Blues Guitar For Dummies

Jon Chappell has jammed with countless blues musicians at Chicago's blues clubs. He is an award-winning guitarist and composer as well as past editor- in-chief of Guitar Magazine and Home Recording Magazine. His other books include Guitar For Dummies, Guitar Exercises For Dummies, Classical Guitar For Dummies, and Rock Guitar For Dummies

• Introduction 1About This Book 1Conventions Used in This Book 2What You’re Not to Read 3Foolish Assumptions 3How This Book is Organized 4Part 1: You Got a Right to Play the Blues 4Part 2: Setting Up to Play the Blues 4Part 3: Beyond the Basics: Playing Like a Pro 4Part 4: Sounding Like the Masters: Blues Styles through the Ages 4Part 5: Gearing Up: Outfitting Your Arsenal 5Part 6: The Part of Tens 5Part 7: Appendixes 5Icons Used in This Book 5Where to Go from Here 6Part 1: You Got a Right to Play the Blues 7Chapter 1: Every Day I Have the Blues Hallelujah! 9Capturing the Blues Train from Its Departure Then to Its Arrival Now 10The pieces of blues that made the genre 10The place of the blues’ conception 11Rejoicing over 100 years of blues: The shifting shape of the genre 11The qualities that made blues cats hit the big-time 12It’s Not All Pain and Suffering — The Lighter Side of Blues 13Surveying the Means to Make the Music: The Guitar in All Its Glory 14The low-fi acoustic guitar 14The semi-hollowbody electric guitar 15Solidbody electric guitars 15The Collision of Two Worlds: Acoustic versus Electric 16Getting a Grip on How Guitars Work 17You’ve gotta use your hands — both of them 17Producing the tones: String vibration and pitch 18Electric guitars only: Pickups and amplification 18Performing and Looking Like a Blues Player 19Expanding and filling your brain with know-how 19Looking the part 20Blues Trivia For Dummies 21The questions 21The answers 22Chapter 2: Blues Meets Guitar: A Match Made in Musical Heaven 23Beyond the Delta: Defining the Blues Guitar Sound 24The method to the music: Chord progressions 25The guitarist’s language of melody 25The expression that invokes your senses 26The groove that sets the pace 27Dissecting an Acoustic and an Electric 27Getting Down with the Blues: A Quick How-To 31The foundation for all guitar playing: Acoustic guitars 31Shifting acoustic to overdrive: Electric guitars 32What You Need to Get Your Groove On 35Chapter 3: Grab Hold, Tune Up, Play On! 39Holding Your Axe (That Is, Your Guitar) 39Grabbing your guitar’s neck 40Pushing down on the strings 41Getting sound to come out 42Holding the Pick, Attacking the Problem 44Getting Situated 45Sitting down  46or standing up 46Tuning Up 47Helping your guitar get in tune with itself 48Holding your guitar to an electronic standard 49Playing a Chord 50Music Notation: Not Just for Geeks 51Guidance for your aimless fingers: A chord diagram 52Mapping out your short-term path: Rhythm notation 53Guiding you all the way through a song: Tablature 54Part 2: Setting Up to Play the Blues 55Chapter 4: Getting a Grip on Left-Hand Chords 57Starting Out Simple: Blues Chords Even Your Mom Could Play 58Going to the Next Level: Barre Chords 59Forming a barre chord 61Naming barre chords 62Playing E-based barre chords 63Playing A-form barre chords 65Combining forms 67Taking Advantage of Versatile Power Chords 68Chapter 5: Positioning the Right Hand for Rhythm and Lead 71Strumming Along 71Stroking down 72And stroking up 72Combining down and up 73Striking to a beat 73Eighth-note striking, twice per beat 74Mixing Single Notes and Strumming 75Separating bass and treble: The pick-strum 75Playing common pick-strum patterns 76Shuffling the Beats with Syncopated Strumming 78A bit of notation: Dots that extend and ties that bind 79Syncopation: Playing with dots and ties 80Stopping the String Ringing (Just for a Sec) 81Muting the sound between two chords (left hand) 81Simulating syncopation with left-hand muting 81Muting the sound of a note (right hand) 82Copying the Classics: Plucking Fingerstyle Blues 83The Right Hand’s Bliss: Different Rhythm Styles to Play 84The shuffle groove 85The driving straight-four 87The slow 12/8, with groups of three 89The two-beat feel 91The slow and funky 16 feel 92Chapter 6: Blues Progressions, Song Forms, and Moves 95Blues by the Numbers 95Recognizing the Big Dogs: Primary Key Families and Their Chords 96The Structure of a Blues Song, Baby 97Playing the 12-bar blues 98Slow blues 101The 8-bar blues 104Straight-four (or rock blues) 104Applying Structures to Keys 106A move with many chords: The Jimmy Reed move 106The sound of sadness: Minor blues 109Accessorizing