Kyler Patrick Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Hey y'all, feels great to be back in the Gibson Lounge! I've already got a question for y'all which I hope will get a bunch of answers. The topic= Blues. So I really wanna be playing like SRV someday soon! What's the key to becoming a great Blues guitarist??? Are there need-to-know scales, chords etc. Thanks for your time and, again, it's great to be back in the Gibson Lounge!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonzoboy Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 In order to play convincing blues that would get through to your audience you have to be able to put the emotions that you feel into your playing,more like finding a channel between your soul and your fingers.Practicing bends etc. and becoming proficient in the pentatonic scales is also a good way to become a good blues player.Have a listen to the old guard of bluesmen like Muddy Waters,Lightnin' Hopkins,Hubert Sumlin (Howlin' Wolf's guitar player)Albert King and Buddy Guy.Between them these guys possess a huge amount of blues knowledge and if you can incorporate a bit of each into your playing you will be well on your way to becoming a great blues guitarist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowboyBillyBob1 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Wow! That's a big question. I have always listened to the players that influenced my favorites. In the case of SRV one of his biggest influences are Albert King, Jimi Hendrix and a host of classic blues artists. You will never sound like SRV and why would you want to. You need to find your own voice. Learn the blues scale in all positions and also people outside the genre so you develop a unique voice. How long have you been playing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Yeah thats a big question and the answer is slightly different for everyone.. You could do worse things than start with the Pentatonic scales.. They are very useful http://www.folkblues.com/theory/penta_patterns1.htm check this site.. Pentatonic patterns look like this And its also maybe a good idea to study up on where the notes are on the fretboard.. that helps you know where to start Its a long journey that just takes alot of practice and paitence .. good luck man :) Hope some of this helps a bit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brundaddy Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 The key to becoming a great blues guitar player is to *not* play like SRV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowboyBillyBob1 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 The key to becoming a great blues guitar player is to *not* play like SRV. +1 Great advice Rabs. One thing he makes an error on is that the blues scale is the same as the pentatonic. The blues scale adds the b5. So the pattern from bottom to top Low E string = 1-4 A String = 1-2-3 D String = 1-3 G String = 1-3-4 B String = 1-4 High E String = 1-4 The 2 on the A String and the 4 on the G String are the b5 or "blue notes". It's cool to bend into these notes to get a bluesy and individual sound based on how you do it. Slow, fast. with or without vibrato. A bit much at first but with some practice it will become second nature. Hope this helps and does not confuse you Kyler. Email me if you have any questions. paulj.edwards@cox.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 All you need is four notes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84cEzgO4Qwk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buxom Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Hey y'all, feels great to be back in the Gibson Lounge! I've already got a question for y'all which I hope will get a bunch of answers. The topic= Blues. So I really wanna be playing like SRV someday soon! What's the key to becoming a great Blues guitarist??? Are there need-to-know scales, chords etc. Thanks for your time and, again, it's great to be back in the Gibson Lounge!!! I'm still wondering if you're that kid from my 9th grade math class... This kid's name was Kyler Patrick (last name held)... What are the odds of another one popping up in VA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoreyT Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Rabs, thanks for posting that video. I cannot play lead at all really, I really need to learn scales. I saw in my Gibson newsletter the other day they had a lesson up on the Pentatonic scales, is this the one? I will be practicing this over the weekend. I already knew how to go over that scale with all 6 strings like he was showing as I have done that before, but then he gets into the variations of running back and forth and bending, pretty cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 If you want to become like the great blues guitarists, you have to, IMO, learn to play the same chords and leads from the SAME POSITIONS as the greats. Like kicking a ball or hitting a baseball, you have to do it the way the good guys do it, or you'll NEVER be good. The most important concept to learn is that there are certain positions that you can play in that work WAY better than others. Almost all of the greats play primarily in position #1. Some people call it box 1. Look at videos of Hendryx, Clapton & SRV. These guys learned by trial and error that the best place to play is position #1, at least to start