Introduction to Blues Guitar | What is Blues

Anybody interested in modern music sooner or later asks the question, "Where did it begin?" Well, if you leave blues guitar music out, you will not have much of an answer. So let us look at where the blues came from, where it went and who it met on the way. We will also take a look at the "blues guitar sound" and how it has its unique effect on our feelings.

In this video guitar lesson, Hawkeye Herman introduces the blues. He explains the 12 bar blues chords and the poetic format that blues lyrics typically follow. Learning beginner blues guitar is made a breeze with his detailed and yet easy to understand instruction.

Blues guitar music originally evolved at the end of the 19th century from slave works in the southern states of USA. Blues music was in fact played by the black slaves for the working class black people. This genre of music is focused on vocals instead of the musical instruments and had become a way of life for the blacks in slavery.

Over the years, blues music had continuously evolved into more genre specified niches such as rural, country and downhome blues in the 1920’s. What had not been changed throughout the years is that blues had always been a genre of music that is based on FEEL. If you had been listening to BB King or Eric Clapton before, you would have pick up a common point amongst these great blues gurus in the sense that the songs they play are often not technically challenging but yet are filled with lots of emotion.

With the popularity of the electric guitar in the 1940’s, blues had turned into a genre that is popular with bands that include instruments such as the harmonica and sax.

In blues music, the predominant feature of the music arrangement is often called a blues turnaround and till today, this blues turnaround is still one of the easiest and simplest form of chord progressions that is being used. For guitar players who are interested in blues improvisation, the flated fifth is an important concept that you need to understand as this note gives blues the distinctive sound when played across a scale.

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