Strumming Your Way to Blues Guitar
The blues music has been one of the most endearing forms of art all these years. Hearing a person singing the blues remind you of chants, sounds of cries of love and despair, and of a certain call. The blues seem to give you an opportunity to respond and be one with the music.
But playing the blues is completely different, more so when you have to do it in a guitar. It takes more than just the passion—you have to actually place your fingers at the right keys, or else, you’re going to break away from the mystique the blues can bring to its listeners.
Whether you’re a new player or you want to refresh your memory in playing the blues with your guitar, here are the different things you need to keep in mind.
Think of the 12 Bar Blues
When you speak of the 12 bar blues, it only means that the entire song is divided in a dozen measure, with corresponding chord sequence. When you are presented with this form, you have to play these measurements over and over until you finish the song. There are also different kinds of measurements available, but so far, this proves to be the most common.
When you’re playing the blues guitar, you should have at least three different kinds of chords, such as E, A, and B. There are also other types of expressions for these chords, but usually, the blues is played in the seventh chords; hence, it will be E7, B7, and A7, etc.
It’s All in the Rhythm
The blues are known to be soulful. It is largely influenced by African-American music, and the blues a long time ago were used to tell their sad stories, such as about discrimination. Today the blues are meant to describe lost loves and other difficult experiences. However, regardless of what the blues may stand for, there’s only one thing for sure: it needs to have some rhythm, which is commonly a shuffle (reminding you of your own heartbeat).
With this, there are a variety of blues guitar playing strategies that you can apply, especially when it comes to rhythm. They may have the same measurement for the beat, such as 4/4, the Chicago and Texas Shuffle. They may only differ on the emphasis of their accompanying bass drums. The slow blues is also one of the widely used. A lot of guitar players are tempted to fill the gaps with fast licks from their guitar, but this is not a good idea. You can do a fast run, though. |
