Posts Tagged 12 bar blues

Learn to Play Blues Piano

The piano is an excellent instrument for almost any genre of music, but none more than blues. For decades, the piano has been a mainstay in blues music.

Beginner Blues Piano

One might ask, “What is blues piano?” Well, the answer is simple. It’s a form of music that is played on the piano. It’s also one of the easier styles to learn and once you master this style of music other styles will be easier to learn. I guarantee that by the time you are done reading this you will know a great deal about beginner blues piano.

The first thing you need to learn is 12-bar blues. This a common progression in blues piano playing. In order to play this, most people will use seventh chords. When playing a song it is usually broken down into three sets and each set is broken down into four bars. You should start out playing on the “C” key. If you do this then your fourth key should be “F” and the fifth “G”. For instructional purposes think of “C” as “I”, “F”, as “IV”, and “G” as “V”.

Now, the first set will be played as follows I, I, I, I. The next set will be IV, IV, I, I. And the last set will be played V, IV, I, I. These should be played using your right hand. In order to come up with the correct sound you really should learn to play seventh chords.

Now that you know what your right hand should be doing, it’s time to learn your left hands positioning. Your left hand will follow an 8-note pattern. This pattern goes like this: I, III, V, VI, VIIb, VI, V, III. Now the actual notes that you will be playing with the C chord are: C, E, G, A, Bb, A, G, E. While the F chord notes will be F, A, C, D, Eb, D, C, A. And for the G chord is: G, B, D, E, F, E, D, B.

Before you begin playing look at the notes on the piano and familiarize yourself with their positioning. If you already know the chords and notes of the piano, blues piano lessons will be easy to master. The first thing you should concentrate on learning is the 12-bar blues in key C. Once you have it down in this key then try playing it in others.

If you learn blues piano first it will give you a good foundation that will help you move on to the genre of music that you long to play. Once the foundation of piano playing has been established you will find that it is much easier to learn new styles of piano. Just keep in mind that learning a new style can be challenging, but once you learn them you will be able to play with ease and elegance.

Finding a good teacher to help you can actually be beneficial to your learning of the piano. If you can’t find a good teacher in your area don’t worry because there are always other methods. You can always go online and find some very good information on blues piano lessons or find a DVD to play at home. A lot of time the DVD will come with an informational book to help you out. If you are serious about wanting to learn blues piano and stick to your routine and practice you will soon find that you are playing like a pro.

Just remember that you won’t learn to play overnight. It will take time and patience, but the end result is quite rewarding.

Tags: , , , ,

Blues Acoustic Guitar

History Of Blues Acoustic Guitar

Blues is one of the numerous folk styles included in the different musical genres all over the world. It was developed in the 19th century by African-American artists and its evolution also went into the early 20th century. The music developed from strong vocal music sung by impoverished African- Americans without the use of instruments all over the southern states in America. The lyrics would include those involved in spiritual trances, work songs, ballads narrating the life experiences of the Scots-Irish and the field hollers. Thus, blues originated as a genre through the life experiences of a group of people and was soon accompanied by musical instruments to further add emphasis to the songs through the use of the blues acoustic guitar.

Legacy of Blues Acoustic Guitar

The blues began in the 1890s and developed through the early 1900s. The musicians adopted several different versions as the music evolved and took different styles. The blues acoustic guitar is very intricately connected to the increase of blues music for over more than a century. The first definite forms of blue music appeared with the use of the blues acoustic guitar and as the genre developed, so did the music attached to it. The musicians began to use other instruments to accompany the songs including pianos and harmonicas, but the blues acoustic guitar remained as an integral part of the genre.

Features of Blues Acoustic Guitar

While blues is divided into many kinds of music, there are basic properties which come with all kinds of blues music. Amongst the first is the 12-bar blues progression which is frequent in almost all music played by the blues acoustic guitar. The guitar also assists in bending certain notes and playing the kind of music that reflects the sadness displayed by this genre. The blues acoustic guitar is essential to this form of music as it enhances and strengthens the music. Also, it is easiest to finger pick and slide guitar, an important form of blues, which can only be done by the blues acoustic guitar.

Techniques for Blues Acoustic Guitar

The blues grew and changed as did the blues acoustic guitar when the evolution of this genre of music began. World War II brought with it several changes and amongst these was the style of blues music which altered with the different types of guitars. Blues as especially affected by the creation of the electric guitars which changed the kind of music created in this genre. However, the slide guitar and finger picking styles won over guitarists using the blues acoustic guitar all over the world

Tags: , , , ,

Learn How to Play Blues Guitar Online

The primary purpose of playing blues is to pass the audience the player’s own point of view about the the social events, problems, love, life and events. To be able to do so, all he has just a guitar and a story. In blues it is important to express your idea. If you do not have any idea, then what you play has no importance in terms of blues.