the 12-Bar Blues: Intros, Turnarounds, and Endings 112Intros 112Turnarounds 113Endings 114High Moves 115Chapter 7: Musical Riffs: Bedrock of the Blues 119Basic Single-Note Riffs 120For the low-down bass notes: Quarter-note riffs 120The big daddy of riffs: Eighth-note riffs 121Adding a little funk: 16th-note riffs 122Throwing rhythm for a loop: Syncopated eighth-note riffs 123Double the Strings, Double the Fun: Two-Note Riffs (or Double-Stops) 123Straight feel 124Shuffle, or swing, eighths 125High-Note Riffs, the Bridge to Lead Guitar 126Keith Richards’s borrowed trademark: Quick-four riffs 127Intro, turnaround, and ending riffs 127Mastering the Rhythm Figure 133Part 3: Beyond the Basics: Playing Like a Pro 135Chapter 8: Playing Lead: Soaring Melodies and Searing Solos 137Mastering Your Picking Technique 138Becoming smooth with your simple downs and ups 138Tackling tricky alternate-picking situations 140The Universal Lead Language: The Pentatonic Scale 141Why the pentatonic is the perfect scale 142The two sides of the pentatonic scale 142A common scale for practice: E minor pentatonic 144Pentatonic Plus One: The Six-Note Blues Scale 147Adding Some Extra Flava to the Blues Scale 148Clashing bitterly 149A dash of sweetness 149Chapter 9: Playing Up the Neck 153For Inquiring Minds: Why Up the Neck You Should Go 153Positioning Your Digits for an Easy Key Change 154The pros of closed positions 155The details of closed, numbered positions 155Easing Into Position: Moving the Pentatonic Up and Down 157Changing Your Position 159A natural first: Moving from fifth position to eighth 159The eighth-position blues bonus 160How low can you go? Moving from fifth position to third 160The Technical Side of Moving 161Like taking candy from a baby: The subtle shift 161Seeking a bit of attention: The noticeable slide 162When you don’t want to move, just reach or jump 163Five Positions You Should Know: Meanderings of the Pentatonic Scale 163Relating the positions to each other 164Connecting the positions: Licks that take you up and down 166Understanding the Logic behind the Corresponding Shift of Position and Key 166Recognizing common keys and their comfortable positions 167Mapping keys to positions 167Chapter 10: Express Yourself: Making the Guitar Sing, Cry, and Wail 171Appreciating the Art of Articulation 172Going In for the Attack 172A little bit louder now a little bit softer now: Dynamics 173Hitting hard and backing off 174Breaking Down the Music: Phrasing 176Connecting notes the slippery way: Slides 176It’s hammer time — get ready to strike a string! 179Exposing a note by lifting a digit: Pull-offs 181Giving Your Sound a Bit of Flair 182Shake that string: Adding vibrato 182The rubber-band blues: Bends that stretch a string 183Playing a Song with Various Articulations 187Part 4: Sounding Like the Masters: Blues Styles through the Ages 191Chapter 11: Acoustic Roots: Delta Blues and Its Country Cousins 193Delta Blues: Where It All Began 194Understanding the Delta technique 194Ladies and gentlemen, king of the Delta blues: Robert Johnson 194Country Ragtime: The Piedmont Blues 201Everything In-Between: Country and Folk Blues 203A quick profile of country and folk blues 203Giving these “in-between blues” a listen 204Closing with a lick and some style: Ragtime tags 204Country and Folk Blues Had a Baby; Its Name was Rockabilly 206Quintessential Blues: Slide Guitar 208The tools that let you slide 208Sliding technique 208Tuning your guitar for slide, a technique all its own 209Chapter 12: The Birth and Growth of Classic Electric Blues 213The Rise of the Electric Guitar in Blues 214Giving Props to the Earliest Electric Pioneer 215Sweet Home Chicago, Seat of the Electric Blues 218Muddy Waters, leader of the pack 218Elmore James, slide guitarist extraordinaire 219Otis Rush: Soulful player with a flair for vibrato 220Buddy Guy, the father of blues rock 221Modern-Day Blues Styles: The Sounds of Texas 222Four Blues Giants: Three Kings and a Collins 224Albert King, the upside-down string bender 224B.B King, the blues’ king of kings 225Freddie King, a two-pick man 227Albert Collins, master of the Telecaster 228Children of the Post-War Blues Revival 229Son Seals, Chicago’s favorite son 230Robert Cray, smooth persuader 230Bonnie Raitt, stellar lyrical slides artiste 231Chapter 13: Blues Rock: The Infusion of Ol’ Rock ’n’ Roll 233The Blues Had a Baby, and They Called It Rock ’n’ Roll 234Chuck Berry, blues rock’s first superstar 234Bo Diddley, king of the jungle beat 236The Brits Invade the Blues 236Clapton and Green, early blues