Blues Guitar – Learn How To Play

Blues Guitar – Learn How To Play

Do you want to learn how to play blues guitar? For some, blues is the ultimate form of music and a great form of expression. There is a lot of soul that goes into the playing. A great blues musician not only knows how to express sadness through their music, but a whole range of emotions. If you want to learn how to play, too, there are some things you can do to achieve the level of proficiency that you want.

Learn Scales and Chords

Blues scales and the chords that go with them form the building blocks of all blues songs. Pair these notes and chords with a good beat, and you have the beginnings of a song. Choose the right notes and it will be a blues song. If you learn these scales and chords it will make you a better blues player.

The blues scale has a distinct pattern. Once you learn the pattern, you can play the scales and chords in any key. Practice the scale in a variety of keys so that you can memorize the finger positions and play them without even thinking about it. This will help you when you jam and even write your own music.

Playing Songs

What are your favorite blues songs? Another important aspect of learning blues guitar is to learn how to play your favorite songs. This will help you get a feel for creating music. Once you learn a few songs you may feel comfortable enough to branch out and create your own music. However, if writing your own music is your goal, you may not want to rely too heavily on playing the music of others or else you might not develop your own style.

Taking Lessons

Do you want to play the guitar as quickly and proficiently as possible? If so, then taking lessons may be a good option for you. Or, if you don’t want to pay someone to give you lessons, you can invest in a self-study program for learning blues. There are some great programs out there. No matter which you choose, sometimes being instructed by someone else can help you improve your playing rather quickly.

If you want to learn how to play blues guitar, the best thing you can do is practice consistently. Learning scales, chords, and songs are great. However, if you don’t take the time to practice consistently your playing may not improve.

Looking for some high quality Blues Guitar Lessons? Click Here to get your free customized Blues Guitar video lesson, tailored to your specific skill level. It’s really cool, you have to see this system!

Blues Lessons Guitar: Employing Practical Barre Chords

Blues Lessons Guitar: Employing Practical Barre Chords

Although the blues genre has lost some of the popularity it had in its youth, guitar players will find that learning blues lessons guitar will not only be easy, but will also put them on the fast track to impressing listeners. Blues lends itself to many styles of guitar playing including quick and simple soloing, catchy backing rhythms, and scales that will help you develop your finger technique and improve your overall musical skill set. Of course, the staple of any type of music is the backing track, so here are a few tips on playing blues barre chords that will give your melodies some backbone.

Also called adjustable or movable chords, barre chords are useful because they provide great depth in their sound while allowing the player to quickly and easily transition from one chord to the next without missing a beat, due to the fact that all barre chords share very similar finger positions. The index finger is typically used to press down all the strings on the same fret at the location of the root note. For example, to play an A barre chord, take your index finger and hold down all the strings on the fifth fret of the guitar as a capo would do. Your ring finger and pinky will then hold the seventh fret on the A and D strings while your middle finger will hold the sixth fret on the G string.

This is a very natural position for your hand as you will see, and to switch to, for example, a G major chord, all you need to do is translate your hand down to the third fret, the location of the root note. All of your subsequent fingers stay in the exact same position relative to your index finger, which is still barring all the strings at the third fret. This method is much simpler than learning all the chords in the traditional caged style, which requires different finger positions for each chord, both major and minor.

Barre chords can even be used by moving down one string and using the root notes that occur on the A string. Just transpose all your fingers downward, except take your middle finger from where it would have been and mute the top E string with your index finger. Now all the major chords are effortlessly in your reach with a quick move of your hand. No tricky positions or painful fret combinations required. More blues lessons guitar like these and you will be a few steps closer to dominating the stage like Muddy Waters and B.B. King.

Looking for some high quality Blues Lessons for Guitar? Click Here to get your free customized Blues Guitar video lesson, tailored to your specific skill level!

Finding Good Blues Lessons – Guitar Strategies

Blues Lessons – Guitar

Right after mastering the basics of playing guitar is a good time to choose a style to specialize in and begin learning to play in that style. It is not a good idea to begin specializing before you have mastered the basics, but once you have mastered them, it works best to begin learning the new style right away. If you are learning the blues, there are a number of blues lessons strategies that will help you learn quickly and retain the new information well enough to play proficiently with some time and hard work.

