Archive for the 'Entertainment' Category

Learn Blues Guitar Basic Fingerstyle

Tuesday, April 29th, 2008
by Zack R.

There are different types of fingerstyles for rock and different for blues and this technique can be best learnt on an acoustic guitar. Learning different fingerstyles will help you to effectively render blues backing tracks.

When you are playing your guitar, the technique by which you strum the strings or pick your guitar strings without using a pick is called a fingerstyle. Blues Fingerstyle has been in use for quite a long time in jazz, blues, rock and is even used for improvisation over blues backing tracks. There are some greats of the world of blues music like Mark Knoprfler, Jeff Beck and Chat Atkins who do it very well. Some of the blues guitar players who do the fingerstyle better than anyone else include John Lee Hooker, Albert Collins, Otis Rush and Albert King among others. Learning the fingerstyle method of blues playing will definitely make things easier for you especially when you are jamming and playing over blues guitar backing tracks.

In a nutshell, this technique is all about how well you are able to use your bare fingers. You can use blues fingerstyle on both the acoustic blues and electric blues but they should have nylon or steel strings. Using the fingerstyle gives blues players a definite edge. Most of the blues guitarists of the Delta style used extensive blues backing tracks reinforced by fingerstyles.

You may have heard the word fingerpicking more than finger style and mind you - both the words sound similar but mean different. Fingerpicking in blues is more focused on specific picking patterns that have been derived from certain chords and are always played in a style quite similar to arpeggio. For example: The song Layla by Eric Clapton is fingerstyle but the song Never goin back again by Fleetwood Mac is fingerpicking.

Different Blues Fingerstyles

There are different types of blues fingerstyle techniques that you can learn as you progress up the ladder and of course if you want to play blues backing tracks. The most common way to use fingerstyle in blues backing tracks is by using the classical guitar style. In the classical guitar style, you have to use your thumb for playing the 3 bass strings, and use the index, and middle finger for playing the melody strings.

There are three distinctive style of blues fingerstyle guitar and each have a different effect in blues backing tracks. They are:

1.Using the thumb: The thumb fingerstyle mostly calls for down-strokes. It will provide you with a hard expressive style, hard sound, and a great tone but you will not be able to play fast. This is considered a beginners style and will provide you with a feeling of the guitar and the strings and create the base for blues backing tracks.

2.Index finger and thumb: In this technique you need to simulate playing with a pick except you will be using your fingers instead of the pick. The thumb will help in down-strokes while the index finger will be used for up-strokes.

The thumb, index and middle finger: In this technique you will have a definite advantage over the other two techniques and can play blues backing tracks with ease and speed. The middle finger and the index finger will be used for alternate picking.

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Legal Movies Download: Are Your Membership Downloads Illegal?

Tuesday, April 29th, 2008
by Marc Sandford

Times couldn’t be better when it comes to easy access to lots of great entertainment. We can thank the proliferation of broadband use in increasing numbers of households as well as the rapid expansion of the Internet for this. With this plentitude comes issues that concern the safety of our computers and privacy as well as the integrity of our ethics.

Safety and ethics are the primary motivations for a lot people that look for legal sources of movie downloads. However, you may be making illegal downloads of movies by accident even though your intentions might be in the right place. Therefore, you may be placing your privacy and computer at risk through exposure to spy ware and viruses that may accompany these downloads.

It isn’t enough to stay away from amateurish and spammy download sites. It’s possible that you’re getting movies illegally even though you’re using a legitimate download membership at a professionally deigned web site. It can still happen even if the business owner has honest intentions and you have paid a membership fee.

So how is this possible? If the membership site offers access to a ridiculous quantity of movies (millions) for modest a fee of about $25, then he’s probably setting you up with the means for accessing and downloading movies off a peer to peer (p2p) file sharing network. He is doing nothing illegal since there are an almost infinite number of downloads on p2p and the knowledge and means to exploit p2p is certainly worth the fee.

