Learn to Play Blues Guitar
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Getting Started
The Blues is a thrilling form of music where "feel" is more important than technical ability. That is not to say that technique and theory aren't important. They can help you achieve the sound you want to get. Here is my collection of favorite blues guitar materials. Be aware that these assume a bit of experience playing guitar already (but not too much). If you're completely new to playing guitar you'll find a nice series of online lessons here.
Blues Guitar Websites
Here's a collection of websites with good educational blues guitar material.
- Slowhand Blues Guitar
- A formidable resource based on the music of Eric "Slowhand" Clapton. This website explains many basics of blues guitar playing using actual songs as examples. Clapton is a formidable player, and a good guitarist to learn from.
- Basic Blues: 12-bar Blues Theory - Guitar Noise
- This lesson by Olav Torvund is for beginners and intermediate players. It takes a look at the basic 12-bar blues form. This is the chord progression that is at the very heart of the blues. Required reading!
- WholeNote: The Blues Learning Track
- WholeNote tutorials are often hit and miss, but there are a few good tutoruials in here. I like that all the tutorials have midi sound examples.
- Pentatonic and Blues Scales
- You'll need to know the five forms of the pentatonic scale (and the blues scale that is based on the pentatonic scale). This page has scale diagrams, fingerings, tab notation, and audio examples. Go forth and practice!
- Learn to Play Like B.B. King
- In this lesson you'll become acquainted with B.B. King's signature style and learn the legendary "B.B position"; a surprisingly easy pattern on which a lot of his solos are based. You'll also learn a couple of signature phrases/licks in signature keys.
- Fender Players Club: Blues Guitar Lessons
- Blues guitar and bass lessons from beginner to advanced, plus licks and lessons from greats like Muddy Waters, Robert Cray and Albert Collins. Learn the "Hide Away"-riff, and Robert Cray's "Smoking Gun"-solo. Lots of good stuff.
Useful books
While the web is a great resource, there is a lot of value in a good book. They often provide more comprehensive information, accurate tabs, and often offer a cd with examples and backing tracks.
Favorite Blues Guitar Tabs
While accurate note-for-note tabs are often difficult to find online, that is not really a problem with the blues. It is less about reproducing the record, and more about finding your own voice. Tabs do provide a nice starting point in making these songs your own.
- Eric Clapton - Have You Ever Loved a Woman
- This is a fantastic slow blues song. The transcription on this page contrasts the versions of this song on "24 Nights" and "Layla and Other Assorted Lovesongs". Not a full transcrition, but all the choice bits are there.
- Muddy Waters - Hoochie Coochie Man
- A classic song that should be in every guitarist's repertoire. Not too difficult to play along with the record. This is a very motivating song to practice. Not too difficult, and once you're able to play this you can jam along with every blues band on the planet.
- Little Hat Jones - Bye Bye Baby Blues
- An attractive fingerstyle blues piece. This lesson hosted on acousticguitar.com presents a relatively easy to play folk-blues song (though not sosuitable if you have no fingerstyle experience at all)) with accurate tab and mp3 examples. A good learning opportunity!
Your Feedback
Please leave a comment!
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GetFactsnotHype
Jan 26, 2012 @ 8:49 pm | delete
- I added this page of yours to mine on the right side as a featured page for related reading on the blues. You can see it and mine and http://www.squidoo.com/blues-music-and-musicians
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jim-bruce-guitar-lessons
Jan 15, 2011 @ 12:05 am | delete
- Thanks for the lens - some nice resources. Yes, blues is the thing, the roots of all popular music we know today. I don't go much for 'wannabe' acoustic bluesmen, like Clapton (and me), but the originals are something else again. Nobody will ever come close to them, but it's fun trying!
Cheers
, Jim
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joehawking
Jan 11, 2011 @ 4:49 pm | delete
- This is a very nice collection of useful online guitar resources. Thank you so much for sharing it.
I'm off to make use of the Hoochie Coochie Man tab...I'm gonna make some pretty women jump and shout...
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deepakeapen
Nov 12, 2010 @ 10:35 pm | delete
- Very informative lens. Keep it up! You have included almost all the ingredients that are required to start learning blues guitar.
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by JeroenR
Hi I'm Jeroen and I'm a budding guitar player. The blues is one of my favorite genres. This lens is where I collect resources on playing this thrillin... more »
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