with. Most of the classic licks that these guys use are played from this position because it's easiest to do it here. Then the guys will go to other positions and play other stuff. If you want to play in another key, the idea is to transpose by playing the same pattern of notes, but move it up or down the fretboard to change the key. That way, you only have to learn one pattern. If you try to learn scales and modes in every pattern in every position, you'll never be good. Blues is about repetition and fluency. Again, Hendryx and Clapton played first out of position one and then moved to other positions. They did all this stuff when they were twenty years old. They didn't learn a bunch of scales all up and down the fretboard. You'll learn the minor pentatonic scale with the blue note. But learn it in position #1 first. That's the same place that Rabs' posting shows as Pattern #1. Again, you'll end up playing mostly from that position, so learn it first. If you try to learn all the notes on the fretboard, like is shown in Rabs' picture of the fretboard, you'll be spinning your wheels and getting nowhere fast. IMO, it's a waste of time to be learning the all names of every note on the fretboard. Yo don't need that for blues. You can learn that later, if you end up caring. There's a guy that teaches five main boxes, or positions. The guy's videos are called Steviesnacks. I have seen all of these videos and I believe this guy teaches a great method to learn to play lead like the greats. Again, the most important thing you will learn is to transpose keys by playing the same patterns and chords and moving up and down the fretboard rather than learning different patterns in order to stay in the same place on the fretboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Meet the woman, who broke my heart. Then, suddenly on a day You will find the blues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmer Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Mu dog is dead and I feel like dying too...I had him since he was a pup and a truck just ran over it... Pick guitar and weeeeeep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LysanderSky Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 After 18 years of self taught guitar playing I decided to take lessons with a teacher, it's great. Even though, there are plenty of options nowadays (youtube, DVDs) I can only recommend it because you are being made aware of things you wouldn't normally notice. I tried to avoid any theory or technique before I had a teacher but let me tell you, it comes in handy if you want to improve. Another tip: Steal some licks that you really like from other players and incorporate them into your playing in all keys. And most of all: Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rogerb Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Playing the blues, as in any other genre, begins with a great song. Here are instructions for writing a blues song: http://www.saxgirl.com/saxgirl-www/WriteYourOwn.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyler Patrick Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 Wow! That's a big question. I have always listened to the players that influenced my favorites. In the case of SRV one of his biggest influences are Albert King, Jimi Hendrix and a host of classic blues artists. You will never sound like SRV and why would you want to. You need to find your own voice. Learn the blues scale in all positions and also people outside the genre so you develop a unique voice. How long have you been playing? I've been playing about ten years now so I've already developed my "own voice" sorta. My goal is to just improve my skill, I never planned on sounding JUST like SRV. When I mentioned SRV, it basically just meant that I really really really want to learn how to play the Blues well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyler Patrick Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 Yeah thats a big question and the answer is slightly different for everyone.. You could do worse things than start with the Pentatonic scales.. They are very useful http://www.folkblues.com/theory/penta_patterns1.htm check this site.. Pentatonic patterns look like this And its also maybe a good idea to study up on where the notes are on the fretboard.. that helps you know where to start Its a long journey that just takes alot of practice and paitence .. good luck man :) Hope some of this helps a bit These are awesome!! Thanks a ton! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyler Patrick Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 I'm still wondering if you're that kid from my 9th grade math class... This kid's name was Kyler Patrick (last name held)... What are the odds of another one popping up in VA? Haha man when I was in 9th, I was homeschooled. I started going to school in 10th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 These are awesome!! Thanks a ton! No worries... And I do just want to say from some of the replies.. Ive been playing since I was 12, was in a band at 18 and am now almost 40 (pretty much all self taught).. I never really played much lead I just dabbeled and explored the fretboard myself and actually found the pentatonic scale in E as shown on my own but never knew what it was or what I was really doing.. Its only over the last 6 months or so that ive really srarted