When you know enough about using p2p to get yourself into trouble, the problems begin. The stage is set for damaging your computer with a virus or suffering from identity theft because of spy ware if you use p2p naively without an awareness of the associated risks. Unbeknownst to you, those movies that you’re happily downloading were uploaded illegally.

You won’t get complete protection from the viruses that are set loose on p2p with the anti-virus program installed on your computer. Your computer is only protected against the specific spy ware and viruses that the anti-virus software was programmed to recognize. Viruses that are obscure, new, or a modified version of something well known, will not be recognized by your anti-virus software.

A good rule of thumb for determining if a movie is legal for download is that if it is older than 4 or 5 decades, it is probably in the public domain without a copyright. If you find a free movie on a p2p network that is a recent Hollywood blockbuster, then it is illegal to download. Locating the odd movie that is the exception to this rule will demand a lot of research on your part.

So getting safe and legal movie downloads from a p2p network is not as simple as turning on a TV set. If you’re worried about threats to your computer and your personal information, then you aren’t enjoying yourself. If you are researching movie copyrights, you’re doing work rather than relaxing.

Finding a reputable download site that doesn’t send you off to a p2p network and has it’s own collection of movies that are guaranteed safe and legal may be a better idea. Any business owner that makes guarantees with respect to the peer to peer download networks is doing something that is impossible (and crazy). You are on your own if you are downloading movies from p2p file sharing networks.

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Doo Wop - Vocal Harmonies rooted in Rhythm and Blues

Tuesday, April 29th, 2008
by Themusicmam

Originated in the streets of American north-eastern cities, Doo-Wop was an African American Vocal style based in smooth harmonies. It was the closest rock genre to pop music in the 1950’s. Drawing its inspiration from the rhythm and blues cultures it became a music style of its own and was widely popular in the 50’s and 60’s.

Thinking about Doo Wop at the time, one had to think also about street corner youngsters, who formed into groups of 5 or 6 individual and who would harmonize to the sounds of doo-wop for the fun of it. These youngsters owed much of their music background to the teaching and music of the local black churches and as such were particularly adept at adapting to this new vocal genre. They brought fun and a carefree philosophy to music.

This carefree attitude made them ideal victims to unscrupulous agents and record companies’ contacts. Indeed label owners had no difficulty in convincing them that his his own name should be listed as the music composer rather than the musicians themselves as “his own name was already known” but deejays.

The young musicians were also made to agree that they would be paid by session instead of being paid by the number of records sold and signed agreements that permitted their agents and record companies to pay studio and promotional costs directly from their own royalties.

As if this was not sufficient, all rights to the original songs had to be given to the record companies and the musician managers was paid 50 pc of the musicians’ own royalties. They were further rip-offs such as the musician having to do major shows for free, going as far as having to pay to feature on TV shows.

As in most things related to greed, these companies who were for the most part smaller startups would have benefited from being honest with their artists as they themselves would not have felt so thoroughly cheated and might have gone on to produce even more wonderful music.

Popular groups from the doo wop era include

The Dubs who in 1957 released one of doo wop classics: “could this be magic”. A sweet and endearing ballad, it featured lead vocalist Richard Blandon.

The Dupees, one of the finest Italian doo wop made delightful doo wop harmonies, none more than the very successful “you belong to me” who had previously been recorded by Patty Page, Jo Stafford, Dean Martin and Joni James.

“Little Star” released in 1958 by a white doo wop group based in New Yord, The Elegants achieved notoriety and was top of both R&B and Pop charts! The Elegants were led by Vito Picone.

“In the Still of the Night” is another doo wop gem, released in 1954 by The Five Satins. Known as a true classic of this music genre, “In the Still of the Night” was created in the basement of a local church. Fred Harris was the leader of the group and actually had already been drafted by the army and was stationed in Japan when his song hit the charts.