The role of guitar in blues music is to strengthen this story and enpower the words. The most important thing is to support the story with your guitar You can be a good blues guitarist based on the extent to which you can do this successfully. It is not about playing slow or fast; because as long as you can express your ideas with guitar, then you are a good blues guitarist.

Imitation, the ability of repeating what you say at the same time or right after saying with the guitar is an important point of blues guitar. As BB King said when asked, we must try to play things that we hear; we must play them. When learning the blues guitar, the ability to appeal to people’s feelings is as important as the technical competency. Of course if your goal is to tell a story.

Another important point is the overlapping of your message with what you play and clearly showing the attitude. If you believe that the guitar you play supports what you sing, then you are on your way to play the blues guitar.

The blues guitar has several patterns; minor blues, 12 bar blues, and boogie which is based on single or two chords are the most frequently used ones.  In terms of soloing, the blues music has a lot of different opportunities.

Over the years many successful musicians has brought their own interpretations to the blues guitar. The common features of these musicians is that whatever they did, they were very powerful and peculiar to them. Indeed blues takes its power from this point.

As a result, it is surprising to see how different all these blues guitarists are although they all use the same scale. This magic is hidden under the perception, interpretation and touch of the guitarist.

There are many resources on the internet on how to play to blues guitar. When you learn the blues guitar scales, chords and information on how to combine these together, do not expect to start playing the blues guitar instantly. Playing blues guitar require much more than that. The more you try and practice, the more you will catch the chance to start playing the blues guitar.

It is recommended to read about the blues and listen other musicians who perform blues guitar. Later on practice telling your stories of course after achieving certain technical skills.

Tags: , , , ,

Learn Blues Guitar ? Putting the Rhythm on the Blues

At the end of the 19th century, one particular style of music emerged from the African-American communities belonging in the Deep South of the United States. It was usually performed by prisoners and slaves.  These were derived from field hollers, work songs, even chants and shouts. This musical style is called Blues. One legend says that William Christopher Handy, a cornet player and bandleader, wrote the first Blues song which was both printed and documented in the year 1912. The song was entitled Yellow Dog Blues.

The Blues musical genre has garnered popularity throughout the years and in different nations around the world, capturing the hearts of many people of all ages, making a lot of music lovers want to try and learn blues guitar. Blues and guitar are like bread and butter to each other.  They work well together.  An acoustic or an electric guitar would be a great instrument to have if you want to play the Blues. Thicker strings may help in getting better tones and sustainability while nylon strings are not recommended.

The majority of Blues songs are played following the 12 bar.  The 12 bar Blues simply means that the song is divided into 12 “bars” or “patterns” with a given chord sequence. If one is really interested in learning blues guitar then one should start by learning this basic beat – which also happens to be the easiest one too. When playing, this form is repeated over and over for every verse of the song until the song ends. While practicing this, it is recommended that it should be started with a single down strum for each beat, until one becomes familiar and comfortable with it before trying to elaborate each strum and trying other variations.

Blues, in most cases, is major in chord structure but there are also different scales that can be used in order to create or add a colorful tone associated with Blues.  Some of these scales are major pentatonic, minor pentatonic, dorian, and mixolydian.  These can be used individually or in combination with each other. 

To better learn blues guitar, it is essential to practice the three (3) rhythm feels that are used in Blues, namely, straight feel, shuffle feel, and twelve/eight feel.

In the straight feel, the eighth note rhythm is usually used and are spaced equally apart while the shuffle feel follow a long-short scheme (the second note is placed in every pair of eighth notes.)  The twelve/eight rhythm has twelve beats per bar and each eighth note obtains one beat.

Techniques are also vital in playing Blues on the guitar and one of these is the Vibrato.  It is a musical effect that is created when the pitch of a note is slightly changed to a higher pitch and then back to its original pitch by changing the tension of the string.

In order to fill the chords with melodic figures, turnarounds, intros, and endings – riffs are used.  Turnarounds are usually played on the last two bars, making the solo complete and points the song back to its beginning.  Some turnarounds even make wonderful and interesting intros and endings of songs.

To fully learn blues guitar, there is no one trick, way, method or procedure to master it.  Learning the Blues takes constant and accurate practice.  No matter what the sellers of books, ebooks, and videos promise, nothing beats perseverance and dedication.

Tags: , , , ,