Blues Guitar Assistance

[mtelliott]

So, at the age of 46, I have decided to learn how to play guitar. I've always liked the Blues and have been working on notes, cords, scale (Pentatonic) for the past three months and now want to actually start playing a song.

Can anyone recommend a recognizable "Blues" song that would be appropriate for the beginner? I'm familiar with TAB so just need the song / artist and can go from there. Suggestions would be great.

Guitar is a Fender Strat (American) and interests are more the Memphis and Chicago blues.

Michael

[sammyg2]

IMO The best way to start is with the old standard, 12 bar blues progression.
Then improvise from there.
It can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be.

Twelve-bar blues - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[ramonesfreak]

Do you want to learn an actual song with all the proper melodic phrases etc or do you want to learn how to play blues leads, in general?

My favorite electric blues players are Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf and John Lee Hooker

Muddy is really quite tough to pull off if your just starting out.

When I was learning, I would play along with records that had a fairly standard blues progression and then try to play lead on top

For example, I would listen to the Grateful Dead's version of Big Boss Man over and over while trying to play with the changes. I didnt have the Jimmy Reed version back then. Either version is good to play on top of though

To really get it down, your gonna have to get some rhythm tracks on CD to play with...do a search and youll find plenty of instructional CD/DVDs out there

Also, if you can purchase a loop pedal and then record a I IV V rhythm track to play along with you will progress rapidly. We didnt have loop pedals when I started so it wasnt until college that I actually had another guitar to play along with that wasnt a record

[ramonesfreak]

this is a tune that has a "tune"...in other words its not just an improvisation. Not sure you will find the lead tab so you might have to figure it out by ear

Baby Please Don't Go
Muddy Waters - Baby Please Don't Go - YouTube

[craigster59]

Key To The Highway or Love In Vain are 2 great blues songs, but put down the Strat and pick up an acoustic...

[LWJ]

Couple of ways. My favorite is to put something like Robert Cray - Strong Persuader album on. Play the pentatonic with that. You will sound like a genius.

There should be lots of 12 bar blues loops on the internet. I haven't checked.

Other good ones are Robbin Ford, Dire Straights, Buddy Guy, Albert King?. Go for the simple stuff. Maybe Clapton? I would not play with BB King. He is too minimalistic. You will feel the presence of genius.

This is fun stuff. Enjoy. Don't sweat it. If you hit a stinker note, I won't hear it!

Larry

[scottmandue]

have you had your heart broken?

[algs911]

Go to Pandora.com, type in "blues" and have a listen. Pretty good site, really. Found out I really like Mississippi John Hurt.

Blues is fun to play (it's fairly predictable at 8- or 12-bar).

I started playing just a little over 2 years ago (I'm 42). Keep at it! It's a wonderful stress reliever!

Al

[9dreizig]

You live in Denver ?? I'd go to Gogars house for lessons!!
Seriously here are two sites.. both on Youtube Justinguitar.com and
marty schwartz Both have their own websites as well as being on You tube

[rouxroux]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

have you had your heart broken?

I was thinking the same thing, but before he tries to PLAY the blues, he must HAVE the blues, AND a "Blues Name" to go along with it. I know this is old, but maybe this will help our yooung prospect on his way to a true awakening:

Music Humor - Blues Name Calculator

[Rick V]

The notes are easy, the music, not so much. Blues comes from inside and not the fingers, they simply transmit the feeling to the strings.
Here is an easy one and buildable.

[Christien]

What Rick said.

I don't think learning a blues song verbatim will do you much good. It would be like learning the way one actor plays a popular role - you'd see how he does it, but miss the bigger picture.

It's the kind of music you need to internalize, then let it come out naturally.

[AirKuhl]

Welcome Michael!

First, get your law degree if you haven't already. Unless you are a dentist, which is also OK. You'll need to buy an extremely expensive hand made guitar with a gorgeous finish. A Gibson Reissue is good, or a PRS "Artist" series is also acceptable. You can always tell how good a guitar sounds by how much it cost and how pretty the "flame" is. Once you get better, you can transition from "flame" to "quilt". Also, the more inlay there is on the fretboard, the more "sustain" you'll think you hear.

However, if you're not very flashy, you might consider buying a very old Strat that has been abused by a succession of drug addled cover band shredders for the last 40 years. The more beat up the better, because it will look like you don't care about anything except "tone". Besides, this impresses chicks because it implies that maybe you caused all that wear as a touring backup guitarist for ZZ Top on the Deguello tour, something you won't confirm or deny. If you go this route, make sure you take up smoking as Strats have a great spot up on the headstock under the low E string to hold cigarettes. BTW, I find that Maui Jim's are the best sunglasses to wear at night.

An amp is also very important. You'll need to stay away from any of the typical name brands and get a hugely expensive amp made in tiny quantities by people no one's heard of. For the love of God, make sure it's a "tube" amp, because it's physically impossible to impress anyone with a "solid state" amp, which is no where near expensive enough. Anything under $3K is for posers. Two Rock is a good brand here as is Cornford. If the beat-up Strat story in the previous paragraph worked on the chicks, at this point start calling them "valves" instead of "tubes". This is guaranteed to remove panties, especially if you can fake a slightly British accent. Aussie is also acceptable if she's drunk enough.