Doo Wop was surpassed and its popularity at the time destroyed by the British Invasion, this very civilized and pacific take over of our popular culture of the time by British Rock and Roll groups. In spite of that, doo wop has endured into the hearts and souls many!

To this day Doo wop music is still a favorite for a large and international audience. Music lovers from as far as Japan, Germany, France and many more countries contribute in maintaining its popularity. Concerts and shows are held on a regular basis and continue to charm and enthrall their audience.

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How To Improvise Lead Guitar Playing

Tuesday, April 29th, 2008
by E Walker

Join us as we examine several different ways you can use to improve your guitar improvisation techniques and start learning how to incorporate these basic theory knowledge into improvisation styles for lead guitar

Guitar soloing and lead guitar improvisation is one of the most artistic and expressive types of guitar playing that a guitarist can learn. It is a showcase of precision, skill, technique, and creativity that blows the mind and leaves awestruck faces in every crowd.

A lot goes into perfecting guitar improvisation and all the techniques that can be used in this style of guitar playing. Guitar improvisation requires dedication, patience, time, and practice, practice, practice. This is the first and most important tip that anyone can give, even though it may seem typical and not very advanced. It’s amazing how many people try to grow as musicians without perfecting their skills and practicing their craft daily.

Another great tip that can greatly improve your lead guitar improvisation is to play along with a CD. Put on one of your favorite CDs and when there is a pause or a bridge somewhere in the song, play some chords or a scale in the key of the song over the music playing in the background.

You can also learn the chords to the song and play some arpeggios over the changes in the song. Learning how to play arpeggios is a crucial skill to learn to improve your improvisation technique, and if you don’t already know how to play them, you should learn them and put them in your arsenal of improvisational tools.

Another nice tip for guitar improvisation is to play chord scales. When you use this method you are simply using chords instead of scales and melodies. The main idea of this is that you are playing a scale with a chord connected to it.

One fantastic method to use when you’re trying to improve your improvisation skills is to use guitar backing tracks. Guitar backing tracks are great for improvisation because it’s like playing with a whole backing band, and allows you to improvise and put into practice all of your skills and tools in putting together awesome leads to go with the track. Playing along to a backing track will also help you to perfect your timing skills and will increase the enjoyment you get from playing along.

If you are a serious guitar student who has already mastered all the basics of music theory and the basic skills of guitar playing, then you’re ready for the tips and techniques mentioned in this article.

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Learn How To Play Difficult Guitar Chords

Tuesday, April 29th, 2008
by Zack Roberts

Many of the 7 chords and their extensions, 9,11,13 etc are seemingly very difficult to create with your fret hand. However, there are a few tricks that can help you create these beautiful chords without growing two more fingers.

Most jazz musicians use what are commonly referred to as “small chords” when playing. Jazz players do a lot of what is known as comping, the mixture of rhythm and bass runs; playing that requires quick changing of chords. Thus, playing the full voicing of chords is not always possible and actually, isnt always required.

We can get the essence of most chords with only four notes, as little as three if one is playing with a bass player. Before we look at the chord shapes, lets discuss playing technique.

When playing jazz rhythms, I do not use a pick. I use my thumb and four fingers on my pick hand instead. I can use them in unison when I want to play chords or I can use them separately when finger picking and playing a bass rhythm separately from the chords; comping. There are those players that can hold the pick between their thumb and index finger and use the remaining three fingers to play other notes.

The reason I bring this up will become apparent when we look at the chord voicings. The basis behind this technique is not playing all of the strings. Most of these voicings will require you to skip strings in the middle of the chord. Whatever method you develop to deal with this is up to you. Playing with just my fingers works wonderful for me. If you would like to develop the pick and finger technique, check out information on Bluegrass playing and flatpicking. You dont have to be interested in the genre of music, but the technique is well used in that musical style.

