Learning to play the guitar is an all-encompassing education, in that there are a large variety of things to learn before mastering the art. The guitar, more so than other musical instruments, has the unique ability to be a vehicle for many different genres of music. Whether it’s punk, rock, country/western, or metal, learning how to play the guitar will present a wide array of options to further guitar study by specializing in a type of music. A lot of new players learn to play the acoustic guitar while interested in eventually learning to play blues guitar. As a pre-cursor for rock and roll, and rhythm and blues, blues guitar players like Robert Johnson are credited with revolutionizing the art of guitar playing.
Learning how to play the blues begins with a study of the music itself. As with any genre, imitation of transcribed music is one of the only ways to learn how to mimic the specific techniques used for a particular style. Most blues guitar players are well-versed in many advanced guitar techniques, such as the ‘slide’ or ‘bottle neck’ guitar style (used by wearing a ’slide’ or classically an actual bottle neck on the fingers that make contact with the fretboard to slide up and down picked strings) and the ‘rhythm’ guitar style (a deliberate succession of chords strummed to a specific rhythm to accompany a vocal/lead melody line). These different styles require extensive practice, and a lot of experience in playing the guitar (and some talent with improvisation as well) before a person who’s learning how to play blues guitar can reach their goal.
While it’s true that blues guitar is mostly played using an acoustic guitar, there are certain cases where electric guitars are preferred. Certainly an electric bass guitar with a strong bass line can be used to drive a heavy blues song forward. There are also hybrid electric guitars created with hollow bodies to produce a sort of resonance that works well in blues guitar styles. Certain types of electric guitar with a unique pickup/amplifier combination can also be used to emulate the sound most blues guitar styles work well with. Ultimately for a classical blues guitar song, the use of a single acoustic guitar along with vocals provided by the blues guitarist serves as the only allowable ingredients.
Icons in the history of blues genre like Robert Johnson taught themselves how to learn to play blues guitar. Of course, there was an old legend concerning Johnson that claims he met the Devil at the crossroads, and ended up selling his soul in order to be the best guitar player in the world! Regardless of the legends, Johnson’s skills at blues guitar can’t be denied—and whether he practiced daily for his skills or otherwise, the only way for today’s student of blues guitar to learn to play is by hard work and dedication. With enough persistence fans might one day make a legend or two based on your great blues guitar skills!
