Feeling the blues

[drummondrs]

Well after getting funky, I turned to blues and with the help of my TIM pedal I am doing pretty well. I have been learing stuff from Eric Clapton, Danny Gatton and of course one of my favourite guitarist SRV. Have you guys got any suggestions about other sources I should look at. I already checked out Robben Ford on powertabs and there isn't much...shame.

[drjojo42]

some of my favorite blues guys to emulate,#1 freddy king,love mixing minor and major,#2 jimmy thackery hes an encyclopedia of licks, at times a little to busy but empy arms hotel is full of must learn licks,kim wilson always has great players on his discs, just my opinons,good luck and let your licks breath joe

[jordanL]

I like to start at the beginning- The 3 kings(BB, Albert and Freddy), Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf (Hubert Sumlin on guitar), T-bone walker. All of these guys heavily influenced those who followed.

[Tom Gross]

Mike Bloomfield
Ronnie Earl

[raz]

If you like SRV then you need to study:

Buddy Guy
Albert King
Lonnie Mack
Hendrix

and Stevie's self-avowed biggest influence: Jimmie Vaughan

If you like Clapton, you need to study:

Freddy King
B.B. King
Buddy Guy
Robert Johnson

If you really want to feel the Blues, then you study everybody. Both SRV and Clapton drew from sources prominent and obscure and both went through mountains of records from people you've likely never heard of.

Me, I like 'em all...and Lightnin' Hopkins, Gatemouth Brown, Mississippi John Hurt...

R
A
Z

[BramhallFan]

Ok now this is gonna sound dumb but please trust me and I know alot of other players will agree. Forget about going to emulating players. Listen to as much as you can. Magic sam, Otis Rush, Hubert Sumlin, BB King, Robert Cray etc... If I were you I would stay away from the lightening bolters ie Trower, Ford, Tyler, Shepherd... They tend to let the Feeling slip through the cracks. Feel is the best part. Find a player you can feel and listen to what hes doin and most importantly find your own way of playing it. Chasing down Stevies fingers will do nothing but dissappoint you.

Sorry If I offended anyone.

[Tom Gross]

How 'bout this -

Everyone always says "find your own voice", well, how about "find your own way of listening"?

The blues landscape stretches far and wide, with rural, rock, jazz, old women singers, Mississipi, Chicago, Texas, fast, slow, black, white, everything.

I'd suggest getting some of those blues compilations, a bunch of them, they're real cheap. Then go on amazon or another site with sound samples, and follow the "similar artists" and "influenced by" links and the lists on the side of the page.

Then listen to it all and see what speaks to you.

I was raised on the blues, grew up surrounded by it. But I did what I described, and discovered a whole bunch of great stuff.

An added bonus is that later you have stuff to rediscover.

[BramhallFan]

You see I love it when people are on the same page. Tom is Right he just took my thought to a more wide and all around level. Great idea about the comps.

Btw I saw Robert Cray in NYC last night.. Holy Crap such soul and feelin...

Hes the man

Tommy

[sanhozay]

I don't know your level but if you want to learn to march then pull out and PLAY with your Jimmy Reed records.

And playing hot licks ain't worth shinola if you can't comp behind Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williams.

Personally, there's not much too it if you can learn to bend, vibrato and sing like BB ;)

[axwielding1]

I play alot of SRV, Jimi,Clapton etc. .. Not as good as them by any means, but my interpretation of them. I cop some licks here and there, but I put them together differently. I will say that my feel is more of the SRV style, as I played in a 3 piece for a long time, and had to fill alot with rakes, trills, and bends. I stumbled upon SRV early, but was more into metal/hard rock at the time. When the 3 piece split, I floundered for awhile, and listened to SRV alot. What a great guitarist, what hands..That influence dragged me into the blues, and I followed. I went backwards through the artists, and have found alot of great players. Albert Collins, Lonnie Mack, T Bone Walker, along with the obvious listed in above threads.
I've recently hooked up with some guys to explore more blues influences, and the other guitarist, a strat player, is an un-schooled phenom! When he gets hooked up, watch out, he'll leave you in the dust. His father was a musician as well, and this kid grew up with the blues. His father could play any instrument, but preferred the clarinet. What a way to grow up.. Pretty cool!
His father is gone now, but his influence on his son still shines through. When we play together, we come from two different places, but mesh perfectly. Glad to get with these guys and jam through some old tunes.
ax.:cool:

[pbradt]

Originally posted by BramhallFan
Ok now this is gonna sound dumb but please trust me and I know alot of other players will agree. Forget about going to emulating players. Listen to as much as you can. Magic sam, Otis Rush, Hubert Sumlin, BB King, Robert Cray etc... If I were you I would stay away from the lightening bolters ie Trower, Ford, Tyler, Shepherd... They tend to let the Feeling slip through the cracks. Feel is the best part. Find a player you can feel and listen to what hes doin and most importantly find your own way of playing it. Chasing down Stevies fingers will do nothing but dissappoint you.

