Finger Style Picking
The fingerpicking blues is one of the most prominent styles of blues guitar. This style concentrates on individual strings, and small groupings of strings and chords to create an open and expressive melody. This style of blues playing has been used for nearly every blues method there is.
The first thing to remember when looking to learn blues guitar is that you do not need a fancy guitar to do it. Some of the most prolific blues performers used box guitars for their licks! A standard acoustic guitar is a wonderful starter for blues guitar; electric guitar is an altogether different animal.
Blues guitarists like Eddie "Son" House made music in 1920 to the 1930's known as "Delta Blues". Eddie was a Delta Blues performer, as well as country blues and gospel, being an incredible influence on future blues performers. He played viciously while shouting his haunting lyrics, usually snapping on the strings to reinforce what he was singing. He faded from view until being rediscovered in the 1960's, where he came into the spotlight again.
When you are ready to learn blues guitar, you will want to learn the repetitive rhythms that Son House wrote, simple chords in open "G" tuning, or: D G D G B D, respectively, from 6th E down. You can pick out individual strings or groups of strings with your fingertips, keeping the thumb for the sixth and fifth strings.
A slide is not necessary, though, when you being to learn blues guitar. Starting out simple is the best idea, so what you can do with the above tuning is to use your first and second fingers to slide up the fret board for the desired effect, starting at the second and third fret respectively.
The effect should be a slow rhythm that repeats for two stanzas, and then you play the third stanza at a note higher, which would be moving the chord fingers either up the strings, or up the fret board. Then you play the original chord for the final rhyme.
Whoever you learn blues guitar from should be well versed in teaching you how to read tablatures, or the illustration of fingering and strumming. This method simplifies the way you learn blues guitar because it gives you a sight mechanism to see where your fingers should be on the fret board and which strings to strum with your fingers and thumb.
In other words, the above verbal explanation is very difficult to visualize, but with a tablature you would be able to see the slide patterns, pull-offs, and hammers that are essential to Son Houses playing style. He played a very simple style, with plenty of emotion. This delta blues style was "shakingly chilled to the bone" when Son played, so learning the blues can be an awesome addition to your repertoire.
When deciding whom to learn blues guitar from, be sure they have the skills and patience needed to teach this wonderful art form. Blues guitar has a place and a time to play, and if you learn it well, you will begin to feel the emotion involved in this timeless and great-sounding music.
The fingerpicking blues is one of the most prominent styles of blues guitar. This style concentrates on individual strings, and small groupings of strings and chords to create an open and expressive melody. This style of blues playing has been used for nearly every blues method there is.
The first thing to remember when looking to learn blues guitar is that you do not need a fancy guitar to do it. Some of the most prolific blues performers used box guitars for their licks! A standard acoustic guitar is a wonderful starter for blues guitar; electric guitar is an altogether different animal.
Blues guitarists like Eddie "Son" House made music in 1920 to the 1930's known as "Delta Blues". Eddie was a Delta Blues performer, as well as country blues and gospel, being an incredible influence on future blues performers. He played viciously while shouting his haunting lyrics, usually snapping on the strings to reinforce what he was singing. He faded from view until being rediscovered in the 1960's, where he came into the spotlight again.
When you are ready to learn blues guitar, you will want to learn the repetitive rhythms that Son House wrote, simple chords in open "G" tuning, or: D G D G B D, respectively, from 6th E down. You can pick out individual strings or groups of strings with your fingertips, keeping the thumb for the sixth and fifth strings.
A slide is not necessary, though, when you being to learn blues guitar. Starting out simple is the best idea, so what you can do with the above tuning is to use your first and second fingers to slide up the fret board for the desired effect, starting at the second and third fret respectively.
The effect should be a slow rhythm that repeats for two stanzas, and then you play the third stanza at a note higher, which would be moving the chord fingers either up the strings, or up the fret board. Then you play the original chord for the final rhyme.
Whoever you learn blues guitar from should be well versed in teaching you how to read tablatures, or the illustration of fingering and strumming. This method simplifies the way you learn blues guitar because it gives you a sight mechanism to see where your fingers should be on the fret board and which strings to strum with your fingers and thumb.
In other words, the above verbal explanation is very difficult to visualize, but with a tablature you would be able to see the slide patterns, pull-offs, and hammers that are essential to Son Houses playing style. He played a very simple style, with plenty of emotion. This delta blues style was "shakingly chilled to the bone" when Son played, so learning the blues can be an awesome addition to your repertoire.
When deciding whom to learn blues guitar from, be sure they have the skills and patience needed to teach this wonderful art form. Blues guitar has a place and a time to play, and if you learn it well, you will begin to feel the emotion involved in this timeless and great-sounding music.
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Jammin' with the Sitting Easy Blues
Can you Play a Kick Ass Blues Solo Using Only 4 Notes?!?
Griff Hamlin has authored two awesome courses here . He recently gave me a chance to get a preview of his new programs, and I have to admit they are of top quality..
As a guitar player myself, I have been getting gold nuggets out of just one of his bonus blues guitar lessons! Check out the video above, he plays an awesome solo using only four notes!
As a guitar player myself, I have been getting gold nuggets out of just one of his bonus blues guitar lessons! Check out the video above, he plays an awesome solo using only four notes!
Discover how to solo effortlessly in any key anywhere on the guitar fretboard.
Know when and how to play the major versus the minor blues sound.
Know what scales to use, in what key, and when, without any unnecessary theory.
... and more!
Know when and how to play the major versus the minor blues sound.
Know what scales to use, in what key, and when, without any unnecessary theory.
... and more!
Here are some other things that Griff will teach you: