By: Jim Bruce
When we think of blues guitar, it’s often a blues from the delta in the key of E that comes to mind, the bending and whining high notes punctuated by the constant driving bass rhythm of the picking thumb.
We can make a blues as complex as we like, but its’ true that some of the most powerful songs are very simple indeed – it’sthe technique and feeling that makes it. Take a master such as Texas blues giant Lightnin Hopkins, who was able to create syncopated sounds, but who excelled at delivering music with that special ‘bluesy’ feeling.
He might hit one string and let it ring while moving on to the treble strings. Perhaps he would damp the string with the palm of his picking hand now and again to change the mood, or double up on the tempo delivering two beats instead of one. He called this his ‘heartbeat’ sound, which had a powerful appeal directly to the emotions.
Often there’s not a lot happening but the feeling is solid blues and difficult to copy. This kind of feeling is exactly what musicians mean when they say that what you leave out is just as important as what you put in!
At 2m:25s I play an example of a slow blues in E in close up, improvising some ideas.
Listening to the old blues, we can feel that it’s very closely related to modern rock. If you want to start playing the blues in E, just form that basic E chord and experiment. Don’t forget to have fun and practice every single day.
