The B-L-U-E-S

The last couple of weeks, we have been learning about the intricacies of modes and modal improvisation. I like to balance such technical lessons with more intuitive or instructional ones, so this week we are going back to the basics of rock and roll, the blues.

If you’ve read my columns before, you may have noticed that I am somewhat partial to the blues. Now, if you are seriously interested in studying the guitar, or even if you just have dreams of being a rock superstar, you’ve probably read about some of your favorite guitar players. And if you dig a little deeper, you’ll probably find out about some of their favorite guitar players. And if you dig even deeper than that, eventually you will make your way back to the blues.

Take Mike McCready for example. He’s the lead guitarist for Pearl Jam. In interviews, when he is asked who his greatest influences were, one of his answers is always Jimi Hendrix. And if Jimi were here to tell who his greatest influences were, he would spout off the names of the great bluesmen of the South that he used to play alongside when he was touring the chitlin circuit.

One doesn’t have to look very far to find one of Eric Clapton’s biggest influences. Just flip over your case to his Unplugged album (if you don’t have it already—get it!) and see the Robert Johnson covers that he plays. Robert Johnson was one of the first recorded bluesmen and one of the first to achieve widespread recognition.

So what is it exactly that makes the blues so powerful? What is it that could make a man leave everything he owns and head off into the unknown with just a guitar and a gunnysack?

There’s no real trick to playing the blues. The basic patterns are very simple. You may have heard of the most common pattern. It’s called 12-bar blues.

12-bar blues is where it pretty much all starts. It is the most basic foundation of rock and roll that you can find. And as far as blues goes, it is by far the most common pattern that one will encounter.

Your assignment for this week is to listen to some 12-bar blues. One of my favorites is “Red House,” by Jimi Hendrix. It’s not on any of his studio albums, but you can find it on several of his compilations and nearly all of the live recordings. Another favorite of mine is “Malted Milk,” a Robert Johnson tune that is on his collected recordings. Eric Clapton also does an excellent version of “Malted Milk” on his Unplugged album.

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