11 Great Books About Blues
Thu, 08/24/2017 - 4:59pm
Read All About It!
Blues is a fantastic style of music to play and listen to but it’s also a fascinating story. Learning more about who created the music, what their lives were like, and the world they lived in will make your blues experience richer and help you understand the meaning behind the notes you play.
Here’s a brief introductory list (presented in no particular order) of informative and readable books about general blues history, styles, and people. From any of these titles you can follow threads to go deeper into specific subjects like regional styles and the lives of influential blues musicians. While brick-and-mortar bookstores that stock blues-related titles are extremely rare these days, all of these can be found online somewhere for purchase:
The Story of the Blues - Paul Oliver
How Do I Learn to Improvise on Guitar?
Wed, 07/12/2017 - 4:52pm
When blues and jazz first became popular over a hundred years ago, one of the things that set them apart from other styles was a radical new idea: improvisation. Singers and musicians didn’t just perform the same melodies every time, they “jazzed” or embellished them so that each performance was unique. From then on, each generation of performers studied the improvisations of their peers and those who came before, added their personal twist, and joined a chain of influences that leads right up to the present day.
After more than a century, however, there is still confusion over what it means to improvise and how you learn to do it. The Blues Guitar program here at ArtistWorks covers the subject in detail, but here’s a brief FAQ-style overview of improvising in general and blues improvising in particular.
Does improvising mean spontaneously coming up with original ideas?
Keith Wyatt Talks Blues on Guitar Speak Podcast
Thu, 06/29/2017 - 9:15am
Keith was featured on the Guitar Speak Podcast recently, check it out!
5 Fundamental Tips for Playing Blues Guitar
Fri, 06/02/2017 - 11:02am
As you are developing your skills as a blues guitarist, you will at some point hit a plateau and feel that your progress has slowed or even stopped. This is perfectly normal while learning any instrument, so it’s important to develop some ways to work through the rut. Take it as an opportunity to re-think some common assumptions about what and how to practice - here are a few tips that are covered in various lessons from the Blues Guitar School by Keith Wyatt:
1. Swing is the Thing
Guitar players tend to rush right to the bright, shiny object, i.e. the solo, but to paraphrase Duke Ellington, your licks don’t mean a thing without that swing. Developing a confident rhythm feel, especially for the shuffle, is the foundation of everything else you do in blues, and expanding your rhythmic vocabulary is one of the best ways to re-charge your playing style.
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