Playing the Blues - Tips for Playing the Blues on Guitar

So you want to play blues guitar! Here are three tips to help you achieve your goal.

1. Learn the "twelve bar blues" format. Most blues songs are structured in a certain form that all musicians have come to know as the "twelve bar blues". What this means is that 12 measures of music, or "bars" have a certain set pattern, and the twelve bar pattern is repeated over and over throughout the song. This is great, because, musicians who have not played with each other before can get an impromptu jam session going just by deciding to play a slow blues in the key of E. This will let them know that they will be playing with the chords of E, A and B, or certain variations of these three chords. Also, they will know that the structure will be (usually) 4 bars (music measures) of E, two bars of A, two bars of E, one bar of B, one bar of A and two bars of E. The final two bars usually are called the turnaround, and leads the tune back into the original four bars in E.

2. Learn the blues scale. There are certain notes that sound really good together for playing the blues, and these notes are called the blues scale. These notes and the fingerings of the scales must be memorized and mastered by a guitar player who wants to be able to play the blues. The good thing is that the fingerings for the patterns can be memorized and then moved to different locations on the neck, to go along with whatever key the blues song is being played in. Their is basically five main patterns along the length of the guitar neck, all are interconnected, and all are movable along the neck. Practice time must be dedicated by the beginning guitar player to memorize and understand how these patters work.

3. Learn how to play the guitar with feeling. A good blues guitar player uses certain "tricks" to make their guitars "wail and sing". The main tricks of the trade that good blues guitar players use are:

VibratoString bendingSliding up to and away from the noteHammering on to a notePulling off from a note

Using these gimmicks is part of the essential sound of the blues, and must also be mastered. Luckily, none of these techniques are real hard to learn, they just take some practice and finger development to become proficient in them.

The best way to practically learn these three tips is to be taught by a professional either through books, videos or online teaching subscriptions. The concepts are not difficult, but there is a little little bit of theory that needs to be understood, and also some memorization.

To learn more about beginners guitar and the blues for guitar click here: http://www.lurnguitar.com/. For a 10 pack of free video lessons, click here: http://www.lurnguitar.com/.

http://EzineArticles.com/6508955