How To Play Blues Guitar!

Playing guitar can be an ordinary feat to most people. Any person, with the right ear for music, can learn any instrument in a matter of hours. Unbelievable, huh?

On the other hand, learning how to play blues guitar is almost a form of dexterity that not everyone can master. Blues music has been the foundation of many other genres of music such as Jazz, R&B and even Rock and Roll. The style of music is so captivating that it almost sounds complicated as well.

Here are a few facts in order for you to learn how to play blues guitar:The technique in order to play blues guitar comes from the skill in picking.Although essentially, the scales make the music when playing the instrument, it is imperative to construct the picking technique before scales can be played. The guitar can then be played as a Rhythm Blues Guitar or a Lead Blues Guitar. There has to be suppleness in the fingers of the player in order to get the rhythm right.

Knowing the Difference

For the Rhythm Blues Guitar, the chord progression is founded on the twelve bar blues structure. When you play blues guitar, more often than not, the interval cords that are in progression are the I, IV and V, but other cords may also be played so long as the tonality is present in the rhythm.

The Lead Blues Guitar, conversely, is more popular in terms of the measure of its expressiveness. It primarily focuses on the technical skills of vibrato and bending. The pick's basic motion is up and down, alternating in every turn.

In an example by James Ham, if there is a basic riff with the notes A,C,D,A,E one after another, the A would be played with a downward picking motion while the C would be played directly after the A with an upward motion. This is playing two notes in one motion.

You can also try playing a 12-bar chord progression in different keys, in the same way as when you play a rhythm blues guitar in pentatonic scale. Try practicing this rhythm pattern continuously until you get the hang of the beat.

Getting Props

There are also several audio samples of blues records available online. Most of which can be downloaded for free. These samples may be played in both slow and full speed, helping you learn to pace your rhythm during mastering your picking technique.

Although agility is integral when you play blues guitar, you must also concentrate on the accuracy of each note that you play and focus on your scales. Fluid rhythm and chord progression are fundamental in making blues music. You can also get a book that offers superb guitar licks that can help you practice.

Expression

As you play blues guitar, or any instrument at that, it is always important to practice. It is in practicing that we master our art and our passion. You can also sing along as you strum the guitar, after all, the blues music is all about expression. More...

Read more...

Electric Guitar Lesson!

An electric guitar lesson can be one of the most eye opening things in the world. Even experienced guitar players can find the whole thing frustrating, so a timely guitar lesson for your trusty old electric can be the thing that makes all the difference. I’ve compiled a few tips here, so I hope you enjoy this mini lesson!

Electric Guitar Lesson 1-
Change it up. As an electric guitarist sometimes we can be guilty of letting our muscle memory do all the work-busting out the same old pentatonic blues stuff over and over again, with little chance of any originality happening. We need to change things around. Throw away your pick for a week. If you don’t use a pick, get a pick for a week. Use your whammy bar if you usually don’t, hell, even play acoustic for a couple of weeks. Stuff like this can really break us out of a rut, and for me personally is always when I come up with my best licks/songs.

Electric Guitar Lesson 2-

Record yourself. We see ourselves play guitar everyday, and for that very reason sometimes we can be immune to real problems in our playing. It’s great to record ourselves because we can then identify such things and put in the work to get rid of them. It’s not all bad though, quite often when listening back to tapes and things you can be pleasantly surprised by your own playing. Another plus point is that you will start to get used to the recording process-this is always a good thing-the ability to lay down quality guitar on demand is always useful.

Electric Guitar Lesson 3-

Get a real electric guitar lesson! Even one hour with a high quality guitar teacher can shake you up enough to give you practice material for months. I’ve had a few lessons that have completely altered my perception of the instrument-it’s very odd to suddenly be a better guitar player from one day to the next simply because you approach it with a different mindset. It’s odd but it’s also cool!

Electric Guitar Lesson 4-

Strengthen your fingers. Almost every guitar player I know will openly admit that their pinky or their first finger isn’t very strong or dextrous. If you know that to be true, why not fix it? It’s pretty simple to strengthen your fingers, trills are great for it and there are countless other legato techniques that will really build strength and stamina. You’ll notice the difference within a few days-your chord changes will be crisper and you will be FASTER-and lets face it, what electric guitar player doesn’t want to be able to play faster?

Electric Guitar Lesson 5-

Change your influences. If you listen to solely hard rock and blues, why not buy a couple of flamenco albums or some Latin jazz? Or if you are into jazz why not get some modern thrash metal? I don’t expect you to like the music, but a true guitar player will find something of interest in any new guitar style. A change like this can really open up your ears and give you ideas to put into your own playing.

So there you are-surely 5 lessons is better than 1 electric guitar lesson? Hopefully my ideas have helped you see that there is more to playing electric guitar than the same old rock and blues stuff. Happy playing!. More...

Read more...