Sorry If I offended anyone.
This is the correct blues guitarist.

Trying to sound like anyone but yourself is a loser's game on a number of levels. First, you CAN'T. Look at the legions of SRV clones. THEY ALL SUCK! In addition, anyone with a lick of sense is SO SICK of guitar players who try (and fail) to sound like SRV and others that it makes heads explode to hear of another person trying (and failing).

Second, if all you do is chase another's sound, we are cheated out of the music that's inside YOU. SRV has been here and done it better than you can. Be the best YOU you can be, and we're all the better for it.

[axwielding1]

There is no way to get the same tone as SRV, or any other guitarist, great or not so great...
If you want to play SRV, play YOUR version, we know who SRV is, who the hell are you?
I take their influences, shake 'em up, and roll the bones.....
AMEN brother!!
ax.:cool:

[diminishedlogic]

i'm sorry but playing blues like SRV ford or any of those guys, is figuring out their signiture. Be it vibrato sliding or bending. The stuff is about technique not feeling. If you want to learn the blues relatively quickly then learn the technique. "soul" is non existant. Hearing what to play in a blues context is easy to hear what to play over which is what people interpret as feel. I'm sorry but blues is a dead horse that is being beaten to death. Learn some new stuff for crying out loud. If I hear another shit SRVaughnabee i think i'll puke. I listen to stevie for his authenticity, And when i hear a million crap players trying to do EXACTLY the same thing but without the tone, vibrato, and utter discretion of stevie or anyone else it just doesnt sound like stevie at all. so for christ's sakes people learn more than that!

[davetcan]

Peter Green

[Mark C]

Listen to whatever you want, borrow from whomever you want, practice a lot and have fun. No one has all the right answers, so even if the world doesn't want to hear another SRV clone - if that's how you want to play, have fun. I would however make one suggestion as a fairly accomplished player. Ditch the powertabs and start figuring out licks by ear - that's how all the greats did it and it will make you a much better player. Also make sure you always know which chords you are playing over and practice playing blues rhythms, since no one but you wants to hear you solo all night long. Good luck.

[lhallam]

Originally posted by Mark C
Listen to whatever you want, borrow from whomever you want, practice a lot and have fun. No one has all the right answers, so even if the world doesn't want to hear another SRV clone - if that's how you want to play, have fun. I would however make one suggestion as a fairly accomplished player. Ditch the powertabs and start figuring out licks by ear - that's how all the greats did it and it will make you a much better player. Also make sure you always know which chords you are playing over and practice playing blues rhythms, since no one but you wants to hear you solo all night long. Good luck.

+1

I've known some players who could only play lead. They are playing only 1/2 a guitar and not much fun to play with.

[Tom Gross]

Originally posted by Mark C
Listen to whatever you want, borrow from whomever you want, practice a lot and have fun. No one has all the right answers, so even if the world doesn't want to hear another SRV clone - if that's how you want to play, have fun. I would however make one suggestion as a fairly accomplished player. Ditch the powertabs and start figuring out licks by ear - that's how all the greats did it and it will make you a much better player. Also make sure you always know which chords you are playing over and practice playing blues rhythms, since no one but you wants to hear you solo all night long. Good luck.

++1

Although I never play that way these days, I'm sure glad I didn't skip going thru an SRV phase, or that of copying any of the whole bunch of folks who inspired me.
They're all in there in the mix somewhere, in the soup that is my music.

[mardin]

I listen to the blues players mentioned in the thread but the one I like the most was not mentioned: Jorma Kaukonen. A finger-picked acoustic style develops sound blues licks and what Jorma recorded with Hot Tuna is awesome.

[Leucadian]

I learned a lot of different grooves, rhythms, turnarounds licks etc. from the first three Fabulous Thunderbirds albums...also there's a young guy named Kirk Fletcher who's really souful...check it his "Shades of Blue" for Chicago and Texas style blues. Fletcher is also on an album with the Hollywood Blue Flames that's got lots of swingin' jump blues...Fletcher is very versatile. The new Ronnie Earl/Duke Robillard album is great too.

[tommyg]

Originally posted by Tom Gross
++1

Although I never play that way these days, I'm sure glad I didn't skip going thru an SRV phase, or that of copying any of the whole bunch of folks who inspired me.
They're all in there in the mix somewhere, in the soup that is my music.

