Blues Guitar – What is the Best Way to Learn?

2009-11-19T16:47:00.000-08:00

Blues Guitar – What is the Best Way to Learn?

Are you currently in the verge of learning how to play blues guitar? If you are, then you have come to the right place. This article mainly focuses on the things that make up the blues guitar scale and how practicing with blues backing tracks benefit a guitar player in honing not only his skills but also his knowledge in the blues.

One of the major elements in learning how to play blues in the guitar is studying the scales and chords that build up the foundation and essentials of blues music. There are numerous kinds of blues music and various styles in the genre that you may learn, so it is best that you start out with only the basic scales and chords. Once you master the basics, you can start working on more sophisticated concepts.

The basic blues guitar scale is the minor pentatonic scale, with one added note as opposed to the regular minor pentatonic. If you are wondering what the purpose of this extra note is, it is the very note that gives off the required amount of tension to produce the signature blues sound that made the genre a classic to date. This scale has six different note names. However, when you start playing the blues scale, you play all the places for note names in that particular position. When you learn this specific scale, you are now on your way to mastering the structure, improvisational aspects and timing of blues guitar music. The best way of accomplishing this is by playing in accompaniment with backing tracks in the blues genre. Practicing in harmony with these backing tracks is similar to performing with a whole blues band playing with you.

There are lots of benefits from using these blues backing tracks in honing your skills. One example of these benefits is the fact that it helps you understand the structure and how the blues scale fits appropriately with the rhythm section. When you play along with the tracks, you will be capable of combining what you know of the scale and the knowledge you have of the music theory. Moreover, blues backing tracks are also very useful weapons in mastering the trickiest part of playing blues music – improvisation. This is a very essential technique that all blues guitarists have to flourish in, especially when performing live. So when you listen to blues backing tracks, you have the opportunity to improvise your personal lead solo based on what you know about the scales.

Blues Guitar - Learn To Play Here!

Blues Guitar – What is the Best Way to Learn?