The moment you hear any blues song, you immediately recognize it. There seems to be an aspect about blues guitar that makes it completely unique when compared to all other types of music. While this is not the fastest form of guitar playing and it is also not very complex either, it is very effective at grabbing one’s attention in a way no other type of guitar playing does. The purpose of this blog is to explain exactly why the sound of blues guitar is unique and what specific techniques make it so.
Most guitar styles aim to awe people by showing off speed or complexity. Blues guitar does exactly the opposite and yet manages to be more compelling than the others. A simple bend of a single note, done slowly and passionately, has the power to bring everything to a halt. That is precisely what makes blues guitar special and something anyone playing guitar can master.
It’s Not About Speed, It’s About Feeling
For many beginner guitarists, speed is an important part of skill. However, when it comes to blues guitar, everything changes. Fastest guitarists don’t have to be the best. Best guitarists are those who know how to tell a whole story with just one note. One slow, but emotionally charged note will convey more than fifty fast notes.
This is the heart of what makes blues guitar unique. It puts expression ahead of speed. One can stay on one note and have it quiver, bend, or slowly fade away, and that one note can bear the full load of the entire song. That is why the blues guitar speaks to its audience in such an intimate way.
The Bent String Is the Soul of the Sound
Of all the techniques that make the blues guitar special, the string bend is possibly the most defining. Bending the string refers to the process of pressing the vibrating string in a sideways motion. This results in an increase in pitch that feels very vocal and can be described as the guitar crying out as opposed to making a note. In terms of emotions, a lot of them come from this technique alone compared to other techniques.
This is a technique that requires control and is something that every beginner needs to master. It is done slowly at first. All that is required is pressing the string slightly and listening to the increase in the pitch level. As time goes by, the ear takes charge of the fingers.
Blues Guitar Techniques Every Player Should Know
Beyond bending, there are a handful of blues guitar techniques that shape this entire genre. Each contributes its bit in creating that unique blues style. Here is the list of techniques that are common among all blues guitarists:
- String bending – raising the pitch of notes to get a more vocal, emotional phrasing
- Vibrato – a slight shake on the note which gives it life and makes it warm sounding
- Call-and-response – playing musical phrase and responding to it in kind
- Slide – using a metal or glass slide to play notes sliding in their pitch
- Pentatonic scales – the five note scale pattern which lies at the basis of almost any blues solo
None of these techniques are fancy moves, they are simply means of expression. Learning them will take time, but only after this will you realize how blues guitar becomes an honest dialogue between the performer and his audience.
Blues Guitar Style Explained Through Its Roots
The complete comprehension of blues guitar style explained requires an analysis of the origins of the genre. Blues guitar originated in the Mississippi Delta region at the beginning of the 20th century, performed by artists who managed to transform their difficult existence into great music. They were not professionally trained, they simply followed their instincts and emotional impulses, and that is precisely what makes the blues guitar style special.
The movement of blues music towards the northern part of America, and especially the urbanization of this area (Chicago, Detroit), led to the connection of the guitar with the amplifier, which was when the electric blues guitar sound appeared. More power, more sustain and a richer sound were gained, bending notes became easier and chord ringing became richer. It was the emergence of electric blues which served as the basis for rock and roll guitar performance.
The Pentatonic Scale: Simple but Powerful
Ask any guitar tutor about the basis of blues music, and he or she will immediately refer to the pentatonic scale. It is the basic pattern from which all the licks, riffs, and solos of the blues are composed. The concept is easy to understand from the written page; however, its application by blues artists makes it effective.
The power of the pentatonic scale is not in its notes; rather, it is the way they are performed. A blues musician may stay on a certain note for some time, then go into another one in a bent manner, speed up the process for some time, and end it slowly. The contrast created in this way gives emotional strength to the blues solos.
Beginner Blues Guitar Techniques to Practice Today
In case you are just beginning to play, don’t be concerned with speed or complexity. Beginner blues guitar techniques will have to be based mostly on tone, timing, and feel. Start from the basic shape of the pentatonic scale in one position. Try to play slow bends and make sure that the pitch is precise. Add vibrato to the sustained notes gradually and see how they start to breathe.
The key thing here is patience; there should be no rush for speed at all. You should practice “guitar playing of blues” by playing along with simple songs and trying to capture the mood instead of the exact technique. Emotional guitar playing requires mostly listening, and the more blues you will hear, the more intuitively your hands will learn to feel the phrasing.
Famous Blues Guitar Players Who Shaped the Sound
No discussion of blues guitar is complete without talking about the players who built this sound from the ground up. Famous blues guitar players like B.B. King, However, both Muddy Waters and Albert King were capable of contributing their own sound while remaining faithful to the spirit of the genre. B.B. King became known for his vibrato and his ability to turn a single note into a whole sentence. Muddy Waters turned the sound of the Delta blues into electric music.
What is important to point out is that these great musicians did not just play the guitar; rather, they told stories using this instrument. It is possible to learn more about the blues guitar simply by analyzing their solos and phrasing than from any other technique exercises.
How Michigan Mick Music Keeps the Blues Guitar Tradition Alive
The modern-day artistes still continue the tradition in their own ways, and an excellent case in point would be Michigan Mick Music. This music is grounded in the blues-rock genre emanating from Detroit and combines the phrasing of traditional blues guitar with the modern rock performance style. It is interesting to note that all the techniques discussed in this blog can be seen in action in the performances by Michigan Mick Music every day on stage.
If you wish to listen to the application of these blues guitar techniques in a modern-day context, just check out Michigan Mick Music.
Conclusion
Blues guitar is all about putting feeling into the notes that you play rather than how many notes you can play. In fact, each and every aspect of this technique of playing guitar is intended to bring out the human emotion through the sounds that are produced by the guitar. Even if you are a beginner or an experienced guitarist, blues guitar will always demand patience, careful listening, and sincerity over flamboyance.
Begin with slow music, listen to the masters who developed this art of playing the guitar, and develop your skills through honest emotion. Michigan Mick Music presents this legacy with all its soulfulness even today.