Little Known Ways To Playing The Blues
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.
But even something as great as jazz has its roots, it has to come from something as great if not greater, and that is the awesome blues licks that gave birth to countless other genres.
Blues guitar lessons are always a good idea and will go a long way to teaching you everything from the essential basics to nailing serious licks. This may cost you, but if you’re serious about learning the blues, then be prepared to spend a bit. Also, the internet offers cheaper alternatives. You can even learn online from the comfort of your own home. Listen to great blues music. Of course the best way to learn is by practicing on a guitar, but listening to the greats: B.B. King, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, of course Robert Johnson, will help you get an idea of how to really shred licks.
If you’re having a tough time following the pros, you can go online and download instructional blues backing tracks you can follow step by step. What’s great about these tracks is you can pick the tempo of your downloads, thereby pacing yourself for what you’re ready to play. Play every chance you get. When you have nothing to do, pick up the guitar and play. When you’re taking a break from work, practice. Constantly playing the guitar will get you better in no time.
Play in front of your friends and ask them if you’ve improved. If they say no, then take that as a signal to practice more. If they say yes, then take that as encouragement. Either way, it’s good for your guitar playing.
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.