I wouldn't describe blues stuff as technique per se, technique seems to be more process driven - start at 50bpm and go upwards... whereas blues seems to be about getting something you think sounds right for you.
If BB bends a note and it sings and you bend the note and it chokes you go for something else to last the time after the bend,like a bend and wild vibrato or a bend and turn to get feedback or a bend and tremelo picking or bend and play a lick.
Most of the best blues sounds mimic some aspect of the human voice and most are pinned to their discoverers... so discover some more
I think the benefit of my experience would be about what I did wrong and otherwise gleaned from reading a lot of guitar magazines sat on the loo.
What I did wrong was think there was a magic formula for playing the blues - if I just got the right scale and/or the right position it would all fall into place. Possibly paraphrasing Frankus here, theory explains what you have just done not what you are about to do.
Assuming that by 'learning the blues' you mean to be able to improvise solos and fills that sound authentic ( whatever that means to you) and fit the song then the greater blues players have tended to do this by ear.It isn't neccesarilly about getting it right note for note - learning to emulate your favourite players and getting it wrong is pretty valid as long as the result is pleasing to your ear.And when you then have a lick down that you like maybe trying to get maximum mileage out of it - how do you use different techniques to make it come alive ( eg varying your pick attack or playing the final note with or without vibrato), practising it in different keys, how does it work over the different parts of a blues chord sequence,etc.
This can sit alongside theory - if you want to be Robben Ford then get the theory books out - but if the sound isn't in your head it isn't going to come out your fingers.
Breeding mammals with insects is my personal bugbear.
Yup I totally agree with Eric, but this part is one of the latest lessons I've learnt.
There's a bit in Victor Wooten's Groove Workshop where one of the students is asked to lay down a groove and it is good, Victor lets him play for about 2 minutes really appreciating it, at the end the guy says "well you should like it, it's one of your tunes" and Victor says ..."no it's yours, you've played the notes I played but the timing is unfamilliar and the dynamics are way cooler than mine" ... the guy looked disappointed .. Why?!!! what a complimentOriginally Posted by erictheweary
I used to believe that somehow I'd be able to join the dots in music note theory and come up with something noone had ever heard before but it just doesn't work like that, not for me or anyone I've spoken to - it's about learning the stuff you love to hear and learning to join the bits you love to make your own sound.
I can spend months learning stuff note for note(stuff i love to hear) and then spend years mixing it up so it sounds different though it still anchors in my mind as the original piece. I find this handy to remember stuff ie This riff originally from that track = this etc using the artist or song as a guide until it finds it own way out through improvising. I find playing the same lick in 5 different positions very useful for changing stuff around.
Excellent advice can be found here: http://www.lyrics007.com/Frank%20Sin...%20Lyrics.html
Otherwise, I'd say a good way to improve your "feel" for blues playing (either solo style or the Rob Johnson type playing that I prefer) is to just get a few lyrics to blues songs that you've not heard (get the old stuff, Willie McTell, Son House, Bessie Smith even) and read them, or sing them to a made up tune, see how they make you feel. I do this and it really makes me focus on the bite and emotion that smacks you in the face from the stories in them. That alone can make your standard type blues solo really cut through, it's the same notes of course as what everybody else plays, but you'll sound more authentic and less like somebody guitar wanking off what they learnt in a lesson
Treat me like your mother!
have you noticed how some licks in some rhythms sound better in one position than another? Sometimes if I play a lick in another position other notes now get emphasised
I really like the statement someone made about John Wayne: 'he was a student of himself'. His acting came from observing himself. I think it's the same thing you're describing - if I've read it right ... copy a lick but keep a listen out for cool accidents as you practice
Lots of accidents ,playing the same lick in a different position may be easier,faster,able to include open strings maybe accidentally,Droning, sound with more bass,more treble double stops etc. I can play the riff closer to a chord i am playing maybe include part of the chord if i choose it all helps me to play without feeling restricted and gives a little hint of the endless choices. It can help disguise the stuff I steal which covers just about everything initially. I realise learning one shape is a starting point but i would recommend learning all 5 asap ie learn them until you dont have to visualise them in your head, until you have no shapes in your head just the will to play,Close your eyes and allow the music to flow! (Grasshopper) and do this using the major scale in one position diatonically if your not playing the blues! and rpt in 5 positions, you only have your own lifetime so get cracking.have you noticed how some licks in some rhythms sound better in one position than another? Sometimes if I play a lick in another position other notes now get emphasised
I really like the statement someone made about John Wayne: 'he was a student of himself'. His acting came from observing himself. I think it's the same thing you're describing - if I've read it right ... copy a lick but keep a listen out for cool accidents as you practice
I'm doing this as I want to see each of them in their glory and see if I've stumbled on them all - those arethe things that leap out at me
Find a local blues jam and go. That will teach you much more than any of this.
a lot sooner too - but accelerated learning isn't all sweetness and light - totally worth it, mind
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