volante5767
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Post by volante5767 on Nov 27, 2018 22:17:28 GMT
Hi Guys, Hope you can offer some advice please. I have been studying Classical Guitar for a year, have leaned to read music,just, and have a great teacher. I'm at a point were I can play scales in A minor and C Maj, I can also play a few nice preludes and pieces in these keys.As I'm nylon only i play finger style, plus a few folk numbers to mix it up a bit. But I feel I may have made a big mistake.I have recently been listening to a lot of Delta blues and love it.I then threw a huge spanner in the works and asked my teacher, "I want to play the blues! My teacher was fine about it as he's a very skilled pro.I then started to try to improvise over the minor pentatonic, trying to play a baseline with licks,trying pull offs hammerons and slides,while trying to keep good time nd rythem.its been couple of weeks ando can't seem to make music, I'm really struggling...should I throw the towel in on my blues venture and stick to what I was really progressing in? Thanks in advance Guys.
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Nov 27, 2018 22:59:14 GMT
A couple of weeks is a very short time - a couple of years should see some decent strides though - stick at it - if you love the music, and listen to lots of it you'll get there!
And there's no reason why you can't keep up the classical stuff too if you want to.
Keith
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Post by lavaman on Nov 27, 2018 23:04:49 GMT
What mistake? If you like blues and want to play in that style then keep at it. Sadly, learning a new genre / style takes practice, dedication, and time. Often years. My advice is to listen to as much music in your chosen style as you can and immerse yourself in it. Then, look at video lessons from country blues experts like Woody Mann, Stefan Grossman and countless others like Mary Flower or Justin's web site. Your classical training will help with the technique but listening to the music will help you develop the groove. Keep at it.
Iain
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volante5767
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Posts: 39
My main instrument is: Godin
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Post by volante5767 on Nov 27, 2018 23:09:55 GMT
Thanks Keith, Maybe the classical studying just seems more structured, as I'm studying Matteo Carcassi works from a book, with my teacher. Whereas with the blues stuff, I sort of feel I'm just messing about with NO real goal,that's the best way I can put it.
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Post by martinrowe on Nov 27, 2018 23:44:01 GMT
I thought I'd concentrate on the blues when I first started trying to play. The books that were available at the time showed things like a simple 12 bar progression with 3 chords and made it sound easy. I found that it was far from easy. As the others have said you need to listen to a fair bit of it before it gets in your bones. To get technical, classical music is based on the western civilisation's musical tradition, the blues is not, they are two very different musical traditions. A lot of those old blues musicians who made their name back then were top, top, quality musicians - we still know about them a hundred years later. 'Blues' is a bit of a general term as well e.g. there is a world of difference between the music of Robert Johnson, Skip James, Son House, Charley Patton, the Rev Gary Davis, John Hurt, Lightnin Hopkins, and others. I'd suggest finding a song or musician you really like and then as lavaman suggests delve into e.g. the Stefan Grossman teaching materials. Those types of materials should provide some structure. Oh, by the way, I've found it's never ending, and fascinating. Hope it helps. Martin
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Post by bleatoid on Nov 27, 2018 23:44:36 GMT
Hi volante5767Nah - don't throw in the towel - you're in a pretty strong position I'd say. Your classical studies will give you a great grounding in the musical fundamentals and you've identified a particular musical genre that's fired your enthusiasm. As the guys have suggested, the two are mutually supportive, not mutually exclusive. I'd say I have a pretty wide musical palette but I love listening to, and playing the blues, in all its forms, delta included, and I have a shelf load of blues instruction books and song books that I've delved into to various degrees over the years, with varying levels of success and enjoyment. I would humbly offer 2 suggestions: a) I strongly second the notion of listening to as much of the stuff as you can - and I'd add the rider to include the old original artists heavily in the mix. b) If I were to suggest just one instruction / songbook that's given me the most pleasure and satisfaction, it would be The Fingerstyle Blues Songbook by Steve James - by a country mile. It has a broad mix of different blues styles (including delta) and a great balance of different levels of challenge that let you get a smile on your face pretty quickly, but also get you stretching to reach another level without ever being too daunting. As Keith said, two weeks is no time at all - some of us here have been at it for decades and we're still rubbish (but we love it). Good luck with your studies - I look forward to hearing your maiden blues voyage in the Plucky Duck at some point! Peter
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volante5767
Strummer
Posts: 39
My main instrument is: Godin
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Post by volante5767 on Nov 28, 2018 0:01:42 GMT
Thanks so much Guys, will stick at it! By the way,my fav by a MILE is SRV!
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Post by bleatoid on Nov 28, 2018 0:08:31 GMT
Ah SRV - what a loss.
Possibly the most powerful and exasperating opening riff to a blues song ever......Texas Flood.
I swear his strat is talking to him....and crying...
