Archive for March, 2011

Blues Guitar

There are several types of ways to plays blues music. These vary with the instruments used to play the song coupled with the way the instrument is played. Blues makes ample use of the acoustic guitar to play their sound. One of the most vital forms of music for any guitarist learning to play this genre of music s is the blues guitar licks. This kind of playing allows musicians to be able to do improvised solos, contribute to melodies and work on musical phrases. There are several kind of songs that follow a guitar tabulate with a set notation.
Playing Blues Guitar Licks

One of the most important factors contributing to the play of blues guitar licks is the way in which the guitar is placed in a certain way attributing to the sound that is created. One of the most common ways to playing such good blues guitar licks is bending the strings to play the pentatonic blues licks. The bend of the guitar must come at the 7th fret on the third string. For those who find bending a difficult task there are alternative methods. Because, the seventh fret requires the musician to raise the note, they can copy the sound by using two frets on the guitar. Another way to practice bends is to play the song which is being copied alongside to match the tune.
Advantages of Blues Guitar Licks

The blues guitar licks come in several different methods. Each style has its own variations ranging from the traditional blues sound to a more convention form of music. Those musicians who seek to play a soulful kind of song on their blues guitar can follow certain easy methods which can help them achieve their desired sound. The blues guitar licks aren’t constructed from knowing the best techniques or the hardest chords. Instead, blues music comes from the soul of the musician. Also, learning the rhythm for the blues is an easy task. A musician who can pick on the fret board will also find them easy to play blues guitar licks.
Ways to Improve Blues Guitar Licks

Perfecting the blues guitar licks requires constant practice and need to improve skills. This musician must maintain the tone and sound of the music to ensure that it suits the blues genre. There are several tactics that a blues musician can adopt to practice their style. The first is for the guitarist to ensure that they learn the minor and major pentatonic positions on the guitar. Also, blues guitar licks are not learned by practicing too many notes. Most beginners should ensure that they do not limit themselves to a pure blues guitar licks sound or play too many notes

JHT final

Rhythm of the Blues

The African-American settlers in the deep south of the USA developed a highly exceptional music by the end of the 19th century.   It was typically heard from the prisoners and slaves.  Usually, these were derivatives from the music of field yellers, work songs, even from hymns and shouts. Then this unique musical style was called Blues. A certain town legend says that William Christopher Handy, a cornet player and bandleader, has written the first Blues song which was both written and renowned in the year 1912. The song’s title was Yellow Dog Blues.

The Blues musical genre has acquired popularity steadily all through the years and in many countries, captivating the hearts and souls of millions.  This, in turn, aroused curiosity to the music lovers to wish for learning the blues guitar themselves. Blues and guitar are essential to each other.  They reciprocate well together harmoniously. It is recommended to use acoustic or electric guitar in playing the Blues. The chunkier strings helps in achieving superior sounding tones and efficiency while nylon strings are discouraged.

The 12 bar is used in playing a vast majority of Blues songs.  The 12 bar Blues basically means that each song is divided into 12 “bars” or “patterns” with a given chord progression. The person who is really passionate in educating himself with the blues guitar must then start learning this basic beat – which also happens to be the easiest one too. When playing, this structure is to be repetitive for every verse of the song until the song ends. While working on this, it is suggested that it should be started with a single down strum for each beat, until one becomes common and at ease with it before trying out some complex strumming and other styles.

Mostly, blues has a major in chord structure but there are also different scales that can be used in order to create or add a colorful tone associated with Blues.  Some of these scales are major pentatonic, minor pentatonic, dorian, and mixolydian.  These can be used individually or in combination with each other.

If your enthusiasm doesn’t fail you, to better learn blues guitar, it is essential to practice the three (3) rhythm feels that are used in Blues, namely, straight feel, shuffle feel, and twelve/eight feel.

In the straight feel, the eighth note rhythm is usually used and are spaced equally apart while the shuffle feel follow a long-short scheme (the second note is placed in every pair of eighth notes.)  The twelve/eight rhythm has twelve beats per bar and each eighth note obtains one beat.

Different methods are also vital in playing Blues on the guitar and one of these is the Vibrato.  This is an immensely delightful musical effect that is created when the pitch of a note is slightly changed to a higher pitch and then back to its original pitch by varying the tension of the string.

If you’d like to fill the chords with musical figures, turnarounds, intros, and endings – riffs are used.  Turnarounds are frequently played on the last two bars, completing the solo and brings the song back to where it started.  Some turnarounds even make magnificent intros and endings to each song.

To fully learn blues guitar, there is no specific technique, system or formula to grasp such mastery.  Learning this musical genre takes continuous wholehearted practice, practice, and more practice.  No matter what you’ve read about mastering the skills, nothing beats determination and a firm resolve.

JHT final

Learning Blues Guitar Lessons

There are many forms of music and even these forms of music can be further broken up into different categories. With the category of guitar music there are many types like jazz, classical, rock-and-roll, new age music, and blues music. For individuals who are fascinated with blues guitar music there is always the chance to take blues guitar lessons.

These lessons should be learn properly from people who have an understanding about the many different sounds that can be found in the blues music category. You can also get blues guitar lessons from how-to-DVDs, books and the Internet. From all of these different sources you will be able to get good blues guitar lessons that will be of help to you.