First we will look at the small style of the 7 chord shapes then move on to 6,9,11 and 13 chords. The nice thing about these chords is that they are movable up and down the neck. Thus, changing from a G7 to and A7 is just a matter of moving up two frets, much like barre chords. There really isnt too much more to talk about with these chord shapes. So, Ill just show you the shapes and you play them. Work with combining these shapes in progressions. If you have music around that you have been staying away from because these chords were too intimidating, pull out the music and start playing! I will show the shapes in either G or C dependant on the root string. Again, remember that these shapes are movable so just look at the bass note to get your chord name. Ill talk about different fingerings as we move through the lesson. However, I will offer fingerings in a traditional style and they will be shown as follows. First, the chord chart will indicate

G7 - Barre E,D and B strings with Index and fret G string with Ring.

Gmin7 - Barre E,D,G and B with Index.

First, the G7 and Gmin7. You can see how easily one could change from one to the other. Also, notice how the A string and the high E are not played, this is what I was mentioning above.

G7sus4 - Barre E,D and B with Index and fret G string with Ring.

GMaj7 - Barre E and B with Index, fret D with Middle and fret G with Ring.

The G7sus4 and the GMaj7. Again, only four notes per chord and easily movable.

Gmin/Maj7 - Barre E,G and B with Index and fret D with Ring.

G7b5 - E-Middle, D-Ring, G-Pinky and B-Index

Now were really getting into some jazzy chords. The G7b5 chord fingering can be tricky. I play in a style that is known as “thumbing the bass.” Many guitarists have used this technique, Grant Green, Richie Havens and even Jimi Hendrix. However, the technique is stilled frowned upon by classically trained guitarists. The technique simply involves wrapping your thumb around the neck of the guitar enabling you to use your thumb to fret the bass notes. I can do this with bass notes on the E A and even D string when necessary. I have become very effective with the technique and my rhythm playing is respected in the circles in which I play. You can, however, simply fret the chords as barre chords or as four finger chords, as one would have to do with the G7b5. Work on different positions and find something that is comfortable and effective for you.

Gmin7b5 - E-Middle ,D-Ring ,G-Pinky and B-Index

GAug7 - Barre E and A with Index and barre G and B with Ring.

Again, were getting into some really jazzy sounding chords here. Try the different fingerings. The min7b5 will probably have to be played as a thumb bass or a four finger chord. The Aug7 could be played like a barre.

Gdim7 - E-Middle, D and B-Barre w/ Index and G-Ring

GMaj6 - E-Middle, D-Index, G-Pinky and B-Ring

Getting a little tricky here when it comes to fingering these chords. Also, we see our first new category, the Maj6 chord. This is where my technique of thumbing the bass really comes in handy (pun certainly intended)

Gmin6 - E-Middle, D-Index, G-Ring and B-Pinky

G13 - Barre E and D with Index, G-Middle and B-Ring

Okay, here are still more jazzy chords. The 13 chord is one of my favorites. This particular voicing of the 13 has the root, the b7, the 13 and the 3rd, just enough to make the chord sound like it should. The 5th can be added if desired, Ive indicated the 5th with *. Now, lets move on to some chords with roots on the A string.

C9 - A-Middle, D-Index, G-Ring and B-Pinky

Cb9 - Barre D and B with index, A-Middle, G-Ring

Okay, these 9 chords are fantastic for jazz and fusion. I find these have a great sound with some distortion or clean. One thing to point out, the Cb9 can be confusing. This is a C9 with a flat 9, not a Cb with a 9. As you know, Cb=B and is very rarely used. But, if this were shown as a Db9, then it could be confusing. Two ways composers will help with this. If it is shown as a Db9, you may assume it is a D9 with a flat 9. If the chord intended is a Db/C# 9, the composer will most likely call it a C#9 to avoid confusion. Also, if the chord intended is a Db9 with a flat 9, you will see either C#b9 or you may see Dbb9. You will come across these voicings once in a while and they can be confusing as you can see. Take the chords in context and the correct chord is usually quite apparent.

