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I need to learn how to play blues within a week.

#61
If you have 20 minutes:





There are many blues backing tracks on YouTube to practice with, with many variations and feels. Familiarize yourself with blues in the key of E, a, D, And G, for instance, just search "blues in E backing track" and many things will come up. Good luck!
 
#64
Been playing blues for a few years now. My best advice for a newbie is keep it simple! The form is simple and you'll feel like you can go nuts; that is not your job. Your job is to lay a solid groove for the lead instruments (Guitar, harmonica, etc) to go ham over. Listen to the drummer and lock in. If you can provide a solid foundation, they can rip solos and show off and you will be asked back.
 
#68
20 Important Blues Rules

1. Do not trust the levee to function as intended.
2. Chances are if you can’t find your baby, she is with your best friend.
3. Trusting people that you meet at the Crossroads is unwise.
4. While sex with Stagger Lee's woman is great, the consequences are also dire.
5. Knocking on doors rarely works, run around back to see who’s slippin’ out.
6. While you may share your troubles, no one will know them.
7. The preacher man is frequently of no comfort.
8. Moderate consumption of liquor is uncommon.
9. Lemon juice on your leg is a satisfying sensation.
10. Your baby will always break your heart.
11. The long-term success of a railroad line is not good.
12. Your happiness is directly linked to the day of the week.
13. Travel is only possible by V-8 Ford or Cadillac car, bus, a train, or foot.
14. Your only possible choice of pet is a dog, and the dog must be old.
15. Death rarely happens by accident. It always requires some fair amount of fixin'.
16. No one is happily married.
17. The policeman is not your friend.
18. Your mama is rarely cold, and your daddy is never hot.
19. A moderate case of the blues has never been recorded.
20. An infinite number of blues can be created by the application of random nouns before the word "blues."
 
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#70
BassUrges said:
1) Get a pawn shop bass. If it ain't been in a pawn shop it can't play the blues.

2) Avoid malted milk this week.

3) Consider arranging for your girl to cheat on you.

4) Nail 1-5 shuffle 8ths, and toss in a triplet walk on the changes.
Click to expand...
I'd say he should actually break up with his girl (is he has one) and find a really evil woman who will just use him and then go out on the weekend to make her money. He should also consider getting fired from his job and preferably be found passed out on a bar counter. Then he just MIGHT be ready to play the blues.
 
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#72
step one: learn to play laid back. DO NOT play ahead of the beat. One problem I run into is having to pay with a guitar player that thinks he will "win" if he rushes and finishes the tune first, ala Stevie Ray Vaughn in some of his chemically enhanced recordings. And you should hope the drummer can lay back and lock it down with you, because if he doesn't, and the guitar player is sloppy and rushing, it will be a mess that only you can hold together.

step two: forget your chops and learn how to swing a shuffle at medium and slow tempos. And lay down an unshakable groove.

step three: You don't need chops as much as you need to be able to play simple and solid. In the blues, there is nothing wrong with simply playing the root for each chord.

Suggestion: Find a blues shuffle drum loop, set it at about 80BPM, drop it into Garage Band, etc., and play along with it. And listen until you are solid.

Go listen to Double Trouble behind SRV and hear how they lay it down solid for him. Then you do that.
 
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#74
With Blues, there are specific intricacies that are unique to blues music. Like how to give some notes more value than others. And, how long you sustain notes in a groove with the drums. If you listen carefully to blues, you'll know what this is. Also with blues, you can throw in those bends, vibrato, and other fills when the time is right, and you'll be a hit. But be conservative with the fancy stuff, because in blues, the guitar or keyboards are usually the main voice. They don't like the bass walking all over their mojo.
 
#75
wow, lots of blues advice from don't be too white to it's feel to common progressions etc....
If you don't know the music and haven't played it a bunch then stick to just learning the songs. You will likely find that it's a lot of similar stuff in different keys so that makes life easier.
As for notes and what to play and what not to play I will say this ...the blues are different to everyone but the common thread with great blues is that it is raw. Live blues is almost always better than recorded blues so don't be afraid to cut loose if you want and have fun. I love the blues because you really get this simple landscape to do whatever you want with musically.
 
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#77
TBH: I wondered why "an established, money making, gigging power blues band" would even consider a player who has little experience with the Blues; OR a player who doesn't honestly feel that, from his present abilities on bass, he could nail those tunes easily.
No disrespect intended.

I have no advice for you insofar as personally, I grew up in Chicago, and listened to/learned the Blues early on. I "moved on" to R&B, Deep Funk, and Jazz, though I've never lost my appreciation for Blues artists, particularly "new-school" players/singers/writers like Joe Louis Walker, Robert Cray, Shemekia Copeland and many more.

I agree, it takes mostly feeling from life experiences to really dig in and play the Blues. The fundamental theory and mechanics are musically simplistic, but to make it sound good, and real, and tight; and locked in-the-pocket- You'll need to listen and learn.
Good luck.
 
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#79
FingerDub said:
I learned both of those songs in my OP, which they play. My biggest concern is in the transitions...walk ups, walk downs and how to make that work. Otherwise I'm stuck on the root.

Can I learn that in a week?

I do understand the "feel" component, and totally get that it is extra important for blues.
Click to expand...

If you're stuck on walking between the chord tonics (this isn't jazz) I'd just learn the parts as best I could. You'll see as you do that how it's done, and that'll help you with the jam part.

It'll still be apparent you've been doing this for only a week to the band, but maybe that'll be good enough to get your foot in the door. :thumbsup:
 
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#80
There's no shame in starting out performing with a music stand and 3 ring binder of song sheets. You just need the chord changes for your root note runs and lyrics to guide the arrangements. Alternatively, consider getting a tablet, use an app like Set list Helper and upload the band's songs one at a time with lyrics and chords. Mount the tablet to a mic stand and you have an instant, unobtrusive "cheat sheet". After a while, you'll only need to reference it for new material.
 

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