What is the best way to learn different styles

[chaddywac]

Blues, Jazz ,Old rock etc

[Bad Poppa]

Practice...a lot. ;-)

[scottishrogue]

Practice as much as possible, any style. Learn to play or sing songs you enjoy. There are a lot of excellent videos on YouTube and instructional DVDs that you can use to learn any style that appeals to you.

Glen

[Mtn Man]

LISTEN!!! That’s the best thing you can do when learning a new style. Listen to as much of it as you can, all day, every day. If you want the right stuff to come out, you’ve got to put it in first. The ONLY way to do that is listen. Quality is important too. Garbage in, garbage out. Find out what hardcore fans of the style consider to be the seminal recordings and listen to those first. Start with the foundation and build from there. Listen twice as much as you play. Invest in quality recordings. When you play, play along with the masters of the genre, they are the best teachers. And LISTEN!!! Did I mention listen?

[Cone Head]

Mtn Man's advice is excellent.
Listen, listen, listen, and be selective about what you listen to.

I have heard way too many players who claim to play "jazz" and "blues" but are only versed in the most cliché licks in each genre.

How many times have you heard that playing "blues" is simply a matter of noodling around in a pentatonic scale?

[mr. beaumont]

Immersion.

Some styles cannot really be dabbled in...they require some dedication to pull off convincingly.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

Immersion.

Some styles cannot really be dabbled in...they require some dedication to pull off convincingly.

My opinion, as well.

My method is to start learning songs in that particular style, and by doing that, I can adapt to and learn the various techniques used by whoever's music I am copying.

- Glenn

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by chaddywac

Blues, Jazz ,Old rock etc

Hi chaddywac...

Watch what people play while you listen to what they play.

Have a guitar close at hand when you are watching YouTube or DVD, and play along. Or pause and try it out...Listening or watching does nothing for you unless you try it (unless you can visualize the whole fingerboard and replay everything you see from memory).

Find someone who's better than you at a style and invite them over to jam. Watch what they play as you listen to what they play. Then say "Let me try it…help me figure this out…"

If you have a smart phone, have them play it and video it for later.

[Tony Done]

Learn some of the underlying theory for the genre, with the basic cliches while you are listening. If you know these I think it will help you to understand what you are listening to, and that is the jumping off point for developing your own style.