Before you begin your blues guitar lessons however, you might first want to take into the consideration the fact of whether or not you have played the guitar before. If you haven’t played before then you might first want to look into getting basic guitar lessons as well.

This also comes very strongly into play if your blues guitar lessons are coming in the form of such learning aids as DVD’s, CD’s, book or the Internet. Before you go with any of these learning mediums you will first need to make sure that they are either catered for beginner’s or that you can get you hands on beginning guitar lessons as well.

Once this aspect of your guitar lessons has been covered you can then move on to the business of learning to identify the different chords, and how they are used in blues guitar lessons. With these different combinations you will be able to try out a blues guitar song.

In your first few blues guitar lessons you should remember to progress through the various steps at a small pace and you will need to constantly practice your finger placement in order to be able to play the guitar music well.

Once you have found the best way of memorizing the chord placement and you are confident to move on with your blues guitar lessons then you can ask your instructor to show you how to combine the chords together and learn to play the music with the right beat.

You should understand that while you’re beginning your many blues guitar lessons you will have different letters of the alphabet to represent the various musical notations. This can be of help when you are still trying to find your way through the maze that guitar lessons, and in particular blues guitar lessons, will take you through.

None of this should bother you unduly though. While you are still in the beginning learning phase of your blues guitar lessons the only things you need to worry about is learning to play the guitar. So sit back, relax and strum away at your guitar strings.

JHT final

Influence of Blues Guitar

Anybody interested in the modern music must know that everything started with the blues guitar music. It gave birth to the big band jazz music and its jazz accompaniment tracks were a strong basis for the modern music genres.

The blues musical phenomenon started around 1911 and entered the hearts and souls of the black people. By the 1920’s the general population also got sucked into the whole blues music phenomenon.

After the Second World War many young artists like Elvis Presley and Bill Haley wrapped up the whole blues music in a new package known as “rock’n'roll”. This lead to a great revolution, where earlier non fans were also turned into the fans, of the blue music genre.

The blues guitar was also very popular among the artistes as it can be played in any key of the artist’s choice. There can be eight bars in the music like in the “Heartbreak Hotel”, the sixteen bars in a song like “Saint James Infirmary” and twelve bars in piece like “St. Louis Blues“.

A simple search on the Internet will help you find out lots of interesting information on the blues scales. In fact they are similar to the garden variety major and minor scales. The only difference is that all the notes are played flat, except the third, fifth and seventh. You will also get to know that the blues players did not know about the European musical theory for centuries altogether. They used to learn the art of singing and playing big band jazz music from their families and friends.

This is where the blues took a whole another direction, the youngsters imitated their idols, but then the guitar players and other musicians in Britain and the USA started to develop their very own authentic as well as original styles. The older blues players even started to use the new arrangements for the classic songs and adapted some musical innovations that did not have something to do with blues.

Till date the innovations made by the blue musicians have aspired lots of upcoming talent and the reigning musicians of the present alike.

JHT final

Has it always been a dream of yours to be able to play a musical instrument?   Are you interested in learning how to play a certain style of guitar playing called the blues?   Up until recently, it was difficult to find qualified instructors who could teach in this style of music.  As the Internet continues to grow, it is now possible to find blues guitar lessons.  Your best bet in learning how to play the guitar in this style would actually be through online instruction.

Blues music can be traced to the early 20th century, deep southern section of the United States.  Blues has its origins with the spiritual chants, work songs and ballads associated with the African-American community.  Blue music, like jazz is characterized by its specific chord progression within the compositions.  The “12 bar” is the most common of these chord progressions found in blues music.   The actual “blue note” within the progression is played or sung slightly flattened, (or “bent”) in relation to the pitch of the major scale.

So, as you can tell blues guitar music would be quite different from other styles:  acoustic rock, country, or even classical guitar.   If you desire to become proficient in playing the blues, seeking the right instruction is paramount to your eventual success.   Not every guitar instructor can play, let alone even understand the blues.  Would you want to learn the blues guitar from some teacher who is only familiar with folk guitar?   Only a certified blues guitar instructor would be able to teach you the instrument in this style.

Interactive music programs can now be found on the internet.  The problem is that not all sites can even offer blues guitar lessons. It is why you definitely need to take your time and do the research before you commit even one penny for lessons.   Find an online music program that specifically states that blues guitar lessons are offered.  Read the testimonials of students who have successfully been taught how to play in the blues style.  The site’s instructors must be certified at both playing the instrument well, and in teaching students how to play in this particular style of guitar.  Remember, blues is not the same as rock, or folk guitar.  Only blues guitar would include instruction related to the fundamental melodic, chord progression, and “licks” associated with this genre.  With the proper instruction, only then would you progress and eventually master the instrument.

Since you have an interest in blues guitar, you undoubtedly know of one of the most famous 20th century musicians who played the instrument: B.B. King.   King’s most popular and well-known song is entitled:  “The Thrill is Gone”, which was a Grammy-award winning composition.  This song once simultaneously topped both the pop and R & B charts, back in the late 1950′s.  You may also know of the group “Led Zeppelin”.  The group is commonly known as one of the greatest rock bands of all-time.  Educated and expert music critics understand, however, that several of “Zeppelin’s” more famous compositions, (particularly the song “Dazed and Confused”) have strong elements of the blues melodically and harmonically ingrained within the chord progressions.

JHT final