Whats Your Favourite Blues Song To Play?

[daza152]

Hi I am starting to get into blues alot more now and was curious to see what you guys like to play, and if you could recommend a blues song for the newbie, something that isn't over complicated with some simple chords would be great and even if you have a link to a you tube lesson You think is also a very good lesson......I find like learning the guitar starting on some easy songs gets your confidence up so I'm going to apply myself the same way to learn blues by starting off with some relatively easy stuff Do you think any of Eric Clapton's blues songs are easy to pick up? I'm not very familiar with many if any great acoustic blues players...John Mayer is another I like, if you want you could let me know who is some one you would consider I should be listening too....Thanks I appreciate your input..

Daza.

[Badfrog]

I was never all that big on blues until I got struck by Buddy Guy. Man I love his stuff. I'd be tempted to sell my soul to be able to play like that guy.

Learn to Play Blues Guitar by John McCarthy seems to be a big seller and a highly recommended one on amazon. I'm curious enough about the blues that I bought the first level and look forward to seeing what it offers.

[jseth]

I love playing "Baby, Please Don't Go" - and it has a great lick to learn off the E blues scale... I learned it from Van Morrison and "Them", his band from the 60's... also, "You Can't Judge a Book (By Looking at the Cover)" is a great tune and one that you can play in a variety of styles or grooves... matter of fact, most blues can be adapted to any style that fits you (Bob Dylan songs, too!).
I believe the respective authors of these 2 songs are Big Bill Broonzy (Baby...) and Willie Dixon (Can't Judge a Book).

Have fun with these - and good luck!

play on.............................................>

John Seth Sherman

"I may look like a golfer, baby, but I'm a lover...
You can't judge a book by looking at the cover"...

[daza152]

I've ordered the Blues Guitar For Dummies..and the Guitar For Dummies was very good for a beginner, it helped me read it cover to cover I still look through it now and again.....for reference on maybe barre chords or 7th chords,,,,,,so hoping that The Blues Guitar For Dummies will give me the same pleasure as I'm sure it will. It covers just about everything, and should arrive this week

Daza. Also check out Big Bill Bronzy playing Hey Hey its amazing!!

[RevGeo]

Probably the best advice is to listen to as much blues music as possible. From an acoustic standpoint listening to people like Robert Johnson, Son House, Mississippi John Hurt, Blind Blake and Blind Lemon Jefferson will give you a great background on the original stuff. For a more modern perspective Taj Mahal, Keb Mo and Kelly Joe Phelps play with a lot of feeling - which is what blues is all about.
I had a student a few years ago that came to me proffessing that he wanted to learn to play blues. I taught him some basic chord progressions, picking patterns and blues scales and riffs. After a few weeks I asked him what kind of blues he liked and listened to. He said 'I don't really listen to any blues, I just want to learn to play it.' Hmm....

Clapton is actually very approachable, playing wise. His clear, concise style is pretty easy to hear. If you want to learn acoustic guitar blues I'd recommend listening to as many of the old guys as possible. Then go to www.guitarvideos.com and check out what Stefan Grossman has to offer. If you study his stuff and really practice you will be able to play blues.

Rev George

[zombywoof]

Tough call but have to go with Bessie's "Electric Chair Blues." Great lyrics and the kind of tune that lends itself to some wild staccato single string breaks. I have been playing it since the 1960s and never grow tired of it.

Clapton's acoustic blues - the guy's a great technican but his stuff is just plain sterile sounding.

Can't recommmend any instructional stuff. Wasn't any of that kind of thing around when I learned. Best we had was to drop the needle on a record over and over again to try and figure out what House, Curley, or Lighnin' was playing.

[Hurricane Ramon]

excerpt :

Originally Posted by daza152

I find like learning the guitar starting on some easy songs gets your confidence up so I'm going to apply myself the same way to learn blues by starting off with some relatively easy stuff Do you think any of Eric Clapton's blues songs are easy to pick up? I'm not very familiar with many if any great acoustic blues players...John Mayer is another I like, if you want you could let me know who is some one you would consider I should be listening too....Thanks I appreciate your input..Daza.

===============================================

Daza :

Eric's version of " Nobody Knows You When Your Down And Out " . < circa 1923 >

Not your BLAZING type Eric - nope -

It's all about " feel " man ......

- Thus in not a l-lV-Vb either -

More like a l-lll-V-lV - to start

It is though a great way into The Blues in ways that will open up the other sides of The Blues that will inturn expand your musical horizon into all genres including The Blues and in time who knows what it will help you accomplish in music .

I learned this song long befire Eric did it on MTV unplugged . His version is like mine as it sticks dedicatidly to the " line " of the songs groove .

Ya just can't do it any other way!

Best of Luck man go for it !

Sincerely :

Hurricane Ramon - 56 years of music playin and still pumpin !

[Hurricane Ramon]

excerpt :

Originally Posted by zombywoof

Tough call but have to go with Bessie's "Electric Chair Blues." I have been playing it since the 1960s and never grow tired of it.
Clapton's acoustic blues - the guy's a great technican but his stuff is just plain sterile sounding.

================================================== =====
Sup Zomby :

Not dissin ya at all blood I respect your insight in The Blues .

But ..........

Never heard Clapton described as such heh heh .

And the older guys and gals of The Blues -Yeah man Yeah !

They are my heroes too .

Sincerely :

Hurricane Ramon

[gimme789]

Clapton's solo version of "Key to the Highway" is one of my faves, and is not really that difficult to play.

[TBman]

My song - "I Don't Play My Martin Enough Blues" on my fingerstyle page listed below, LOL.

[shawlie]

There's so many types of blues - some of it is like a whole different genre in a way. It's hard to compare the different types, I think.

But I really enjoy listening to the old music and my favorite to play would probably be "Late Morning Blues" by Woody Mann (based on Blind Blake's "Early Morning Blues"). I love that sound and that style of playing. Something about those types of blues in C that are bluesy, but also happy and bouncy and just very nice.

[Herb Hunter]

Originally Posted by daza152

...Do you think any of Eric Clapton's blues songs are easy to pick up? ...

Though I prefer the Creedence Clearwater Revival version of, Before You Accuse Me, Eric Clapton's unplugged version is a good one to try.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLTR3Xn95xY

[15 Man]

It would be impossible to name only one. There are just too many good ones that I like to play. Like gimme789 above, I’d have to say that “Key To The Highway” would be one of them. I particularly like the way that BB King and Eric Clapton do it together.

Some others would be:
Before You Accuse Me - Eric Clapton
Love In Vain - Robt. Johnson
Last Fair Deal - Robt. Johnson (as done by Keb Mo)
A Hundred and Ten In The Shade - John Fogerty
Lonely Stranger - Eric Clapton
It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry - Bob Dylan (as done by David Bromberg)

And like I said, too many other great ones!

[RustyAxe]

Something with 12 bars in E ... probably ...

[GHS]

daza152, if you are starting out in this type of music I suggest "Beginning fingerstyle blues guitar" by Arnie Berle and Mark Galbo. It is the one I started out on. They take you step by step to understand alternating thumb and fingerpicking with standard notation and tabs if you need them. Along with the cd that comes with it they make it very easy to get a handle on this style. I believe it is one of the best out there and is available thru Amazon.