There are a few basic necessities that you should consider at the beginning of your blues journey. You need to think about the type of guitar you will be playing. Electric, acoustic and nylon-stringed guitars all have their own distinctive sound, as do steel twelve-strings which may take more time to get used to. Eventually you may want to learn to play slide guitar, but at first it is best to concentrate on the basic blues techniques. Presumably you know how to play chords at this point, but it is necessary to learn to read tablature if you have not already. Learn the twelve-bar blues progression. Perform dexterity exercises to build up flexibility in your fingers; play scales equally with upward and downward strokes until you can strum and pick notes easily both ways. Master all the foundations before you move on to the next steps.

The previously mentioned exercises are a great way to familiarize yourself with the basic blues scales as well. Break down a blues progression into a series of twelve bars composed of notes from the corresponding chords, and practice playing each bar while switching between upward and downward strokes for each note. Play until you can complete the bar with ease and without thinking about it; play it fast and play it slow. Then move on to the next bar. Try playing multiple bars at once. When you can do that, try playing the entire exercise from the first bar to the last without stopping. When you have done this, try improvising your own licks and phrases with notes from the blues scale. Become completely familiar with the scale and progression that make up the foundation of blues.

There are many blues lessons guitar strategies for different types of learners and for learners that are at different stages of their learning. Try the above steps to master the foundations. When you have done that, you are well on your way to being a budding blues guitarist.

Looking for some high quality Blues Lessons for Guitar? CLICK HERE to get your free customized Blues Guitar video lesson, tailored to your specific skill level!

How To Play Blues On Guitar

How To Play Blues On Guitar

If you want to learn how to play blues on guitar then you have to start learning guitar music history and basic guitar lessons from qualified instructors, especially if you are still a beginner. If you already know the basics of playing the guitar, take basic blues guitar lessons from a master musician and teacher. If not, learn it on your own using the Internet as your guide.

1. Learn Music History

Although not really necessary, learning music history can help you understand how the genre developed. This gives you an insight as to how blues should be played as well. By reading through articles, books, and magazines that discuss the genre, you can get info on popular musicians who have become famous in Blues. To give a short background, this popular type of music was developed in the African-American communities in the 19th century. It was usually used for spiritual songs, chants, and work songs.

2. Listen to Popular Blues Musicians

History gives you insight, but listening to actual musicians play Blues allows you to feel the music within. While some musicians play melancholic melodies, others produce energetic riffs and solos. Listen to popular names such as BB King, Eric Clapton, Albert King, Robert Johnson, and so on.

Click Here to get your free customized Blues Guitar video lesson, tailored to your specific skill level!

3. Buy a Blues Guitar

A Blues Guitar is essential to learning how to play blues on the guitar. You do not necessarily need an expensive brand for your first guitar. You can buy a good one later once you become a pro. Check out the Internet for affordable guitars or visit the local music shop. If you are not an expert at buying quality guitars, ask for help from your instructor or from the music shop owner or representative.

4. Learn from an Expert

Learning from an expert has its advantages. While you can learn blues online, the information you get may not be enough to have you playing excellent riffs in a short amount of time. If you like quality instruction, hire an expert.

5. Master the Blues Scale

The blues scale is the core of blues music. It is the scale that gives definition to the sound produced by the guitar. As long as you master this scale, you can definitely play blues by improvising. Of course, it is also important to learn and master other blues-related songs, solos, and masterpieces. However, if you want to become a pro, master the scale and practice regularly.

Want to learn How To Play Blues On Guitar? Click Here to get your free customized Blues Guitar video lesson, tailored to your specific skill level!

Blues Guitar Scale : Theory And Practice

Blues Guitar Scale

The blues guitar scale is much like the pentatonic scale, but with the addition of an important note, the diminished fifth, aka flat five or flatted fifth. For example, the A minor pentatonic scale includes the notes A, C, D, E, and G. The A minor blues scale contains the notes A, C, D, Eb, E, and G. Notice that the diminished fifth note, Eb, is added to the equation. Therefore, the scale is a sort of “hexatonic” scale that involves the use of the pentatonic scale plus an additional diminished fifth.

The Blue Note

The blue note, sometimes called the worried note or the devil’s note, is the diminished fifth note used for expressive purposes in blues. The alteration is usually a semitone, but some blues musicians may play it lower. This varies depending on the genre of the music and the musician. Keep in mind that the blues note is not only used in blues music, but in jazz, rock and funk as well.

The term blue note is used to describe the sound created when the flat five note is played along with other notes in the scale. It produces a sort of worried feeling, tension, discord, or depression. This is the reason why early religious authorities banned the use of the note and spread the rumour that it came from the devil himself.