Might be tricky to get the exact vibe on a classical guitar....
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volante5767
Strummer
Posts: 39
My main instrument is: Godin
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Post by volante5767 on Nov 28, 2018 0:37:49 GMT
One day I may get a Strat...lol But SRV, blows em all away in my opinion.
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Post by andyhowell on Nov 28, 2018 9:40:55 GMT
As Iain says you need to immerse yourself in this music. Use tabs as a simple guide and then put them aside. Playing the blues is mostly about timing and feel!. That probably doesn’t help but a Blues with emotion played simply and slowly is a million better that fretboard gymnastics that lack soul.
Listen to the blues. Doodle on the sofa!
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Post by vikingblues on Nov 28, 2018 19:09:50 GMT
The blues is a genre that has straightforward guidelines and principles, but getting your playing to sound like real blues is the difficult bit, and needs time and practice. Timing and feel as Andy says are so important. Playing phrases and licks to hit the right end note for the chord progression. It's also, as I know from my own experience, a huge jump from classical to blues! The first where precision is required, rules have to be followed, and structure is set, and the second where anything can go that sounds right and the player has to use instinct to get the right music. I strongly recommend backing tracks if you don't already use them, and try and (1) listen to what notes are working best in the chord progression on the backing track and (2) try to get your fingers and brain in synch so that you play the note you're expecting to hear. The second of those tasks can take a LONG time to arrive. It can be useful to try and sing the notes you're playing at the same time - I believe it helps lodge where notes are on the fretboard better. Anyway - good luck with your attempts and remember to enjoy the journey - don't worry too much about the destination you want to reach. Mark
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volante5767
Strummer
Posts: 39
My main instrument is: Godin
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Post by volante5767 on Nov 29, 2018 19:49:15 GMT
Thanks A lot Mark. I've also just ordered the Blues songbook that was recommended. Great advice, Thanks again.
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Post by andyhowell on Dec 1, 2018 18:24:35 GMT
Thanks A lot Mark. I've also just ordered the Blues songbook that was recommended. Great advice, Thanks again. I learnt mine from Kicking Mule records which always had tabs included. I seem to remember that the tabs are now available free online. I’ll have a mooch around and see if I can find any.
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Post by slidingwolf on Dec 18, 2018 17:51:50 GMT
Ok my 5 cents worth. I had classical lessons many years ago but now play blues/folk/Americana or whatever else it's called exclusively. Classical guitar has the two voices - thumb and fingers - (how I was taught anyway). With the blues, that is much more defined. The thumb usually plays alternating base or monotonic bass (Mississippi Johm Hurt and Mance Lipscomb are IMO the best examples of both). That thumb has to work on automatic pilot. "If I come in this room and blow your head off with a shot-gun, I wanna see that thumb keep going," as I was taught. It is much more of a separte action compared with classical. You have to get that happening on its own. Once you do, all the blues stuff makes more sense if you are trying to play it.
Second point: classical music (any classical music) is based on the composer writing the music on the stave, and the player playing exacly that. "Getting it right" is playing exactly what is on the stave. Anything else is "wrong". The blues is exactly the opposite. None of the old blues guys I have had the privilege to meet are remotely interested in hearing you play Blind Blake or Willie McTell note for note. "Whatever you play, make it your own. Change the key, make it minor , not major, change the words to make them your own...I want to hear how you play it, not how someone else plays it" etc. etc. And besides, most of the blues was never written down in standard notation anyway.
For me, all of this came as a real freedom. I found classical guitar (much as I still love it) like trying to play in a straight jacket in comparrison. Suddenly the door is open to experimentation. At the risk of sounding rude, I have found that a lot of classical musicians think they can play anything because they are classically trained. They can't. Try listening to a classical pianist trying to play like Jules Holland. ( On second thoughts, don't. It's not nice. My wife has piano grade 8 and even with the music in frotn of her, cannot "get" it at all).
Give yourself time. Be patient with yourself. But it really is worth stiking with it.
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Post by andyhowell on Dec 19, 2018 15:00:44 GMT
slidingwolf My sentiments entirely and why I would only use a tab to get a basic idea of what is going on. Quite often I can't even approach what seems to be written on the tab, so much so to the extent that I wonder how accurate it is any way. On other occasions I have realised that the tab is not accurate at all. Back when I used to take this seriously — about several millennia ago — I learnt songs faithfully from the tab only to go and see the artist live and realise they couldn't play their own piece properly ;-) There are some people who will remain nameless (but with the initials S and G) who have rally done a lot to open up the blues to us mere mortals, however, they have often create a science out of their tabs rather than just made it clear this is all an interpretive art. I saw the light when I realised that rather than agonise how to make that chord or that stretch I could just search around the fretboard for something simpler! For my money the flow of the music is more important than the complexity of the actual notes or dots.
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