Blues Guitar – What It’s All About

By: James Duclos

Blues guitar is the best way to communicate your thoughts as a musician. As a genre, blues could be described as pure expression. Blues music is filled with opportunities to play your solo and speak your mind through your guitar. There is as much room to solo in blues music as there is in jazz music.

Most blues guitarists have something to say through their guitar. Blues guitar is based around blue notes, or sad notes. The blue notes are most often the b3rd, b5th, and b7th (b3rd is flat 3rd). These “blue” notes are especially expressive due to their rather gloomy sound. It is impossible to emphasize enough how emotional blues guitar playing can be. The only way to prove its emotional nature is to show you the blues scale so you can play it on your own; the scale sounds like a song in itself sometimes. Blues music will use a swing feel as well. As with jazz music, you “swing” the notes, giving a more involving and expressive sound for your audience. Check out the following article about “Blues Guitar Scales” for more information Insert Hyperlink.

Blues artists are most commonly older musicians who have lived a life of sorrow or have at least endured a few hard times. Blues players are focused on playing from their hearts more than any other collection of musicians. Blues music originally came from poor black laborers who would sing about their sorrows with vocals only. Country music originated from blues music; however, when it originated, the only difference between blues and country music was skin color. Blues music also produced sub–genres such as ragtime and early race music (or hillbilly music).

Oftentimes blues guitarists sing between blues licks and speak the story more than sing it. Vocal lines almost always reveal a distressing story about a hardship with love, slavery, or times of hunger and supply shortage.

When you start playing the blues, you will understand just how expressive the scales, chords, and rhythms can be. If you let it, the blues will swallow you up and you will love to play the blues anywhere and with anyone you can. Blues players become extremely connected to their musical expression.

Blues music has brought many guitarists up to the big time. Names like Chuck Berry, B. B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughn, John Mayer, and John Frusciante are famous for their blues music.