Jon Chappell - Blues Guitar For Dummies

Blues Guitar For Dummies®

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2020 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2020931515

ISBN 978-1-119-69563-9 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-74895-3 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-74896-0 (ebk)

1 Cover

2 Introduction Introduction As B.B. King might say, “You’ve got a right to play the blues!” And you’ve taken the first step in exercising your blues rights by getting a copy of Blues Guitar For Dummies. Your blues rights are inalienable — like life, liberty, and the pursuit of mojo. The blues is a form of music and a proclamation on the human condition, delivered proudly and loudly in song. The great thing about the blues is that it’s universal because everyone at one time or another gets the blues. To help you sort out the many aspects of playing blues guitar, I organized this book to help you in your blues pursuits. The following sections give you an idea of what you’re getting into as you delve into the pages of this book and into the world of the blues! About This Book Conventions Used in This Book What You’re Not to Read Foolish Assumptions How This Book Is Organized Icons Used in This Book Where to Go from Here

3 Part 1: You Got a Right to Play the Blues Chapter 1: Every Day I Have the Blues … Hallelujah! Capturing the Blues Train from Its Departure Then to Its Arrival Now It’s Not All Pain and Suffering — The Lighter Side of Blues Surveying the Means to Make the Music: The Guitar in All Its Glory The Collision of Two Worlds: Acoustic versus Electric Getting a Grip on How Guitars Work Performing and Looking Like a Blues Player Blues Trivia For Dummies Chapter 2: Blues Meets Guitar: A Match Made in Musical Heaven Beyond the Delta: Defining the Blues Guitar Sound Dissecting an Acoustic and an Electric Getting Down with the Blues: A Quick How-To What You Need to Get Your Groove On Chapter 3: Grab Hold, Tune Up, Play On! Holding Your Axe (That Is, Your Guitar) Holding the Pick, Attacking the Problem Getting Situated Tuning Up Playing a Chord Music Notation: Not Just for Geeks

4 Part 2: Setting Up to Play the Blues Chapter 4: Getting a Grip on Left-Hand Chords Starting Out Simple: Blues Chords Even Your Mom Could Play Going to the Next Level: Barre Chords Taking Advantage of Versatile Power Chords Chapter 5: Positioning the Right Hand for Rhythm and Lead Strumming Along Mixing Single Notes and Strumming Shuffling the Beats with Syncopated Strumming Stopping the String Ringing (Just for a Sec) Copying the Classics: Plucking Fingerstyle Blues The Right Hand’s Bliss: Different Rhythm Styles to Play Chapter 6: Blues Progressions, Song Forms, and Moves Blues by the Numbers Recognizing the Big Dogs: Primary Key Families and Their Chords The Structure of a Blues Song, Baby Applying Structures to Keys Accessorizing the 12-Bar Blues: Intros, Turnarounds, and Endings High Moves Chapter 7: Musical Riffs: Bedrock of the Blues Basic Single-Note Riffs Double the Strings, Double the Fun: Two-Note Riffs (or Double-Stops) High-Note Riffs, the Bridge to Lead Guitar Mastering the Rhythm Figure

5 Part 3: Beyond the Basics: Playing Like a Pro Chapter 8: Playing Lead: Soaring Melodies and Searing Solos Mastering Your Picking Technique The Universal Lead Language: The Pentatonic Scale Pentatonic Plus One: The Six-Note Blues Scale Adding Some Extra Flava to the Blues Scale Chapter 9: Playing Up the Neck For Inquiring Minds: Why Up the Neck You Should Go Positioning Your Digits for an Easy Key Change Easing Into Position: Moving the Pentatonic Up and Down Changing Your Position The Technical Side of Moving Five Positions You Should Know: Meanderings of the Pentatonic Scale Understanding the Logic behind the Corresponding Shift of Position and Key Chapter 10: Express Yourself: Making the Guitar Sing, Cry, and Wail Appreciating the Art of Articulation Going In for the Attack Breaking Down the Music: Phrasing Giving Your Sound a Bit of Flair Playing a Song with Various Articulations

6 Part 4: Sounding Like the Masters: Blues Styles through the Ages Chapter 11: Acoustic Roots: Delta Blues and Its Country Cousins Delta Blues: Where It All Began Country Ragtime: The Piedmont Blues Everything In-Between: Country and Folk Blues Country and Folk Blues Had a Baby; Its Name was Rockabilly Quintessential Blues: Slide Guitar Chapter 12: The Birth and Growth of Classic Electric Blues The Rise of the Electric Guitar in Blues Giving Props to the Earliest Electric Pioneer Sweet Home Chicago, Seat of the Electric Blues Modern-Day Blues Styles: The Sounds of Texas Four Blues Giants: Three Kings and a Collins Children of the Post-War Blues Revival Chapter 13: Blues Rock: The Infusion of Ol’ Rock ’n’ Roll The Blues Had a Baby, and They Called It Rock ’n’ Roll Chuck Berry, blues rock’s first superstar The Brits Invade the Blues Trippin’ the Blues Heavy “Blooze”: The Infusion of Hard Rock Hot Barbecue Blues, Texas Style Blues on Steroids 21st-Century Soul