Printable Version of Topic

Posted by: Stevie·Ray·Vaughn Dec 23 2006, 02:12 AM

Hey GMCers

Just wondering, does anybody know anywhere that I can go to make my blues sound more "bluesy" (lol dont know alot of words) the hot blues lick lesson was great but I was just wondering if theres anything that takes it further. Thanks in advance.

Posted by: sanders4617 Dec 23 2006, 06:33 AM

Listen to blues music... head over to youtube.com and watch all the blues videos. Changing the dynamics of your picking is a big part of blues... knowing when to just wail across the strings, pick softly, or pluck the string. Vibrato and good control of your bending helps a ton as well.

Posted by: Kristofer Dahl Dec 23 2006, 12:35 PM

Absolutely - with that I believe you can make any piece of equipment sound extremely bluesy!

Posted by: Norven Dec 31 2006, 12:55 AM

Here is a tip I´ve got from my teacher: Think like the guitar is the singer, and the singer has to breathe, rigth?
It will sound much bluesier if you put in pauses. Silent time.

Posted by: Molgan Jan 1 2007, 01:54 PM

my guitar teacher gave me exactly the same tip . Bending is a very important ingredient in blues. it is quite important to do them the "right" way to get a more bluesy feel. But as Sanders said, watch videos on youtube or listen to blues music, and try to figure out how your favorite blues guitarist does it.

Posted by: [email protected] Jan 2 2007, 09:17 PM

I love the flavor of the blues licks in the hot blues lesson - and Kris demopnstrates the ingredient of attitude in the blues by the way he plays the solo - I worked on all those licks and use them all in my solo practicing - love the SRV lick that starts with a slide and uses the e and b strings the best ...

Here is a question:

I see a lot of blues licks played that include an interval I don't know:

usually it seems like the 5th string is played and then something on the second string a couple frets up (maybe the tonic) I see guys slide into this interval lick a lot - and then sometimes make a descend with it - sometomes in a turnaround.... they sometimes play the 2nd string with a finger instead of the pick as they descend

I saw a lick like this explained n a ZZTop lesson - but it went so fast I couldn't figure it out. Saw it again in an SRV lesson - went way too fast though..

Can someone comment on that type of lick?
What interval is typically played in the blues with that fingering?
Is it part of a cliche lick ?
Is the descending run using that intrval a common thing blues players know?
maybe so eone could tab out an example....

I've played around in the box positions - but I'm just not sure what they are doing with that lick....

I know this is a vague question - but I'd love to add something in that fingering style to my repotoire of blues likck - particularly if it descends. THanks in advance for any comments.