The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Long time member on this site, it’s great, thank you.

    I am wondering if there is a similar site for regular blues guitar? Standard not jazz blues. BB King sort of thing.

    Also, do people have any recommendations how best to get such blues under my fingers? Any particular methods or books?

    I’ve seen TrueFire and Justinguitar. Wondering if you have any other experiences please.

    Thankyou!

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    I was recently looking for something similar and found those two sets of free lessons (made available by Your Guitar Academy) on YouTube:

    Essential Blues: Essential Blues Guitar Lessons [Full 27 Lesson Course] Electric Blues For Intermediates - YouTube

    B.B. King Player Study: How To Play Like B.B.King [Full 20 Lesson Course] Learn To Play Blues Like BB King Free Here On YouTube - YouTube

    I just watched the first few lessons so far but it certainly looks like high quality material. You even get access to the transcriptions and backing tracks on the website. Worth checking out.

  4. #3

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    Same as jazz, find songs you like, learn those songs, play a lot.

  5. #4

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    YES !
    ..sorry, I get excited when someone wants to play 'dem "plain ole" blues
    It looks like the Essential link above would get you going, I just watched the last one.
    There is a forum out there called 12 bar ...something, it wasn't very active last time I looked.
    Allen may have the best advice above. Get your pentatonics down, major and minor, put on your favorite blues record ..ehr CD and play along.
    ..you'll often times hear a major pent coming off the IV chord...
    There's a section below for Other Styles, drop any questions in there and some of us would be happy to help.

    Cheers,
    Mike

  6. #5

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    It’s a very informal style, not one that requires a lot of pedagogy.

    I’m not criticizing any nice course on the blues or anything, but you may want to come back to something like that after first learning your major and minor scales, both diatonic and pentatonic, and your blues scale - in 5 fingerings of course.

    learn a handful of solos from Albert King, BB King, Freddie King, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, SRV, Duane Allman and Dickey Betts, then come up for air. Learn them note for note, every bend, every inflection and nuance etc.

    why not start with Pretty Woman by Albert King?

  7. #6

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    Don,

    EDIT: NEVERMIND. After re-reading What you suggested and what I comprehended are not the same. My mistake.

    ORIGINAL POST: That's like a years work, and honestly 90% of blues is box playing and OP will be totally fine with the minor pentatonic, and which note to bend, to start off.

    It's like a kid asking how to spell car and replying with "well, to truly understand car, first you have to learn how the combustion engine works."

  8. #7

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    you say toma'to I say tomahto or as the old saying goes "you got to have the blues to play the blues"


  9. #8

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    You don’t learn the blues out of a book.

    Nor jazz for that matter (in my opinion).

    Listen to the records and use your ears and your fingers.

  10. #9

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    Albert King basically played all his solos essentially using one really tasty lick (at least that’s how it sounded to me and my friend at school).

    So we both learned that lick and used it to play blues solos for hours just trying to capture his sound, feel, vibrato etc. After a while you start finding creative ways to vary that lick, plus you start to learn a few more from BB King, Freddie King, Albert Collins etc.

    This is way more fun and productive than putting your nose in some book.

    In my opinion, of course.

  11. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by AllanAllen
    Don,

    EDIT: NEVERMIND. After re-reading What you suggested and what I comprehended are not the same. My mistake.

    ORIGINAL POST: That's like a years work, and honestly 90% of blues is box playing and OP will be totally fine with the minor pentatonic, and which note to bend, to start off.

    It's like a kid asking how to spell car and replying with "well, to truly understand car, first you have to learn how the combustion engine works."
    The scales I mentioned take about 10-15 minutes to practice in the typical guitar keys.

    On learning solos, my suggestions would require perhaps one month per solo, maybe less. In the end, if one prefers to learn 3-4 solos vs. 6-8, so be it. I listed but a few options.

    C'est la vie.

  12. #11

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    I recommend Texas Blues Alley https://texasbluesalley.com/ . They cover the songs by SRV, Clapton, three Kings etc. Their interface is very efficient and the fretboard/theory lessons had very useful practical tips. The non-jazz blues is of course pretty simple compared to jazz, and it all comes down to the pentatonic boxes and certain bends, and learning tunes, as we all seem to agree, but a nicely organized course can save you a lot of time. I think I saved a ton of time while subscribing to them.

  13. #12

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    You had traditional to jump to Texas to Memphis to Chicago blues till somewhere around the sixties which are what I consider blues but then the blues had a baby and they called it rock and roll although some people consider rock blues the blues so I reckon it comes down to what your interested in learning. Jmo and like said it’s in the ears and fingers and not learning scales etc and trying to immulate blues rockers. Me personally I hate listening to SRV and Clapton wanna b’s. But then that’s just my taste and I’m a picky eater

  14. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by BFrench
    You had traditional to jump to Texas to Memphis to Chicago blues till somewhere around the sixties which are what I consider blues but then the blues had a baby and they called it rock and roll although some people consider rock blues the blues so I reckon it comes down to what your interested in learning. Jmo and like said it’s in the ears and fingers and not learning scales etc and trying to immulate blues rockers. Me personally I hate listening to SRV and Clapton wanna b’s. But then that’s just my taste and I’m a picky eater
    I worked with a guy who could play Hendrix stuff spot on, he really sounded great. We got together at my parents house to "jam" once. After he impressed me with his Jimi aping, I said "let's play the blues in A (or E, I don't remember). He said "OK" then we got to it.

    He couldn't do a blessed thing. Didn't know the minor pentatonic or blues scales, didn't know what a I-IV-V progression was. He just quit. I was surprised at how he could do the one thing so very well, yet the other thing not at all.