+++1

I was into SRV when he first came out in the '80's. I liked his style but I NEVER tried to emulate him. Same with Ford. There seems to be a lot of people trying to emulate the "vibe" of their favorite players. It seems to me by reading a lot of these posts the two most popular vibes right now are to emulate SRV's and Robben Ford's tone. But remember; just because you have the same toys doesn't mean you have the same heart! Besides - what's the sense on being an SRV or Robben Ford clone? They're originals and have developed their styles over years of playing. Just by having their gear and knowing their licks turns you into nothing more than a wannabee. You might as well play in a tribute band. BE YOURSELF! Develop your own style! What I have done over the years was listen to as MANY players as I could from various idioms (blues, rock, jazz, etc.) and I took (aka "stole") the best parts from them and added them to my reportoire. It could have been anything; choice of scales, tone, bends, vibrato, whammy technique, slide, etc. Same with your choice of gear. My amp and guitars of choice are because they sounded good to me and gave me what I wanted in terms of my OWN tone.

Anyway, I believe once you have done this you'll start to notice that you'll slowly start to sound like....YOU!;)

Good Luck!:)

[Leucadian]

I'll never tell anyone not to emulate another player. Personally, I always learn others licks...they probably got 'em from someone else anyway...then you can explore those avenues. IMO, in order to speak the language of music through your instrument, you have to have accumulate a "vocabulary." The style doesn't matter.

Playing Blues is supremely difficult...one simply cannot "fake" it...it'll show right away. What I love about the Blues is that it's not about playing fast scales, or shredding, or volume...I am always impressed with a musician that can impart the "mojo" or whatever...that's a connection between the head and the heart and that aint easy to do.

Pontificating is now over.

;)

[frank52]

if you have the blues you will be playing the blues by default. as time goes by you will find your own voice. this is a great moment for a player. all great blues players can be identified within a few notes.

[B Vance]

To get a good overview of the blues and the different styles, invest like $60 in the Martin Scorsesi (spelling?) Presents the Blues box set. There are like 3 cd's in there. All blues from every region and lots of different artists. That way you can get a good idea of the different styles from Delta to Slowhand to Chicago to Texas etc.

Another suggestion. Pick yourself up a copy of the Lightning in a Bottle DVD. A evening full of blues performances. BB and Buddy to covers by Steve Tyler. It's like 2 hours long and worth the $10 it costs at Best Buy.

Some artists I would suggest:
Popa Chubby

Keb Mo

John Lee Hooker

Stevie Ray Vaughan (anything he did live or in studio is magic)

John Mayer (live at the Viper Room and Blues Live in NYC downloads)

Eric Clapton (sessions for Robert Johnson and Slowhand)

BB King

[aeolian]

Emulate? Ford is emulating Bloomfield, and SRV flat out ripped Jimi. Everybody steals from everyone. Larindo Almedia said on a live album that if you cop from one that's plagerism, but if you cop from more than one that's research.

You want to play the blues? Listen to everyone mentioned and build up a vocabulary of licks, to the point where each lick comes to mind just from a feeing you have.

Now this might sound misogynistic, but all those old cats were playing for *****. So, pick out some woman (Ok, your wife, girlfriend, or the next Ms. Right) in the audience and make her come. Imagine you are have the woman of your dreams in bed with you and you have all night to drive her wild. Beckon her into bed, tease her, promise her more but make her beg for it, they when she can't stand it anymore, let her have it. Then open your eyes and look at the musicians around you and the audience. They felt it too. Raw emotion, energy. COMMUNICATION. You've inadvertantly touched every one of them with the passion you were imagining with that one special person.

Listen to the masters play the blues. You can hear it, they play like they're making love. And not like teenagers masterbating.

[tommyg]

Originally posted by aeolian
Emulate? Ford is emulating Bloomfield, and SRV flat out ripped Jimi. Everybody steals from everyone. Larindo Almedia said on a live album that if you cop from one that's plagerism, but if you cop from more than one that's research.

You want to play the blues? Listen to everyone mentioned and build up a vocabulary of licks, to the point where each lick comes to mind just from a feeing you have.

Now this might sound misogynistic, but all those old cats were playing for *****. So, pick out some woman (Ok, your wife, girlfriend, or the next Ms. Right) in the audience and make her come. Imagine you are have the woman of your dreams in bed with you and you have all night to drive her wild. Beckon her into bed, tease her, promise her more but make her beg for it, they when she can't stand it anymore, let her have it. Then open your eyes and look at the musicians around you and the audience. They felt it too. Raw emotion, energy. COMMUNICATION. You've inadvertantly touched every one of them with the passion you were imagining with that one special person.

