As you learn to play guitar, you're going to discover there are many styles of music to pursue. Really good players even take the time to learn several styles and then choose a personal favorite to master. For a number of excellent musicians, the style of choice turns out to be the blues. If you delve into this musical genre, you're going to discover that some of the best guitarists prefer this style over all others.
As you learn to play guitar in the blues style, you do need to remember that this flavor of music doesn't just involve scales and chords. It happens to rely heavily on a state of mind. To play the blues well, you have to embrace it. If you truly love the blues, you will have an easier time of learning how to play it with mastery.
Personal inspiration can very much help as you learn to play guitar in the blues way. It can pay to listen to and emulate some of the greats from this genre. Some of the most skilled guitarists to listen to include B.B. King and even Eric Clapton. Try to hear what they do and tap into how they make their music sing. If you can emulate these greats, you will be able to eventually create a style and sound that's all your own.
Starting out, however, often requires listening to what others have done and learning to see exactly how much energy they put into their music. The blues is all about emotions. Be sure not to ever forget that.
Learning to play guitar in the blues style is not all that difficult technically. It does demand time in practice and plenty of effort though. To really bring your music alive, you need to not only learn to play guitar, but you have to make it speak for you.
The best place to start is in getting a handle on the basics of blues. The first thing you'll need to do is learn to play triplets. This will require learning a basic timed and counted rhythm. If you master rhythms, you will be on your way to really learning how to play the blues.
To truly become a blues musician, you must learn to play guitar like a real master. This will involve putting away the pick and learning to play without one. Although picks are useful to start off with, blues masters don't normally use them. This is because a pick interferes with the ability to really play the strings while muting others. By taking fingers out of the mix, a pick simply gets in the way. Picking is okay for some genres, but it's not a part of the blues.
Beyond learning the basics, you'll have to master a few more things to really take this style to the next level. The root of the blues lies in the soul. Being able to express the soul musically is the entire point. When the blues is played, listeners are hearing raw emotions. To achieve this ability, you will want to forgo accessories beyond a basic amp, cord and guitar. While special accessories work well with some styles, they simply are not a part of the blues.
Should you really want to learn to play guitar in the blues style, purity is a must. This form of music is all about rhythm and self-expression. If you can master these things, you will be a great blues player.