  15. #14
    I once played through a book called Blues You Can Use by Hal Leonard. That is a blues method and beginner friendly. The etudes in the book arent the most hip but they can help you get started.

  16. #15

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    Yeah Don, I dunno what I was thinking.

  17. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by Badge
    Long time member on this site, it’s great, thank you.

    I am wondering if there is a similar site for regular blues guitar? Standard not jazz blues. BB King sort of thing.

    Also, do people have any recommendations how best to get such blues under my fingers? Any particular methods or books?

    I’ve seen TrueFire and Justinguitar. Wondering if you have any other experiences please.

    Thankyou!
    I have the "all access pass" for True fire. There is a tremendous amount of instruction on the subject there. If you already have musical knowledge, then you can learn more from top pros. Matt Schofield has some nice videos there and Robin Ford. There is a lot of standard blues material from others. If you already know the fretboard then your way ahead working with 7ths arpeggios. You can sign up there for free for a limited time just to see if you like it. As the great Hawaiian Orator once said," You like or you no like".
    .

  18. #17

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    My belief is that if you understand the materials (to oversimplify:minor pentatonics,slurs, bends etc) the next thing is to learn tunes/cop solos to integrate the vocabulary in a useful way. It’s really no simpler or more complex than that. While I’m a trained musician who’s taught on the college level I also toured with the Staples, Otis Clay, played as one of a Albert King’s pickup bands etc etc. Villa-Lobos can be read and learned in a controlled setting ( academic or mentored).
    Blues is best learned by ear/example and playing with others .. a good private teacher who has real-world experience can help as well.In lieu of that get a program like Reaper where you can important a backing track..record yourself and listen..that changes everything very quickly

  19. #18

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    Great teacher and materials: Griff Hamlin and Blues Guitar Unleashed. Both free material on Youtube and stepwise courses (paid) and user forum that I found to be very high quality.

  20. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by Donplaysguitar
    I worked with a guy who could play Hendrix stuff spot on, he really sounded great. We got together at my parents house to "jam" once. After he impressed me with his Jimi aping, I said "let's play the blues in A (or E, I don't remember). He said "OK" then we got to it.

    He couldn't do a blessed thing. Didn't know the minor pentatonic or blues scales, didn't know what a I-IV-V progression was. He just quit. I was surprised at how he could do the one thing so very well, yet the other thing not at all.
    I met this person...he could play fast..very fast..but did not know any chords or what a 'Blues" progression is..
    my fear is this kind of "knowledge" may be present in other professions...for example..architecture .. medical procedures - yikes!!

  21. #20

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    You'll find lots of useful courses on Stefan Grosmann's site, others on MusicGurus (including Doug Macleod's 101 building blocks course). Justin Johnson also has a number of video courses that cover different kinds of rootsy blues.

    But rather than buy books or video courses (probably lots of them, many of which you may never finish because they turn out not to be what you need), why not take actual (video) lessons? John Hatcher of the Blues Guitar Institute seems to be a good teacher with a well organised set of courses, but I myself might rather consider someone like Sara Rogo.

    https://www.theguitarlesson.com/blues-guitar-courses/

  22. #21

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    I'm in agreement with the folks suggesting simply listening and copying as the way to go. After all, blues is a style that has been passed down over decades, not through classes and books and online courses, but by passionate players listening and learning. Get the basic pentatonic shapes under your fingers, then just play. Copy the licks and leads you love, and not just the notes, pay extra attention to the bends, the vibrato, the phrasing. That's the stuff that makes great blues stand out. I mean, most blues players tend to use the same fairly few notes, it's the way the greats use them that make them great.

    Play with friends, at jams, at home to songs you like. Just remember to pay attention to the chords, not just the key. Which notes work best when you go up to the iv or v? Again, this can basically be gleaned through listening and imitating.

    Have fun!

  23. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by Stropheus
    I'm in agreement with the folks suggesting simply listening and copying as the way to go. After all, blues is a style that has been passed down over decades, not through classes and books and online courses, but by passionate players listening and learning.
    True, but I think most did have at least some opportunity to learn from experienced players, be it in actual lessons or by playing with them. Listening and copying won't tell you why someone did this rather than that, for instance.

  24. #23

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    So without blowing my own trumpet ( well I am really) I reckon I've pretty much got to the point of mastering blues-rock style blues, well I've played it so much that I'm now a bit bored of playing it at least.

    Here is what I did, well what I can remember anyway..... as for ordering, no need to follow the order I post, fine to jump about.....

    - get the major and minor pentatonics down in all 5 positions... less work that it seems as a major pentatonic in position A is basically the related minor pentatonic in position B.

    - watch and learn licks from a load of you tube videos that are like ' 5 Killer BB King Licks' etc.

    - Learn to mix the major and minor pentatonic up. THIS REALLY TURNS IT INTO THE BLUES. e.g. if playing say blues in A, I often play licks were say the first bit is A minor pentatonic, then resolve it to an A major pentatonic sound to soothe the soul.

    - figure out the target notes for each of the 1dom7, 4dom7 and 5dom7 chords and try to favour them to outline the changes, this video basically taught me that:
    .... doing this makes it really pleasing to the ear as opposed to mad 'shredding'.

    - learn any solos that you really like to get inspiration, the 2 that spring to mind for me were i) Intro solo from Hendrix's Red House at Woodstock and ii) Intro solo from BB King's Sweet Little Angel on Live at the Regal. Relate what they are doing to the concepts you've learned above.

    - try to adapt what you've learned into your own licks and melodies, for me this came about by trying to play a copied lick note for note, finding it hard, giving up and making up my own approximation instead.

    - have a bad day at work/argument with your woman, smoke a joint or neck a whiskey and chill along to some of the 1000s of blues backing tracks on YouTube....

    Job done!