Learning the blues

[rockdudemitch]

Hi All,
anyone got any advice to learning the blues i have the basics but i want to play the blues a lot better, i have lots of books (covering all levels) and a dvd that covers the basics. I just struggle to find the books accessible anyone give me any advice. I spend more time looking at guitars than playing them something I want to change

[Close2u]

You could give this a go ... for free

http://www.justinguitar.com/en/BL-000-Blues.php

[octatonic]

Do you know what is meant by 'playing changes'?

[rockdudemitch]

No! I'm guessing I should

[bertie]

you cant learnt it mate.........................

[richardhomer]

The 'trick' with blues playing is to really develop a great sense of phrasing. A player of any level would quickly be able to work out the notes used by Peter Green for the intro of 'Need Your Love So Bad'. Few would phrase it as beautifully (Gary Moore demonstrated this on his Blues for Greeny version).

I recommend you learn major and minor scales throughly, in all positions and then spend time trying to copy the greats. It should (hopefully!) seep in!

[Quist]

Hey -

I recommend jamming on a simple 12-bar blues in E to get you started ... like this one for example Funky Blues in E - it's got suggested scales in the info beneath the video as well...

Here's one for A Minor as well A Minor blues backing track

Happy jamming

[DC01]

I think this demonstrates phrasing perfectly.
Pretty much all minor pent / blues scale

Might not be everyones cup of tea but i think its one of there best tunes, and excellent to play along to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b76kjd5nvMg

[sambostar]

I think this demonstrates phrasing perfectly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b76kjd5nvMg

I find minor blues the easiest thing to play in the world and make sound good, Since I've been Lovin you etc. The trouble I have always had (I think, although everyone phrase licks differently) is rolling stuff together around a couple of strings and making it last forever, accenting the rights notes and getting the timings and phrasing right and repeating a note in a lick when it feels unnatural with the pick position, I always rush a note or two or fall on rock muscle memory opr miss a repeated note and the notes never sound even, or the phrasing is slightly off, so the licks sound completely different. I think it's amateurism or my style is completely different. Richie Kotzen and Satchel kind of demonstrate what I mean:

Satchel 1:29 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk81pAEOOBk

Kotzen 2:50+ etc. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrP3NOSYi_E

I think major/pent minor roadhouse type blues is the hardest to nail, but sounds the easiest. It's hard because you have to have to have real discipline to walk the notes when changing strings, without rushing pull offs etc and you have to be really careful to get your accents right and note loudness even plus you have to tell a story with the notes, like they are going someplace, all at a million miles an hour, without falling on cliches and muscle memory. I find it really hard to sound original doing stuff like that. But those are the things you should practice if you want to get good. Slow minor blues is easy if you have the strength and you'll end up over rating yourself. The major/minor roadhouse stuff, will teach you rhythm, phrasing and story telling like nothing else IMO.

Eddie Van Halen will teach you more about fast blues shuffles, associated rhythms and phrasing than many others IMO.

I find the fast and funky stuff really easy too, notes pour out.

Blues shuffles are my weakness.

[sambostar]

And talking about styles, donno if it's strictly blues but you gotta love this. Totally different ways of playing one instrument and three different styles. I really like Kotzen, he is really disciplined and a great player, but he can get boring for me, Gilbert is very rhythmically sequential and arpegio-y but I lean toward Lynch, even though people probably think he is the crappest. He is a legend and completely mental, I like that winging it and stretching it and the bum open string note. I love his sound. Something comes out of his guitar, probably because he's trying hardest...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSAtR...eature=related

I think what I am trying to say is that, if you are anything like me and have the chops, the best thing you can do next is try and play rhythmical solos, rather than paying non rhythmically. (Just watched a Gilbert vid and he basically sums up what I was trying to get across).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFr3TRN2CWk