How to Master the Scale

1. Master Finger Position

The first thing you need is a chart or diagram that shows where the different notes of the scale are found on the guitar neck. If you have mastered the pentatonic scale, the inclusion of the 6th note is the only thing you need to master. First of all, try to memorize the different positions of the scale on the guitar. With the help of mnemonic devices like those found in the charts, you can easily get the hang of it.

2. Play Blues Licks Repeatedly

There are numerous guitar licks online that involve the blues scale.  Get hold of these tutorials and master playing the blues guitar scale by playing them repeatedly. This will allow your fingers to get used to the pattern. As soon as you learn several licks, try playing them along with a jam track. These tracks usually come with a blues guitar tutorial purchase.

3. Improvise

As soon as you master the scale, learn how to produce blues music and try improvising. Improvising is a skill that can only be learned through practice and guitar mastery. You can do improvisation by playing along with an excellent jam track.

Want to get your Blues Guitar Scale  skills upto scratch in double quick time? Click Here to get your free customized Blues Guitar Scale video lesson, tailored to your specific skill level!

Blues Guitar Lessons – The Essential Guide

Blues Guitar Lessons

When it comes to blues guitar lessons, the process is actually a lot simpler than a lot of people make it out to be. Of course, being able to play like Eric Clapton, BB King or SRV is going to take time and practice but if you focus on the correct areas and stick with them, you’ll find you will reach your guitar playing goals much, much quicker.

I’m going to lay out 3 steps which will give you a clear path to follow and show you which blues guitar lessons to focus on, then I’m going to show you where you can pick up and awesome download that will help you improve much quicker. So, be sure to read this whole article, as each step is equally important.

Blues Guitar Lessons – Getting Started

Blues Guitar Lessons – Step #1

You absolutely must know your pentatonic scales inside and out. In my experience giving blues guitar lessons, most people know one or two shapes (and that’s okay to begin with), but to really push your playing forwards, you’re going to need to learn all five pentatonic scale shapes. This is one of the most important blues guitar lessons, so make sure you take these on board.

Grab This Pentatonic Scale Video Lesson
& Printable Cheat Sheet!

Blues Guitar Lessons – Step #2

Once you know your scale shapes, it’s essential to start using them! Grab a few backing tracks and simply practice walking up and down each of the patterns to get used to them, then experiment with making your own licks. My favorite method is to choose 4 notes from each pattern and simply play around with them. When first starting your blues guitar lessons, limit your choices slightly; you’ll find it’ll help you to find more interesting sounds. If you look at Eric Clapton, or BB King’s solos, you’ll see they get some awesome licks from just 3 or 4 notes. If it’s good enough for those guys, it’s good enough for us!

Blues Guitar Lessons – Step #3

This is obviously, just the tip of the iceberg, so if you’d like more blues guitar lessons to push you in the right direction, make sure you download my Pentatonic Scale Cheat Sheet, which you can print out for your music stand. You’ll find all 5 shapes in there, plus some killer information about converting the pentatonic into the full blown blues scale. You’ll also get my awesome pentatonic scale video lesson which will literally double your skills instantly…I know that’s a tall claim but when you watch the video, you’ll see what I mean!

CLICK HERE NOW TO GET ACCESS TO THE VIDEO AND SCALE SHEET!

Essential Blues Guitar Lessons

 

 

Guitar Lesson Solo – How To Play An Awesome Solo

Guitar Lesson Solo

Hey guys,

Thanks for checking out today’s guitar lesson. Solo guitar playing is really rewarding and fun, if you approach it in the right way. If you’ve ever tried to improvise a guitar solo and felt disgusted by the sounds you’re making, or maybe feel a little bored with playing the same old stuff over and over again, I can help you.

Now, before you do anything else (trust me on this), make sure you know ALL FIVE patterns of the pentatonic scale. If you know a couple of them, trust me, that’s not good enough, you need all five. You’d be amazed at the new sounds and ideas you can make just by playing some new patterns.

I’m going to show you where you can download an awesome pentatonic scale ‘cheat sheet’ in a little bit but for now, I’m gonna give you the box shapes for the 5 pentatonic scale shapes here…

Guitar Lesson Solo – Pentatonic Scales

Look familiar? Like I said if you don’t already know those 5 shapes backwards, forwards and inside out, then you have work to do. There’s no way you’ll be able play many awesome solos without these bad boys under your fingers.