studying this sort of thing and I still only do it to an extent but just learning a few simple things like this has made the world of difference to my understanding of the fretboard.. And I wish I had done it earlier :) I use position 3 mostly as I just like the sound of it.. And I dont expect anyone to learn EVERY note on the board, its just a rough guide (I certainly dont know that).. and the thing is once you get this down it will help you realise some of the things about where notes and sclaes and chords all link up and connect. For instance.. If you have been playing for 10 years or so you probably know Barre chords.. That makes it easier.. You know for instance that a bar chord for G is on the third fret.. Well what I realised recently is that the pentatonic scale covers most of the same notes.. So playing the pentatonic pattern from the thrid fret will all be in G Playing it from the first fret will all be in F Playing from the fifth fret and you will be in A and so on... Its when I realsied that (a real DUHHHHHHH why did i not notice that earlier moment) that it all clicked :) and ive been playing so long you wonder how you never realised that before.. Im still not a great lead player, but im still exploring and still have much to learn as does any guitarist... :) (even people like Slash are still learning) As I say.. good luck .. its a long journey, but mostly fun :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyler Patrick Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 The key to becoming a great blues guitar player is to *not* play like SRV. Could you please explain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Rabs, thanks for posting that video. I cannot play lead at all really, I really need to learn scales. I saw in my Gibson newsletter the other day they had a lesson up on the Pentatonic scales, is this the one? I will be practicing this over the weekend. I already knew how to go over that scale with all 6 strings like he was showing as I have done that before, but then he gets into the variations of running back and forth and bending, pretty cool. No worries.. anything to help :) And no this was just a random Youtube pentatonic scale vid.. theres hundreds out there :) And good luck to you too :).. It is lots of fun though.. Once you know the scale even at the beginning.. Record or find a simple backing track and just go for it... thats the best :) Also another piece of advice.. play along to records you like.. Ive played with Jimi many times ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyler Patrick Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 No worries.. anything to help :) And no this was just a random Youtube pentatonic scale vid.. theres hundreds out there :) And good luck to you too :).. It is lots of fun though.. Once you know the scale even at the beginning.. Record or find a simple backing track and just go for it... thats the best :) Also another piece of advice.. play along to records you like.. Ive played with Jimi many times ;) I've been jamming on those scales for hours now haha! Those were SO helpful and a lot of fun!! [thumbup] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I've been jamming on those scales for hours now haha! Those were SO helpful and a lot of fun!! [thumbup] Glad to be of help... :) The real hard work is down to you though but when its as fun as that, its not really work is it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I've been jamming on those scales for hours now haha! Those were SO helpful and a lot of fun!! [thumbup] By the way.. so you know... once your happy with the Pentatonic... The next step up is the Chromatic scale.. Harder but very good to learn as you need to use all four fingers to play it :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoreyT Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 No worries.. anything to help :) And no this was just a random Youtube pentatonic scale vid.. theres hundreds out there :) And good luck to you too :).. It is lots of fun though.. Once you know the scale even at the beginning.. Record or find a simple backing track and just go for it... thats the best :) Also another piece of advice.. play along to records you like.. Ive played with Jimi many times ;) What is funny I have been able to play these scales since I first started playing when I was around 14, but I did not know they were called Pentatonic scales. I know how to be in the correct position depending on what chord is being played, just never been able to make them sound like the guy in the video. In fact I never heard of the Pentatonic word until I started checking out the forum here when I got my SG awhile back, and I saw it mentioned in Guitar Player and Guitar World too. I use to record basic Chuck Berry style chords when I was a kid, and I would try to play along with them with the scales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyler Patrick Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 By the way.. so you know... once your happy with the Pentatonic... The next step up is the Chromatic scale.. Harder but very good to learn as you need to use all four fingers to play it :) Awesome, I'll get right on it!! and I'm glad it's one of Marty Schwartz vids!! He's great at youtube tutorials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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