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Interested in learning to play the blues guitar? Here’s a bit of history and tips for the aspiring blues musician. Roots Jazz & the Blues ! Jazz, the only sound of its kind, it evokes a lost era in the 20th century. Imagine the gentle sound of a slow piano, the scent of whisky creeps into the room, saxophone, followed by smoke, then soft light. Often melancholic, chilling, softly tapping a nerve you didn’t even know was there. Sometimes uppity and playful as if coaxing your inner child to come out -and even then it might succeed in rekindling comfortable yet sad memories or dreams you thought lost and buried. Nothing is like it.

All the great blues singers and guitarists, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Robert Johnson, Janis Joplin, everyone, put their heart into their music. That’s how they played. They did it as more emotional than technical act by letting the blues slip out and speak for it. Every performance they gave was frighteningly sincere and honest. But before all that, you’ll need to get down to the basics. If you graduate from the basics then maybe you can start playing real blues. Needless to say, if you’re not already a pro (and even if you are), getting professional help will go far in learning to play the best sound that can come out of a guitar -the classic blues.

Blues has been around since the turn of the 20th century. It’s the accidental great granddaddy to a myriad of the greatest genres: rock & roll, soul, funk, tidbits of folk, even hip hop, and yes, jazz. And like jazz it is unique. It’s a sound absolutely slave to emotion -celebrating pure emotive depression.

Blues is today considered the music of intellectuals. Unknown to most, blues takes roots in recounting worker’s tales. It’s a perpetually raised fist against slavery. An echo of protest in another lost era of the last century. It is almost too awesome. The aspiring blues poet !Blues guitar licks are not easily mastered. All the greats: Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Richie Havens, not one of them perfected the blues overnight. Ask any professional and they all say the same thing. To give justice to playing the blues you need to keep in mind 3 things:

Here are some great ways you can start that long lone journey to the blues: Get a guitar. The blues can be played on both acoustic and electric. Some blues styles sound better on the former, some the latter. A great consideration here is your budget. But don’t be afraid to splurge either. A good guitar is an investment, and can even be an heirloom if treated properly. Go online for a blues guitar lesson. The internet’s a cheap if not free way to get lessons and start on the road to shredding great licks.

Also, the blues backing tracks that are available online are great and you can listen to and learn from. A good way to learn guitar is to listen to good guitar playing. Prepared learning tracks are paced for amateur to professional playing, so there’s something for everyone. Get ready for some improvisation! Don’t be afraid or embarrassed if you don’t sound too good. Everyone needs to start somewhere. Lashing out licks is about confidence. Lastly, remember that the blues is about feeling and emotion. Playing the blues is summoning that sound. Nearly any good player will tell you that to be a successful blues musician, you’ll need 3 things: a bit of skill, a lot of licks and whole lot of soul!