icons 236Jeff Beck, blues-rock’s mad scientist 237Trippin’ the Blues 238Eric Clapton, the original guitar god 238Jimi Hendrix takes the blues psychedelic 240Heavy “Blooze”: The Infusion of Hard Rock 241Jimmy Page, frontrunner of the metal blues 241Leslie West, big man with a big sound 241Blackmore and beyond, where blues gets scary 242Southern Comfort 243The Allmans, especially brother Duane 243Lynyrd Skynyrd 243Hot Barbecue Blues, Texas Style 244Johnny Winter, Texas blues-rock titan 245Billy Gibbons and ZZ Top, giving rock some soul 246Stevie Ray Vaughan, the greatest modern bluesman of them all 246Blues on Steroids 249Eddie Van Halen takes the blues to ’80s metal 249Euro-Metal brings virtuosity and precision to the blues 24921st-Century Soul 250John Mayer, new kid on the blues block 250Allmans Redux: Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks, keepers of the flame 250Part 5: Gearing Up: Outfitting Your Arsenal 253Chapter 14: Shop Till You Drop: Buying the Right Guitar for You 255Before You Begin Shopping 256Deciding On a Make and Model 257Evaluating a Guitar 257Construction 258Materials 259Workmanship 262Appointments (aesthetic options) 263Welcome to the Jungle: Shopping 263Bringing a friend 264Money matters: Deal or no deal 264Protecting Your Guitar 266Hard cases 266Soft cases 267Gig bags 267Chapter 15: Choosing Your Amp and Effects 269Getting Started with a Practice Amp 270Shopping for a practice amp 270Playing with a practice amp 272Powering Up to a Larger Amp 273Choosing among different amp formats 274Feeling the power 276Dissecting the Amplifier 277Input jack 277Preamp 278Tone 278Effects 279Power amp 280Speakers 280The flexibility of having separate channels 280What’s That Sound? Checking Out Your Amp Choices 281Tube amps 281Solid-state amps 283Hybrid amps 283Digital-modeling amps 284Remembering the Good Old Days 284Vintage amps 285Reissue amps 285Dialing in an Amp Sound 285Chronicling Classic Amps for Blues 287Fender Bassman 287Fender Deluxe Reverb 287Fender Twin Reverb 288Marshall JTM 45 288Marshall Plexi Super Lead 100 289Vox AC30 289Mesa/Boogie Mark IIc+ 290Messing Around with Your Sound: Effects 291Juicing Up Your Sound 292When your sound is too hot to handle: Distortion 292Toying with Tone Quality 293EQ: The great tonal equalizer 294Wah-wah, the effect that is as it sounds 294Modulation Effects, from Swooshy to Swirly 294Stacking sounds for a fuller effect: Chorus 294Swooshing, like a jet plane: Flangers and phase shifters 295Like a visit to the opera house: Vibrato and tremolo 295Pretending (and Sounding Like) You’re Somewhere You’re Not 296Delaying sound in a cave-like way 297Adding reverb to make your sound slicker 297Choosing an Effects Format 298A string of effects: Pedals on parade 298A box to house them all at your feet 299A box to house them all at hand level 299Chapter 16: Changing Strings 303Change is Good, But When? 303Choosing the Right Strings 304Acoustic strings 305Electric strings 305Outfitting Your String-Changing Toolkit 307Removing Old Strings 308Stringing a Steel-String Acoustic 309Stringing an Electric Guitar 313Part 6: The Part of Tens 319Chapter 17: Ten Blues Guitar Giants 321Robert Johnson (1911–38) 321Elmore James (1918–63) 322T-Bone Walker (1910–75) 322Muddy Waters (1915–83) 322Albert King (1923–92) 323B.B King (b 1925) 323Albert Collins (1932–93) 323Otis Rush (b 1934) 324Eric Clapton (b 1945) 324Stevie Ray Vaughan (1954–90) 324Chapter 18: Ten Great Blues Guitars 325Gibson L-1 Flattop 325Gibson ES-175 Archtop 326National Steel 326Gibson J-200 326Fender Telecaster 327Gibson Les Paul 327Fender Stratocaster 327Gibson ES-335 328Gibson ES-355 328Gibson SG 328Chapter 19: Ten (Plus One) Must-Have Blues Guitar Albums 329Robert Johnson: The Complete Recordings 329Blues Masters: The Very Best of Lightnin’ Hopkins 330T-Bone Walker: Complete Capitol Black & White Recordings 330T-Bone Walker: Complete Imperial Recordings 330The Best of Muddy Waters 331B.B King: Live at the Regal 331The Very Best of Buddy Guy 331Robert Cray: Bad Influence 331Masters of the Delta Blues: Friends of Charlie Patton 332Mean Old World: The Blues from 1940 to 1994 332Chicago: The Blues Today 332Part 7: Appendixes 333Appendix A: How to Read Music 335The Elements of Music Notation 336Reading pitch 337Reading duration 338Expression, articulation, and miscellaneous terms and symbols 340Appendix B: How to Use the Website 343Relating the Text to the Website 343Count-offs 344Stereo separation 344System Requirements 344What You’ll Find on the Website 345Audio tracks 345Troubleshooting 350Index 351