Listen to the masters play the blues. You can hear it, they play like they're making love. And not like teenagers masterbating.

Point well made Aeolian! I only wish I could have said it as eloquently!:D

[KHK]

Alot of good feedback on alot of different things in here complete with visuals. Some of it even relates to the original question:D

I agree with those that say listen to everyone and steel what you can to build your chops. Be shameless and grab it all. When it comes time to play though, it's way better to say a little with alot of feeling than alot with little feeling. Playing licks won't get the job done. Using Aeolians imagery, if you don't play it with feeling or if you play to fast, the only thing that shes going to be begging for is for you to stop.

To my ears, Duane Allman was a great blues player. He never seemed to play a note he didn't feel and his comping was as good as his soloing....really beautiful. He was the anti-riffmeister. I don't think you could learn his blues licks without developing feeling and emotion.
Aside from the ABB stuff, you could check out some of his studio work via the old Anthology releases...some of it is worthwhile.

[irish6v6s]

i know you have gotter a ton of suggesitions here, but there is one more person i would suggest who bears a close relation to SRV and that would be jimmie vaughn

SRV is obviously a great player, but i have always liked his brother's stuff more. he has a diffrent style, more understated and in my book a little more tasteful in some circumstances. one tip-he capos to the key of the song.

[B Vance]

Capos to the key of the song...some may call that just old fashioned cheating.

You're right, much different than his bro. I just don't thing Jimmy ever got the mojo like Stevie. I think IT, and by IT I mean that transcendence into another musical realm, seemed to come through Stevie more so than Jimmy. It was almost like Stevie worked harder at acheiving IT than his brother IMHO.

[Mr.Hanky]

I hereby nominate this thread for having the best and worst advice ever!

You want to play the blues, here is my advice.

AVOID THREADS LIKE THIS AT ALL COSTS!!

[KHK]

Originally posted by Mr.Hanky
I hereby nominate this thread for having the best and worst advice ever!

You want to play the blues, here is my advice.

AVOID THREADS LIKE THIS AT ALL COSTS!!

I am sure the poster found your advice very helpful...

[Mr.Hanky]

Originally posted by KHK
I am sure the poster found your advice very helpful...

I sincerely hope so.

[Claptone]

Players like Albert, Freddie, BB King, Elmore James, Robert Johnson, Keith Richards, The Beatles, Clapton , SRV, James Marshall Hendrix, BluesBreakers, Chuck Berry, Duane Allman, Dickey Betts, Mark Knopfler,The Yardbirds. Jimmy page and his All Stars with EC, Buddy Guy, Traffic, Blind faith

I know some of these guys aren't considered blues players per say , but they can play and when the do it it's pretty sweet. The Beatles and Stones just copied what they heard and made it their own. Everyone above forementioned all grew up listening to Blues and develpoped their own styles from there.

All have had a huge impact on my playing. I see it as I listen to them, it's not what they play, it's how they play that counts. Sure it's cool to learn their tunes and people like it, but I have a vision that incorperates all these sytles. Just listen to how they hammer on, pull off, pre bend etc. That is how I build my technique, breathing is also important. But I'm Better at playing my own style because I've copied these players at one time or another and mixed them altogether to create my own style.

If you don't have Passion, it isn't worth your time and other peoples time, maybe you are just better at something else. But if you find that it you like it, expect to work for 6 - 8 hours a day, either playing {preferably} or listening to music and absorbing it like a sponge.

[pbradt]

Originally posted by Claptone

If you don't have Passion, it isn't worth your time and other peoples time, maybe you are just better at something else. But if you find that it you like it, expect to work for 6 - 8 hours a day, either playing {preferably} or listening to music and absorbing it like a sponge.
Delbert McClinton once said "Blues is testifyin'. If you're testifyin' half-assed, nobody wants to hear that."

Delbert knows what he's talking about.

[2x6L6]

I used to think if I merely listened to all the blues greats (so many as mentioned in previous posts) I would osmotically pick up licks, feel, style, etc. I don't think I did. Maybe feel, a little. Because I never actually learned their licks, I suppose I was propelled into my own unique style, so I don't regret it (25 years!). But in the end, I couldn't really "play the blues" the way I wanted. I learned every note in

Rory Gallagher's

take on "When my Baby She Left Me" from the BBC sessions album and finally felt that I could actually play blues - I don't play any Rory, but I learned his sensibility by learning his licks. The tone, feel and technique are all mine. Long way of saying, I have come to believe learning the licks of others is one important and necessary way of getting there (but of course not the ONLY way of getting there).

Oh yeah, and add Rory to the list of those worthy of scrutiny.