AllAbilityLevels
It’seasytounderestimatetheblues.Forthe uninitiated,it’sjustthesamefivenotesandthe samethreechords,butwhenit’sdoneright,the resultscanbemagical.AlbertCollinsonce stated“simplemusicisthehardestmusicto play,andbluesissimplemusic.”Andhewas right.WhenaplayerofBBKing’smagnitude takestothestagetheaudiencecanequallyfeel hispain,orbetouchedbyhisobviousjoy. Theperfectbalanceinhisplayingbetween beautifulconsonanceandbrutaldissonance– allcompletelywithinhiscontrol,withdynamic masteryrangingfromawhispertoaroar–has captivatedmusicloversforgenerations.
Alongwithelderstatesmenofthegenre suchasKingandtheequallytalentedBuddy
KeithRichards
It’ssafetostatethatthispoweroftheblues showsnosignofdiminishing.
Thefocusofourattentionhereisdivided intothreemainheadings:RhythmStudies, LeadStudiesandaCompletePiecethat combineselementsofthetwo.Withinour rhythmprimerwecovertopicssuchas selectingbetweenourpotential7thchords andextensions,emulatingleft-handpiano riffs,exploitingtheCAGEDsysteminaminor bluesanddevelopingcontrolofbothswing andstraightrhythmfeels.Inalead-guitar context,weshallbeexploringourvarious scalarandPentatonicoptionsagainsta Dominant7thtonality,alongwitha comprehensivelookatbending,rhythmic placementandmelodicphrasing.
Whenputtogether,theseelementsform thebasisofasuperbbluesworkout,whether forthat‘nextbiggig’orasthebasisforyour ongoingbluesvocabulary–plus,youcan returntothelessonagainandagain.
Beingaspontaneousmusicianandplaying whatyoufeelareprerequisitesinastyleas emotiveandever-changingasblues,witha