How to Play the Blues Guitar

blues guitar instruction

blues guitar instruction

On blues guitar instruction:

Blues Guitar Theory
By Ricky Sharples
There's not a great deal of theory connected with blues but there ceri is a lot of discussion and a great deal of misunderstanding. Let's start with taking a look at blues in the key of E. Some guitarists assume that the basic scale for playing blues music in this key would be the E minor pentatonic with flattened fifth. Your chords would be E, A and B or I IV and V. The fact is that most blues players use a mixture of scales when they play solos.

The Mixolydian scale is similar to the major scale but unlike the major scale, it has a flattened seventh. The thing to remember with the Mixolydian is that the root note is the fifth note of the key you are playing in. So if you are playing in the key of E the Mixolydian scale starts at B.

You can get some understanding of how to use the Mixolydian scale in blues improvisation by playing the major scale a perfect fifth below the chord you are playing. So to use the Mixolydian over an A chord you play the D major scale, but beginning with the note A.

It's really better to approach the blues through playing rather than theorizing. Once you are able to play basic twelve bar blues using the minor pentatonic scale, you should learn some turnarounds. The turnaround is the bit at the end of the twelve bars that sets you up for the next verse. Start by trying to imitate what you hear on records. Even if you think your solos don't sound very good, you will be amazed at how much better they sound once you have mastered ______continued.

Interesting article on blues guitar instruction:

Blues Soloing On Guitar
By Ricky Sharples
Many people take a very long time to understand blues soloing on guitar. If you start with your basic I IV V blues chord progression using the blues scale, you are often caught trying to decide Read more...

More on blues guitar instruction:

continued______ a few turnarounds.

Another thing you need to learn the blues is to listen. Not just in the way we usually listen to music, but as a part of your practice. Half an hour or so of listening to the great blues guitarists will soon make itself felt in your playing.

When you are learning the art of improvisation you can play single notes on a or you can play chords. For a solo player there's a choice between playing an improvised solo over a chord progression or you can play single note melody accompanied by base notes on open bass strings.

Playing a single note tune accompanied by bass notes on one or two open strings helps train your ear and, with regular practice, gives you the knack of letting the notes follow each other under your guidance. The intensity of performing with other musicians in front of an audience often kills the most valuable quality an improvising guitarist can develop - the ability to listen to and respond to the music that the singer, bass player, drummer and rhythm guitarist are making.

Do you want to learn to play the guitar? Learn How To Play A For Free is a constantly updated blog which contains all the resources you need for: learning to play solo guitar, how to learn chords, how to learn to read and play easy acoustic tabs, finding a free online tuner, looking for free lessons online, and how to learn scales.
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Play The Blues Guitar 

 

Another decent article on blues guitar instruction:

Play Guitar By Ear - Finding The 'one' Chord
By Mike P Hayes
The first important step in learning to play guitar by ear was tointroduce the eight bar song form. Now, it's time to develop asystem for identifying common harmonic patterns used Read more...

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