Interested in learning to play the blues guitar? Here's a bit of history and tips for the aspiring blues musician. Roots Jazz & the Blues ! Jazz, the only sound of its kind, it evokes a lost era in the 20th century. Imagine the gentle sound of a slow piano, the scent of whisky creeps into the room, saxophone, followed by smoke, then soft light. Often melancholic, chilling, softly tapping a nerve you didn't even know was there. Sometimes uppity and playful as if coaxing your inner child to come out -and even then it might succeed in rekindling comfortable yet sad memories or dreams you thought lost and buried. Nothing is like it.
All the great blues singers and guitarists, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Robert Johnson, Janis Joplin, everyone, put their heart into their music. That's how they played. They did it as more emotional than technical act by letting the blues slip out and speak for it. Every performance they gave was frighteningly sincere and honest. But before all that, you'll need to get down to the basics. If you graduate from the basics then maybe you can start playing real blues. Needless to say, if you're not already a pro (and even if you are), getting professional help will go far in learning to play the best sound that can come out of a guitar -the classic blues.
Blues has been around since the turn of the 20th century. It's the accidental great granddaddy to a myriad of the greatest genres: rock & roll, soul, funk, tidbits of folk, even hip hop, and yes, jazz. And like jazz it is unique. It's a sound absolutely slave to emotion -celebrating pure emotive depression.
There's no shame in getting help if you want to be good. Besides, blues guitar lessons are not just educational, they're a lot of fun -and that's what guitar playing is all about. As much as the blues are about misery, there's no greater satisfaction than perfectly nailing a great blues song.
Here are some great ways you can start that long lone journey to the blues: Get a guitar. The blues can be played on both acoustic and electric. Some blues styles sound better on the former, some the latter. A great consideration here is your budget. But don't be afraid to splurge either. A good guitar is an investment, and can even be an heirloom if treated properly. Go online for a blues guitar lesson. The internet's a cheap if not free way to get lessons and start on the road to shredding great licks.
Soul. Perhaps the most important part of the process. It's the reason the blues exist, heck, it's why music exists. You need soul to bring out some soul in your playing. But don't force this -it should come out naturally. Obviously, any aspiring musician needs a guitar. Acoustic will do, and so will electric -as long as you can play the blues, so can both guitar types. Listening to good blues music and trying to imitate good licks will help. But if it's too difficult to follow the greats, blues backing tracks can be downloaded online and are great instructional tools, useful to both amateurs and pros. Finally, like any other skill, practice makes perfect. Dexterous fingers don't happen overnight. Play until you're tired of playing, and then to relax, play some more -that's the blues guitar, you either love it or leave it.