Cmin9 - A-Middle, D-Index, G-Ring and B-Pinky

CMaj9 - A-Middle, D-Index, G-Pinky and B-Ring

Okay, I think that is enough for now. We have 16 chords above that can be played with all 12 different roots, Thats 192 chords! Have fun with these

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5 Greatest Guitar Playing Tips of All Time

Tuesday, April 29th, 2008
by Zack Roberts

Here are the 5 greatest tips of all times made by famous people and how they can apply to guitar playing. I’ve heard and read these tips over the years and they have earned their weight in gold :

1) “What You Think, You Become.” -Ghandi

I came across this quote in the book entitled “Fearless Creating”, which is written by Eric Maisel . It emphasized the possibleness that the things we try to make all begin in our ideas, and imagination. I cast this quote on my wall, my notepad, my hand, everywhere for a number of years to remind myself to keep my purpose present in my mind, and it always assisted me to not give a whole lot of attention to uninvited negative thoughts and my automatic ones, such as..SEX!

2) “There is Always a Way” -Vinnie Colaiuta

I’ve read this in an interview with Vinnie in a friend’s magazine some years back relating to drums. The entire gist of the article was that when he was faced with a abstract problem, or when he was trying to pick up something especially challenging, or new, he was of the mind that there was “always a way” to get it, be it an adjustment of posture, a new way of looking at the execution of it, a new way of playing the blues guitar instrument, something to change to accomplish what was previously believed to be “impossible”. I always try to use this when moving up the food chain, trying to get to the succeeding level. It has resulted in some great results, if not necessarily technical prowess, certainly something creative and unique.

3) “Poor Artists Borrow, Great Artists Steal” -Picasso or Stravinsky

I have overheard that it was either one of these extraordinary artists who said this. Also a corrolary”To be a really good guitarist, you must copy the styles of other blues guitarists.”-Frank Gambale.

Well, first what can we steal? Chord progressions, tempo, groove, melodic phrase, (backwards melody!) Expressive style, mental attitude. What is the difference between that and “borrowing”? I think the great artist turns his thievery into something entirely his own, perhaps by unabashedly admitting the theft and developing it into a whole new foundation. Think -The Beatles, Prince, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Page, Clapton, Ornette Coleman, Elvis. Whereas the “borrower” is feigning to us that his original work has never before been heard and they have a contrived quality. This can be a very fine line.

Prior to ever reading the interview with Frank Gambale, saying that imitating styles was a invaluable tool, I was intrusted to some obscure concept of “being original”. When I acquired the accuracy of that affirmation, I set about to work, and it has changed my life. I embraced the point of view that I was a student, and had a great deal to learn from those who preceded me, that music and its history was outside of myself, and was greater than I was. I am now a firm believer that both of these aspects expand one’s growth to an immense degree. They give the player completely fresh languages to speak, and once you speak new languages, you will be able to create your personal great stories. Stories with depth and richness.

4) “The Impossible Can Be Accomplished Through Meditation and Concentration” -The Cup and Saucer Guy

I recall being kind of trapped on a plateau with my blues guitar playing at one point. I had achieved a good deal, but I didn’t know how to really move ahead. I was watching a variety tv show on television one night. A man came on balancing one hundred cups and saucers. He did this for what appeared to be a very long time and then he allow them to all crash around him. As the audience applauded his effort, the host asked him how he had learned to do this. His answer was that through meditation, he was able to achieve the necessary concentration. I began my own meditation methods, first applying a easy technique of being still, which I had discovered in the pieces of writing of people like J. Krishnamurti, and Tara Singh. Nothing which requires years to master, but a simple way of continuing to quiet the mind, increasing concentration, focus, and listening, just being in a very calm and relaxed state, paying attention. I now carry this stillness and relaxation to all my guitar performances.

