Whats the big deal about blues?

[glocke1]

Not really trying to start an argument or anything here, but I was just curious what the big deal about blues is.

When I first started playing thats what we would play, it was easy, and it something everyone could pick up. But than I went onto learning about and playing jazz and other stuff.

Now at 43, Im running into ALOT of people my age or older that all want to play stuff that is heavily blues dominated...I can get into one or two blues songs in a set, but after that I get bored very quickly...

[Munjibunga]

It's easy. However, there are a lot of different blues styles out there, and with a mix of Cray, Clapton, Castro, Guy, Bonamassa and all the legends like King, King, Waters, etc., you can put together quite a variety of blues tunes.

[C.Linton]

Some people like Country, some like HipHop, some like Metal. You find Blues boring, I find most modern Jazz boring. A lot of people like Blues. What's so hard to understand?

[Rockmusician]

Actually, blues isn't as easy as many people think. I know a lot of bass players that cannot keep time while playing walking bass lines. I enjoy playing blues because there is much more feeling to it. I also like the fact that I don't spend the entire night just banging away on the root. I do like to mix it up though.
As far as jazz is concerned, I enjoy playing it more than listening to it.

[One Bad Monkey]

Playing the blues is easy. Playing it WELL on the other hand takes a lot more listening to what everyone else is doing over what blues pattern we're hacking through.

[sevenyearsdown]

Just about everyone can dig a blues based song. Whether it's Skip James or Eric Clapton, most people have heard some form of it - so it translates really well into most bar scenes with live music.

[dalkowski]

I'd rather play blues than listen to it. Although I should listen to more blues, to get ideas for spicing up the ol' I-IV-V.

One could make the argument that without blues, there would be no jazz.

[watspan]

blues is the foundation of jazz and most modern music. for me, the defined structure of blues requires that a player really inject true emotion, passion and feeling into their playing to set themselves apart from players just going through the changes.

[oldrocker]

I think a lot of guitar players like to play blues as there is plenty of opportunities for solos and they don't have to remember song structure and chord changes as it is mostly I - IV - V with some minor variations.

[Gort]

It may be easy to play the blues but from what I've heard at some jams it's also easy to eff it up.

[Phalex]

Blues are easy, bass is easy...... The two just kinda go together like pork chops and apple sauce.

[Smokin' Toaster]

Some musicians seem to have a "more comples is better, more artsy, or makes me more sophisticated" kind of attitude. There are plenty of blues songs that may not have a lot of sixteenth or thirty-second note riffs, unique melodic lines, or other "sophisticated" attributes, but they speak to the human soul in ways that the best shredding song can't touch. I think the blues appeals to a cross section of the general public better than other styles, but of course there are always those that ONLY like their particular favorite type of music, especially among musicians.

Also, I've seen players that can tap, slap, play Jaco licks (and I respect and love Jaco's work), but sit them down and tell them to play a walking bass line, or a blues push beat and stay in the pocket and they can't do it. It's kinda like they learned to run without ever learning to walk, pardon the pun.

I guess it boils down to different strokes for different folks.

[JmJ]

Good one Toaster. One of the things about well played Blues is the high emotional content.
I Like Jazz but it's a very intellectual pursuit.

[BassChuck]

Simple enough to participate, complex enough to enjoy for a lifetime.

[guroove]

Besides being the foundation and common ancestor of almost all modern genres of music, it is a common language of improvisation, whether you play jazz, rock, funk, country, calypso, zydeco, etc.

[woodsideh]

I've been playing the blues circuit for years and haven't met a true blues musician yet that ever says anything derogatory about any other music genre. As far as complexity, you can't walk it without knowing your scales inside and out. Little Pink Anderson told me one time that "if you can't feel it, it ain't there".

[pedroims]

depends what you mean by blues, this song is not boring at all, the bass line is driving the song in a beatiful way. : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G24QICJf7OU

[hennessybass]

Originally Posted by Smokin' Toaster

Also, I've seen players that can tap, slap, play Jaco licks (and I respect and love Jaco's work), but sit them down and tell them to play a walking bass line, or a blues push beat and stay in the pocket and they can't do it. It's kinda like they learned to run without ever learning to walk, pardon the pun.

+1

Blues is a foundation for nearly everything that came after it in American Music...

and bTW, all those british bands in the 60s / 70s were playing American Music.

[Blueszilla]

Yes, playing the blues is easy. Playing it well is not.

Edit: OBM beat me to it!

[woodsideh]

Originally Posted by hennessybass

all those british bands in the 60s / 70s were playing American Music.

Two of the great American Piedmont blues players were Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. They were also the inspiration for one of those British bands.