What does playing the blues mean?

Hi twanger. Here's hoping all is well with you and that you're still twangin'. I'm back to remind you that you should keep that guitar out of its case and within easy reach. Just a little each day is all that's need to keep the fingers limber and the enthusiasm up.

Most guitarists, no matter what level they're at and no matter what style they aspire to, want to be able to 'play the blues'. But what exactly does that mean?

The Blues encompasses a whole range of musical styles really; it can be in a major key, or a minor key, uptempo, slow, orchestral, rough and gritty ... there really is no definitive description. Somehow, though, we all know it when we hear it. Today's pop, jazz, r&b, funk and some country all borrow from the blues idiom.

The 'standard' form for blues is the 12 bar, which simply means that the tunes are structured around a chord progression that lasts 12 bars, then repeats. The chords used are the 3 major chords the key, the I, IV and V chords. In E, we're talking E, A and B.

However ... something different happens with these three chords: (without going into the theory of it all right here, right now) all can be 7ths, and the major/minor quality of each can be blurred out. In other words, the 3 in each chord (the major/minor note), even though they're major, can dip down that one fret to the minor 3. It can't stay there, that would mean that the chord IS minor, it has to settle back on the major 3, but it can flirt with it. This applies to the 7 also. Normally the I and IV chords 7 would be the major 7, but the blues allows you to play the next note down, the (there are a few ways of saying it) minor 7, or the flat 7, or the dominant 7.

The lesson I have put together this time is an 8 bar bluesy ditty. It's in D, and it combines a whole bunch of techniques: bending, double stops, single note lines, chord fragments, full chords, a barre chord. It may be a little advanced for some, but the TAB is there showing exactly what my fingers are doing, and even if you can only do it slowly, it's a good exercise to learn the positions. There are two movies of it too, one full speed and one half speed, but they're not free.

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Go to http://planetalk.thatllteachyou.com/twang
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There is no need to feel that any of these examples of playing need to be reproduced exactly. The fact is, I never play them the same twice, so nothing is set in concrete. It's much more important to study the positions I play the figures in and compare them to the chord positions that the slide rule displays (if you're a full member of http://guitarforbeginners.com ). I have often said that chords should not be seen as little groups of notes like you see in the chord diagrams, but as notes that occupy the entire fretboard. If you're a full member of Guitar for Beginners, the chord slide rule should show you that very clearly. A little bit of investigation will show you that ALL of the bits and pieces that make up any piece of music come from "the chords of the moment" -- that's how music works. In the case of the blues, each chord is a 7th, and each imposes its own template upon the fretboard -- or rather, the same template in a different position.

Knowing how to 'see' each chord occupying the entire fretboard is the subject of my book PlaneTalk. If you are at the stage where you know your basics, you can get through some scales -- maybe even modes -- but you're still wondering how to turn it all into music, then drop in and find out more about it. If you can see that chord there, in perfect detail, at any given moment in any given tune, then you can see all potential riffs, runs, phrases, harmony lines, solos, double stops ... EVERYTHING, there ready for the plucking. If you can see it, and KNOW that it's right, even know what it's going to sound like before you play it, then you can get your fingers to play it.

Find out all about it at http://planetalk.thatllteachyou.com

All the best, I hope this keeps you busy, for a little while anyway. The best learning you can do is trial-and-error exploration in my opinion ... don't be shy about poking around the fretboard, but remember, if you're looking for the master template to work with, something that you can relate all your exploring to, then PlaneTalk is the answer. A mere 25 bucks will reveal the simple visualization trick that took me decades to 'discover', the trick to gaining total freedom on the guitar, the trick that turns the WHOLE fretboard into familiar territory.

Kirk