5) “The Three Month Rule” -Roger Mckinley

Roger Mckinley was a associate student at Berklee. Roger was also a very gifted rock and blues guitarist, who, when I first came across him, was imitating Pat Martino. Just 2 years later, had created his own explosive unique style. ( see tip#3!) He left the jaws of many around him agape (and he never seemed to be committing any effort into it!) I was surprised that he befriended lil’ ol’ me and was willing to jam with me. I understood and leanr so much from him on just a single jam session. One of the things he told me is that it takes a good 8 weeks to bring an element of originality into your playing. This has saved me a good deal of frustration, and tempered my natural impatience. I have come to a conclusion that no matter how much I practise something, it is usually the better part of 8 weeks before I actually can master it.

I hope you can use these practical and inspiration quote to bring your music and guitar playing to greater heights.

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Kids Pirate Party

Tuesday, April 29th, 2008
by Cheryl Pierce

Pirates have amazed children for all ages. And a kids pirate party especially with a treasure hunt can be one of the most successful parties you could ever have, especially if you spend a little time looking for some great pirate birthday party ideas.

Some specific items will be needed to pull this party off, but a few organization skills will help a lot when it comes your big party day. Of course any time kids are involved you need to plan for the unexpected. Once you this, a pirates life really can be for you.

Get the party started with the right invitations. A great invitation should start with a pirate’s map. You can let “x” mark the spot for the party. Give the date and the time and make sure to let everyone know they should dress in their best pirate outfit. Knowing the pirate theme well ahead of time gives everyone a chance to pick out their best pirate garb. A neat rhyme can finish off the invitation something like “ho hum, a bottle of rum, Tim turns nine and we’ll have a fine time”.

Decorations can be easy for a pirate’s birthday party. You’ll want to make your area look as much like a pirate ship as possible. A pirate birthday party is best held outdoors whenever possible. This way you can find some great places to bury treasure for your treasure hunt. Of course, if you can’t do it outdoors, you’ll just have to be a little more creative indoors.

You will find unlimited games for pirate parties. The best game, of course, is the treasure hunt. You can start by handing out clues special explaining that there is a treasure map that you have divided into 4 pieces. The first clue will point you to the first piece, and that will have a clue to the next piece and so on. While the kids are doing the treasure hunt, you’ll have time to put together your refreshment table.

Once the kids have all the pieces to their map, they can go on the actual treasure hunt and find the buried treasure. You can do an individual treasure hunt or you can divide the kids into teams. Don’t forget “pin the peg-leg on the pirate” and “walk the plank” for the younger kids, assuming, of course, that you have a pool and the kids can swim.

These are just a few pirate birthday party ideas. Just take a little time to think about it and you’ll think of loads more. Just make sure your little “pirate” has a day to remember.

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The Story of Jimi Hendrix - The Guitar Legend

Monday, April 28th, 2008
by Zack R.

Who would have thought that a self-taught musician who, as a boy, wanted a guitar so desperately he made one out of a broom before acquiring a one-stringed ukulele, would eventually be hailed by many as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists in rock music history?

Jimi Hendrix, born in 1942, served in the US army as a paratrooper in his youth.Having taught himself the guitar, he played the US’ ‘Chitlin Circuit’ of clubs before moving to New York, earning a spot as the new guitarist for The Isley Brothers’ band before joining Little Richard’s back-up band and others.

On moving to London in 1966, he formed a 3 man band - The Jimi Hendrix Experience - which acquired rapid fame in Europe. Jimi became recognised for entertaining showmanship, which occasionally included setting his guitar ablaze! With a landmark show at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, and huge success of record album ‘Are You Experienced?’ Jimi became a world-wide star.

Hendrix was the headline artist at the 1969 Woodstock Festival, where he played his controversial war-like fuzz-guitar version of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’. Jimi Hendrix died at the age of 27 in 1970, having recorded only three fully-conceived studio albums and more than 300 unreleased recordings.

With his unique style of playing guitars upside down (’left-handed’) and restrung to suit him, Hendrix is credited with taking the electric guitar to a higher level. Hendrix aimed to mix what he called ‘earth’, a blues, jazz, or funk driven rhythm accompaniment, with ’space’, the high-pitched psychedelic sounds he improvised on his guitar.