Finally, you'll need a huge number of pedals and stomp boxes. Again, it's important to stay away from Boss or Roland and only buy boutique pedals with hand painted cases and silly names like Pigtronix or Boiling Point or Way Huge.

At this point, playing will be a pesky detail you'll need to deal with. I suggest learning a "bar chord" which is used to demonstrate "sustain" and for blues you'll also need to bend a string, which is used to demonstrate "tone". Anything beyond that is a plus.

You might hear some crazy talk about how you should buy a basic rig, learn to play by playing along with your favorite music and how tone and all that stuff is in your fingers and not your gear, but obviously those people aren't real bloos lawyers. They are wasting time actually playing music instead of wisely skipping that time consuming step and going directly to the point of the entire thing, which is chicks.

[scottmandue]

Here are some guidelines:

Music Humor - Rules Of The Blues

[VaSteve]

AirKuhl....awesome.

[Rapewta]

It is never to late to learn 'dem blues.
Please get a copy of Keith Richard's new book "life" and read it .
Blues is primative. It is from the gut.
A lot of blues musicians say you have to experience tragedy, like your 'ol lady leaving you, getting fired, going to prison... blah blah blah.
I love the blues and if you can make people "forget about the rent that is due"
then as a guitar player, you are doing the right thing.

The format for 12 bar 1-4-5 and a turn-around is easy. The hard part is being
honest.
People can detect a poser a mile away. Blues is the best music for making a
sad man fell good. Learn it.

You don't have to be a black man in coveralls to feel the blues.
I have seen at open mics... really great players get nowhere with the crowd because they just don't "have it".

The great thing about the blues is only the "real deal" works.
You'll know real quick if you got it in you.
Good Luck.

[Zeke]

Just watch livi.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by AirKuhl

Welcome Michael!

First, get your law degree if you haven't already. Unless you are a dentist, which is also OK. You'll need to buy an extremely expensive hand made guitar with a gorgeous finish. A Gibson Reissue is good, or a PRS "Artist" series is also acceptable. You can always tell how good a guitar sounds by how much it cost and how pretty the "flame" is. Once you get better, you can transition from "flame" to "quilt". Also, the more inlay there is on the fretboard, the more "sustain" you'll think you hear.

However, if you're not very flashy, you might consider buying a very old Strat that has been abused by a succession of drug addled cover band shredders for the last 40 years. The more beat up the better, because it will look like you don't care about anything except "tone". Besides, this impresses chicks because it implies that maybe you caused all that wear as a touring backup guitarist for ZZ Top on the Deguello tour, something you won't confirm or deny. If you go this route, make sure you take up smoking as Strats have a great spot up on the headstock under the low E string to hold cigarettes. BTW, I find that Maui Jim's are the best sunglasses to wear at night.

An amp is also very important. You'll need to stay away from any of the typical name brands and get a hugely expensive amp made in tiny quantities by people no one's heard of. For the love of God, make sure it's a "tube" amp, because it's physically impossible to impress anyone with a "solid state" amp, which is no where near expensive enough. Anything under $3K is for posers. Two Rock is a good brand here as is Cornford. If the beat-up Strat story in the previous paragraph worked on the chicks, at this point start calling them "valves" instead of "tubes". This is guaranteed to remove panties, especially if you can fake a slightly British accent. Aussie is also acceptable if she's drunk enough.

Finally, you'll need a huge number of pedals and stomp boxes. Again, it's important to stay away from Boss or Roland and only buy boutique pedals with hand painted cases and silly names like Pigtronix or Boiling Point or Way Huge.

At this point, playing will be a pesky detail you'll need to deal with. I suggest learning a "bar chord" which is used to demonstrate "sustain" and for blues you'll also need to bend a string, which is used to demonstrate "tone". Anything beyond that is a plus.

You might hear some crazy talk about how you should buy a basic rig, learn to play by playing along with your favorite music and how tone and all that stuff is in your fingers and not your gear, but obviously those people aren't real bloos lawyers. They are wasting time actually playing music instead of wisely skipping that time consuming step and going directly to the point of the entire thing, which is chicks.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

Here are some guidelines:

Music Humor - Rules Of The Blues

LOL

7. Blues can take place in New York City but not in Hawaii or any place in Canada. Hard times in Minneapolis or Seattle is probably just clinical depression. Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City are still the best places to have the Blues. You cannot have the blues in any place that don't get rain.

13. You have the right to sing the Blues if:
a. You older than dirt
b. You blind
c. You shot a man in Memphis
d. You can't be satisfied

14. You don't have the right to sing the Blues if:
a. You have all your teeth
b. You were once blind but now can see
c. The man in Memphis lived
d. You have a pension fund


23. Make your own Blues name Starter Kit: a. name of physical infirmity (Blind, Cripple, Lame, etc.) b. first name (see above) plus name of fruit (Lemon, Lime, Melon, Kiwi, etc.) c. last name of President (Jefferson, Johnson, Fillmore, etc.) For example: Blind Lime Jefferson, Jackleg Lemon Johnson or Cripple Kiwi Fillmore, etc. (Well, maybe not "Kiwi.")

[Nathans_Dad]

My instructor and I have been working on blues stuff lately. What we've been doing is twelve bars blues in various keys, learning the rhythm parts and then trying to solo over that with the blues scales. One song that's fun to solo over is Hotel California, blues scales in B sound perfect over it and the chords are easy to play. Good luck and keep playing!