these years? I also play cover tunes and do the signature licks, etc.. but damn a whole night of someone elses licks and solos is just too much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cranky_San Posted October 3, 2003 Author Members Share Posted October 3, 2003 Originally posted by 335clone There are a few good blues tabs here:http://www.mikesguitarsite.co.uk/tabs/blues/index.php?page=Elmore%20JamesWhat kind of blues do YOU like to listen to? There are so many greats, that if you named a few of your favorites, one of us probably has links to tabs. I have found that it is far easier to already have a song stuck in your head, hearing it so to speak, and get the tab for that song. If you start out with a tab of something you have not heard, you have little idea of the phrasing for those notes. i seen buddy guy's the real deal live 95 a while ago and i got HOOKED! that guy's a genius! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members riffdaddy Posted October 3, 2003 Members Share Posted October 3, 2003 First you gotta get the feeling. There's only one way to do this--listen a whole lot. I also recommend learning a little bit about the deeper meaning of the structure of the blues before trying to solo over the blues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 335clone Posted October 3, 2003 Members Share Posted October 3, 2003 Originally posted by 92Strat The blues is something every guitarist should put their own twist on. Blues and Jazz are the most emotional and expressive forms of music you can play. I just cringe when I hear someone talk about blues tabs or learning blues solos (sorry 335clone if I piss you off). You learn the 12-bar groove then YOU just play, play, play... I went out one night to a blues club a couple years ago and there was a local legend guy playing SRV tunes all night...note perfect just like SRV played them. This guy could have been SRV re-born! Now I ask you, what kind of artist does it take to do that? ...and are you impressed when you see it happen? ...or am I just missing the boat all these years? I also play cover tunes and do the signature licks, etc.. but damn a whole night of someone elses licks and solos is just too much! Nah, I understand completely. The thing you have to remember is that there is a big swing in skill levels on this board. I would be thrilled to be able to pull off convincing SRV licks all night, because frankly I'm not at that level. That said, I would not want to be a clone of anyone. I like to steal a little from a lot of players, and then just play. Tabs are a way to help understand what the player was doing, and are helpful to identify signature riffs, but despite access to thousands of tabs, I dont play any of the songs anywhere close to note perfect. Even if I try to copy them exactly, they tend to morph into something a little different which is fine with me. The bottom line is to do whatever increases your enjoyment of playing guitar. If pulling off a note perfect Buddy Guy riff straight from tab gives some beginning to intermediate player the confidence to continue playing, then it's all good in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tabletopjim Posted October 3, 2003 Members Share Posted October 3, 2003 A very good book to get you started is called "Blues you can use". 20 plus lessons and a cd to pratice with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Forbidden Posted October 3, 2003 Members Share Posted October 3, 2003 1. go out and buy/or download some SRV/clapton/the fabulous thunderbirds and many others which people might list2. learn some of the solos/chord progressions3. go to any of the sites listed and learn the theory behind itgood luck.....sorry this isnt really that helpful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UncleDig Posted October 4, 2003 Members Share Posted October 4, 2003 Step #1: Live life Step #2: Notice how it feels when it HURTS Step #3: Express this through your music. Honestly. Step #4: Repeat steps #1, #2 and #3. Dig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Noodlehead Posted October 4, 2003 Members Share Posted October 4, 2003 Blues 101: spend many nights in a sleezy, smokey bar surrounded by ugly women and ask yourself "Just what the hell would it take to make this FUN?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mdevito493 Posted October 4, 2003 Members Share Posted October 4, 2003 The key to playing blues, and feeling it, is listening. I'd listen to anything and everything. By all means play along. But don't fall into the trap of simply noodling. Play whatever leads you want, but make sure that the majority of time you play along you're at least trying to play rhythm. Playing rhythm is the single best way to learn how to play lead. Working out chord fragments, especially the ninths and sevenths, up and down the neck begins to define the keyboard "landscape" of the guitar. All the notes you'd want to play are there too. If you take the time to play rhythm the solos will come, and you'll be a better player even before you get your lead chops together. It helps to go back a bit. Postwar blues is a fertile source. I"m also partial to people like Lowell Fulsom and early B.B. King, in addition to all the Chicago greats. Try Jimmie Rogers too, Freddie King and of course Albert. LIghtening Hopkins. There are too many to list. Just dig in and decide your own favorites. These are the people all modern blues heroes listened to themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chris Lohr Posted October 7, 2003 Members Share Posted October 7, 2003 If you wanna play rocking blues stuff, not just strict blues, but more like 60s rock-blues, buy: Freddy King - Just Pickin' any other Freddy King stuff BB King - Live at the Regal John Mayall - Bluesbreakers w/ Eric Clapton Albert King - Born Under a Bad Sign Allman Brothers - Live at Fillmore East Ive learned most of my blues stuff from those 4. Besides that, loads of random other guys: Elmore James, Peter Green, T-Bone Walker, Otis Rush, Paul Butterfield Blues Band (Mike Bloomfield), Super Session (Mike Bloomfield), Magic Sam, Howlin' Wolf, and loads of other random guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BootRoots Posted October 8, 2003 Members Share Posted October 8, 2003 Originally posted by 335clone just put on a good blues CD and play along. Ding ding ding ding ding ding! we have a winner. I can't stress enough how important this is. Just listening to other guys with your guitar in your hand will teach you a lot more that any book will probably do. It really helped me learn the phrasing of my solos and more importantly that "less is more". its not about the number of notes you play, how fast you play them, or how far you bend the strings. Its the over all feeling. give a listen to BB to understand this. look at someone like clapton...he pulled riffs right from albert king. EVA said he listen to cream non-stop until he knew every solo note for note. by listen and learning from other dudes, you pick a choose a little bit from all of them and slowly but surely you develop your own style. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members N4Player Posted October 9, 2003 Members Share Posted October 9, 2003 Listening to blues tunes and players is a great way to go. Sometimes is tough to pick out what the guys is rolling off though....a little theory never hurt. I have alot of tabbed lessons on my site with wavs and mp3s of me playing the riff. You can steal all my riffs ....I did. -Bobhttp://guitar-wav.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BigBird Posted October 14, 2003 Members Share Posted October 14, 2003 1)Practice the Blues scale over I IV V Progression 2)try playing play minor major and dominant chords and different 2, 3 note voicings over each respective chord. 3) watch live blues and pay attention closely to the fingures of the blues player 4) listen for rhythmic variation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SB Posted October 15, 2003 Members Share Posted October 15, 2003 Play from the heart, practice vibrato and listen to B.B.King Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Laroosco Posted October 22, 2003 Members Share Posted October 22, 2003 I would recommend that you find a good teacher and learn acoustic fingerstyle blues. This is the foundation of it all. Get that right hand moving. If you get good at that then the electric blues shouldn't be a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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