Hendrix played a key role in making the Fender Stratocaster the biggest-selling electric guitar in history and making popular the use of guitar distortion using effects pedals, including the wah-wah pedal, and units. He pioneered in the recording studio, experimenting with stereophonic and phasing effects.

With his albums among the most influential of the 1960s, Jimi Hendrix changed rock music as the world knew it.

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Eric Clapton - An Illegitimate Son of A Soldier

Monday, April 28th, 2008
by Zack R.

On this thirteenth birthday, an English boy - an illegitimate son of a soldier - picked up his first acoustic guitar from his grandparents.

Despite his love for blues music, he found learning to play so challenging he almost gave up. He practised for many long hours, hanging on to learn chords and trying to imitate and mimic the sounds and tone of his blues guitar idols like Big Bill Broonzy by listening to them on his tape machine.

Soon after finding that the study of stained glass design at England’s Kingston College of Art wasn’t right for him, he busked around Kingston, Richmond and London’s West End before bringing together his first band at age 17 - the Roosters - an R&B outfit, in 1963. Fromthat point onwards, Eric Clapton went on to a sensational musical career as an incredibly talented guitar player, singer and songwriter.

His versatility is remarkable, with hits in genres from Delta blues (’Me & Mr Johnson’), pop (’Change the world’) and reggae (’I shot the sheriff’). Nicknamed ‘Slowhand’ for his string-bending blues licks and riffs, Eric Clapton is known as one of the most successful musicians of the 20th century. Do you know that Eric was ‘christened’ Slowhand by the manager of The Yardbirds because when he broke a string [only had 1 telecaster] he took his time replacing it on stage …and let everone wait…including the audience.

With his love of the instrument demonstrated in his amazing collection of about 750 guitars, Eric Clapton is hailed as one of the greatest blues guitarists of all time. How is your musical journey progressing?

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Easy Blues Guitar Scales for Blues Musicians

Sunday, April 27th, 2008
by Zack R.

Come and join us as we take a look into what makes up a blues scale, and as we examine in depth the benefits of using blues backing tracks to perfect and hone our knowledge and skill for playing the blues.

One of the most passionate forms of music that is played on the guitar is blues music. Blues guitarists seem to bleed out their emotions through their fingertips, and weave a soul-bearing story using six strings. Many individuals who fall in love with playing the guitar soon fall in love with blues music, if they weren’t already infatuated with it before.

One of the key elements to learning how to play blues music is learning the scales and chords that make up the foundation of what blues music is. There are a lot of different kinds of blues music and different styles within that genre that you can learn, so it’s important to just start with the basic simple chords and scales and work your way up to the more complex ones.

The basic blues scale is a pentatonic minor scale, but it has one additional note than the regular pentatonic minor scale. It’s this additional note that gives the needed amount of tension to create the signature blues sound. The scale consists of six different note names, but when you actually play the blues scale you will play all the places for those note names within that specific position.

Once you learn that particular scale, you are now ready to master the timing, structure, and improvisational aspects of blues music. This is best accomplished by playing along with blues backing tracks. Practicing along to blues backing tracks is like practicing along with an entire blues band accompanying you. There are a lot of benefits that can come from using blues backing tracks to improve your practice time.

One of the benefits to using blues backing tracks to perfect your skills is it helps you to understand structure and how the scale fits in with the rhythm section. By playing along with blues backing tracks, you’ll be able to combine the knowledge you have of the scale and apply what you’ve learned about music theory.

Another great benefit of blues backing tracks is the fact that it is a powerful weapon in mastering one of the trickiest parts of playing the blues, and that would be improvisation. With these guitar backing tracks you have the freedom to improvise a hot lead solo based on your knowledge of the scale and your own creativity. Improvisation is an important technique, one that is crucial for the blues guitarist to flourish in, especially during a live performance, which these tracks are also good for as well.

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