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Posts Tagged ‘Blues Guitar’

It?s hard to describe how to play the 12 Bar blues on the guitar when you don?t have one in front of you. It?s also hard to play it if you have never done it before and you are interested in playing the 12 bar blues . What isn?t hard is writing about it so that you can get fired up enough to want to play it, or, if you play , and have lost your way, to re-kindle that passion so that you can learn the proper way.

Many who hear some music that they love and want to play it, often see themselves up on stage having the time of their lives with mobs of screaming fans who just can?t get enough. Well, learning should be that way too if you approach it properly.

The first thing you need to know if you are bitten by the bug is to know how to go about learning properly, and that means, wanting to really learn. If you go about it recklessly, then you won?t go far before you lose interest, and you may never touch the guitar again, and that would be a shame because all you really needed was to learn how to learn.

Start by finding a good instructor. You can usually find one by seeing where all the real musicians go. If you begin your instruction there, then you will be introduced to the world of 12 bar blues in the right way, by taking it slow at first so that you get the chords and the progression right, and then, getting it smooth. Never worry about speed, which will come once it?s fluid enough.

Once you have the basics then you can get into the theory, which is all about structure and form, and that has to with tonic chords, dominant chords, sub dominant, etc., then the 12 bar blues progression that is blended in with it. Remember, this all takes time, but if you take the time, you will get out of it what you have put into it.

There are three main chords that you need to know, and they are A7, E7, and B7, and from there, once you?ve got those down, you can move on to different keys, fifth notes, and how it all combines into that sound you first fell in love with, and wanted so much to learn. Once you do get proficient, there is a tendency to show off how technically good you are by trying to cram all you know into everything you play, and that is where the style gained through confidence is learned, and that is what makes you stand out.

So keep in mind that you must be technically proficient enough so that you can create an emotional impact, and when you do that, there will be someone else out there who will want to play the 12 bar blues guitar just like you!

Practicing well is a much harder thing to do and there are many reasons why this is the case. Before I go on, I just want to say that bad practice affects even the most experienced players but it can be overcome with some help. Here are some of the problems that you may have when practicing and some usable solutions:

1) Problem: Getting stuck in a rut. This is a very common problem that affects nearly all guitarists at some point in time. You end up playing the same thing over and over every time you play and you can’t seem to move on to anything new.

Solution: I am a firm believer that you should aspire to play everything perfectly. But, if you are stuck on this one thing and you feel like practice is getting a little stale, you should really advance to something else that inspires you. It is so important to be inspired in your practice and you can always come back to something later when you are in the right mood. Jamming over to blues backing tracks will also help in your creativity and inspiration.

2) Problem: Moving on to new skills too quickly. Also a very common problem, moving on too quickly will ultimately turn you into a “jack of all trades and a master of none”.

Solution: This problem is the opposite of the last problem we looked at. You can now see that there is a balance between too much and not enough emphasis on perfecting a song. My suggestion is that you should master each thing before you go on to the next, but if you are finding a particular skill impossible to master and you are dying of boredom trying, maybe that skill is a little out of your reach. In this case, it is best to go back and learn something less difficult.

3) Problem: Becoming narrow minded in relation to the different areas of learning within musicianship. Some people get into the situation where they are practicing only one style and neglecting everything else.

Solution: Try splitting your playing into parts. For example, I might spend 5 minutes practicing new blues scales or chords, 10 minutes working on writing new music for myself and maybe 15 minutes learning a new song or part of a song. This way, your practice never gets boring and you can achieve a lot more.

4) Problem: Playing things too fast when you are trying to learn them. This might cause you to become disillusioned with your playing when you are trying to learn a new song. Trying to play too fast when you are not capable of doing so will also make you lose interest in practice.

Solution: A fairly obvious solution here – Slow down. Most blues guitarists, including myself try playing a song or new skill at a slow speed before trying it at a fast pace.

Practicing properly and regularly is the best way to become good at anything including playing the guitar. This requires discipline; not only discipline to practice regularly, but also discipline to stay focused and on track when you are practicing. A great way to keep the passion in practicing is to jam to professional blues backing tracks. There are great compilations of jam tracks from companies such as 50Blues. If you stay disciplined with your playing you will develop into an excellent player.