Although any and all genres of music and styles of playing must ultimately be studied, at least somewhat, by a player whose goal is to one day be a great instrumentalist and soloist, one thing that has become clear to me from listening to some of the guitar players I most admire and hope one day to be able to play like is that from their earliest studies, they focused on the blues. They did so deeply, broadly, and with a laser-like focus. Take Eric Johnson or Joe Satriani, for example. Both from their playing and from interviews and instructional videos, they make this clear. Eric's blazing runs clearly began, long ago, as the most basic, carefully analyzed, short and slow blues riffs--no doubt heavily influenced or learned from the early blues players they admired. With years of methodical practice, experimentation, the incorporation of bits of other styles of music, the development of both physical skill and an increasing depth of understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of it all, they eventually reached the heights of achievement we know them for.
So, here am my question (note my superb grammar): Here I am, a guy who wants to do the same thing. I wish to push everything I know or thought I knew out of my head, adopt the "beginner's mind", and begin studying the blues--both its theoretical nature and its application on guitar. Would come of you offer me suggestions, such as artists whose playing I should listen to, learn, analyze, and master on the fretboard. Or teachers or learning methods you've found helpful. Anything at all that might help. Consider me the blank slate absolute beginning who intends to take each thing a step at a time, make sure to master each step, and then move on to the next.
Thank you,
M
I think you need to let us know what your intentions are. Do you want to be a blues player or do you want to use the blues to improve and widen your rock, country, metal, etc. skills. Like you said, the blues is a foundation that stemed and branched into many (if not just about all with the exception of say classical) musical styles. To really know the blues you need to understand the history of it. The blues is more than just a musical style, it was/is a lifestyle to many - i.e. Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, all the Kings, etc. to name just a few. If you really want to get into it, start at about the beginning with the guitar styles of Robert Johnson. IMO, that's where the blues starts and has become the foundation of how we know it today. There are so many great guitarists that play the blues to listen to and learn from. Learning to play the blues to those players wasn't as much of a technical thing to them. They would watch, listen, and learn. They would "borrow" from one another to try to create their own sound. Many of them didn't know theory and used their ears to play. It was said that when Buddy Guy first started playing he was not very good at all. His timing was very off. Still, he had something else to his playing that kept people coming around to hear him. In time, his timing got better and he became one of the greatest guitarists around. I remember Stevie Ray Vaughan once saying that it's when he plays from the heart is when he plays his best. Once he starts thinking about where he is on the neck and what he "should" be doing, rather than doing what he "feels", is when he starts messing up...
Why do we have to get old...
I think you need to let us know what your intentions are. <snip>
Thank you, bfloyd, that was a thoughtful and "on target" response. Yes, everything you say is true and all part of my own thoughts. Speaking of the history of the blues, and its great relevance to learning and understanding it, did you see Ken Burns' documentary on this very subject? He starts from well before anyone had even invented the music which led to the blues, and traces the history right throught. I learned a ton from that, including things which, as you say, opened up my whole understanding of "the blues".
M