Pentatonic Scale Guitar

Pentatonic Scale Guitar

Hey guys,

If there’s one thing I get asked about the most as a guitar teacher, it’s the pentatonic scale. Guitar students everywhere want to know how to get the most out of this scale. Whatever style of music you’re into whether it’s rock, jazz, indie, or blues, this scale is your best friend.

To make things easy to begin with, I always say it’s best to experiment with these scales over blues music. The 12 bar blues is a nice repetitive sequence, so it’ll really help you to get used to the sound of the pentatonic scale. Guitar music in general stems from the blues in some way shape or form, so my advice is start there!

Now, in just a sec, I’m going to show you where you can download a really cool ‘Pentatonic Scale Cheat Sheet’ which shows you all the patterns you need and gives you some tips on how to convert it into the blues scale. You can print it out for your music stand, so make sure you check out the link I’ll share with you in a second.

Pentatonic Scale Guitar Shapes – Learn These!

Okay, so there you have it guys, those are the five shapes you need. Before you grab your guitar though, make sure you CLICK THIS LINK, where you can download your ‘Pentatonic Scale Guitar Cheat Sheet’ and check out my killer pentatonic scale video lesson.

Guitar Blues

Guitar Blues

Hey there stranger,

So, you’re looking to learn to rock your guitar blues style? Luckily, you’re in the right place! If you want to sound like Eric Clapton, BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughan or…any blues guitar player, there are a few steps you need to take. First I’m gonna show you which scales you need to learn, then I’m gonna tell you how to get the most out of them and lastly, I’m gonna show you where you can get a really cool download that will help you learn much faster!

Guitar Blues – Step One

The first thing you need to do is learn the pentatonic scale. In my experience as a guitar teacher, most people know maybe 1 or 2 patterns but there are in fact 5 that you really need to know. If you already know these, feel free to skip to step two, if not make sure you check these out…(The download I’m going to show you in a little bit will help you even further with this)…

Guitar Blues – Step Two

Okay, now once you can play the above shapes, the idea is to experiment with them over backing tracks. My preferred method is to choose a pattern and focus on it for around 10 minutes. Simply walk up and down the pattern repeatedly for a few minutes, then choose 4 notes from the pattern and experiment with creating some cool licks with just those notes. Limiting your notes a little like this can help you stay focussed. It really works, ask BB King!

Guitar Blues – Step Three

Go ahead and CLICK THIS LINK, where you can download your ‘Pentatonic Scale Cheat Sheet’ and check out my killer pentatonic scale video lesson too. With the trick in the video you can literally double your blues skills, pretty much instantly!

Play Blues Guitar – My Essential Guide

Play Blues Guitar

If you’re looking to play blues guitar, either as a beginner or if you’re more experienced, you’re in the right place. There are far too many site out there that put out ‘fluff’ content, that you don’t really need. Learning to master or play blues guitar really is pretty simple, as long as you stick to the basic, building block areas you need to focus on. If you follow these steps, trust me, you’re on the right track…

Play Blues Guitar – Step One: 12 Bar Blues

You must have a basic knowledge of the 12 bar sequence. It’s really very simple to play in any key. Check out this chord chart, which shows you a twelve bar sequence in the key of A.

A /// A /// A /// A /// D /// D /// A /// A /// E /// D /// A /// E ///

This tells you to play A for 4 bars (A /// = 4 beats or 1 bar) followed by D for 2 bars, A for 2 bars, then 1 bar each for A, D, A and E.

Play Blues Guitar – Step Two: Pentatonic Scales

Once you can play the above sequence, you need to learn and play the pentatonic scale over the top of those chords. Again, once you can do this in 1 key, it’s very simple to play them in any of the 12 keys.

Here are the patterns you need to learn. To begin with, try learning pattern 1 only and practice playing it over the top of a 12 bar blues backing track.

Play Blues Guitar – Step Three: Visit This Site

Now you have a basic understanding of the chords and scales you need to learn, allow me to help you supercharge your skills in double quick time. If you CLICK THIS LINK you’ll be able to download my ‘pentatonic cheat sheet’ which you can print out for your music stand. It also has some top tips inside to help you play blues guitar and make some awesome sounds. You’ll also get access to a video lesson I highly recommend. So, don’t waste time struggling, make sure you CLICK THIS LINK now!

Play Blues Guitar