Getting the Blues...

While I can play a bit of blues shuffling rhythm, I don't really know why I play what I do aside from I can tell, subconsciously, it fits the same pattern of chords that I've heard a thousand times before in songs from Muddy Waters to Elmore James to Buddy Guy to Stevie Ray Vaughan...

So, yesterday was all about looking into the patterns of the blues - although it was more of a quick peek in their general direction as I tried to work out what all this I, IV, V chord notation meant. 

From what I understand, the Roman numeral corresponds to the 'numbers' of the notes in the Major Scale in relation to the root note of the scale. 

E Major Scale = E, F#, G#, A, B and D#

Therefore, the I, IV, V progression is E would be E, A and B (which ties in with what I did know about playing a blues progression!).

Of course, what gets confusing are all the variations of those I, IV, V chords that are possible within a 12 bar blues while still being a blues! I am working on this today!

In other news, I've been looking into just how I'd manage to get about in the USA and it looks like a combination of trains and buses would be a pretty economical choice. I have to admit, I quite like the idea of using a train - gives me time to relax and have a chat; I think if I drove everywhere I'd end up knackered. Although perhaps spending 12 hours driving from one part of the USA to the other would be enough to really give me the blues...

Sprucing things up...

Well, yesterday was a sprucing the blog up day...

I added a little Digg button and a Twit This button (in case anybody reads something and feels an instant urge to share) which stretched my technical abilities to the maximum and also sorted out Adsense since it's something I've consistently neglected to properly sort out.

Of course, there is a certain irony (some would say stupidity) in sorting out Adsense when you've just come back to the blog after leaving it for two years and its visitor count is in the low two digits rather than when you were blogging daily to 3,000 people. However, I never claimed to have a good business head!

I also signed up to Twitter - you can visit my Twitter Page here - since everyone is always, well, twittering on about it and I have to say after Day One, my initial excitment (yah, shiny new website to fill out all the same information I've filled out in several others!) gradually ebbed away as I gained six followers - all of whom wanted to advertise something - and I found moving into the 'Trending Topics' area was the equivalent of stepping into a bad work party where everyone is discussing the same tired topics, with very little interesting to say. Maybe it will grow on me. 

Say, when I have three hundred million followers all waiting for the vague crumbs of wisdom that I deign to toss their way at random intervals...

Improvement Advice - Part 1

So, knowing that a year isn't an awfully long time to turn my guitaring around, I turned to the Music Radar forums for some advice from people who know a whole lot more than me...

Here's some of the advice I've received so far:

1) Learn blues licks in as many different keys as possible.

Ok, this first bit of advice sounds do-able (I think). I mean, there are loads of sources for blues licks and I've already got quite a few floating around in my head.

2) Learn as many blues rhythm patterns as you, including chord substitutions.

Ah, now we begin to hit choppy water. I'm not entirely sure what a chord substitution is. I'm rather hoping it allows one, when one is playing and is a little unsure of which chord comes next, to wave one's hands and distract the audience for enough time that the chord is not missed. But I have a feeling it's a little more complicated than this...

3) Learn plenty of licks to play over turnarounds.

The turnaround, from what I remember, is the end of the rhythm pattern when the tune 'turns around' back to the starting chords. This means that any licks you play have to fit across the chords in the turnaround. I think.

What all of this shows is that I have a lot to learn. Consequently, I've not got time to fanny around here typing; I need to learn me some blues rhythms...

Gettin' my Mojo workin...

If I want to seriously think about trying to jam with honest-to-God blues musicians when I make this trip, then I need to get my guitar chops in order.

I'm a pretty ordinary guitarist and so I need to spend the next year or so (assuming I aim to do this Summer 2010) improving my blues abilities. 

Thankfully I have a subscription to an excellent UK guitar magazine - Guitar Techniques - which, alongside all manner of tutorials, also has transcriptions from a range of blues greats including BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Bonamassa and plenty more. I'm going to be using this for a whole lot of inspiration...

I'm also going to be practising my picking techniques, (finally) learning a bit more about chords and making an effort to get out and jam once a week at an open-mic night to push me.

I don't have a lot of time to dedicate to guitar practice each day but I'm going to really try and ensure I do the best with the time I have. Will try and sort out my laptop so I can record from my Pod XT - then I can start posting some audio clips to record my (hopeful!) progress

I Have A Dream...

So, what was it that brought this blog back from its medically induced coma and me back to the world of blogging?

It was an idea. An idea that came to me while sitting enjoying a latte macchiatto in the sunlight. However, since it is my theory that most ideas seem wonderful when you're drinking a good latte and enjoying rays of April sunshine, I decided to hold off for a while and thoroughly evaluate it.

That took until the next latte arrived, by which point I had convinced myself that it was quite the most fabulous idea I had ever had...

The idea is simple:

I want to travel to the US and trace the history of the Blues - from the Delta to Memphis, from Chicago to Texas - meeting intriguing people associated with the blues along the way and bringing along my guitar for company while I use this blog to write the whole thing up.

A simple idea that combines four elements I have a great deal of fondness for:

1) Travelling across the USA. Always wanted to do it but have never got around to it.

2) The Blues. I love most types of music but the Blues has a special place in my heart. It's the music I keep returning to again and again and when I play, it's what inspires me.

3) Playing the Guitar. My relationship with the guitar is an interesting one. I love the guitar but I'm not sure it loves me. I've been playing on and off (mainly off) for years but any vague skill I have on it is a merely a triumph of my willpower over my inate lack of musical ability.

4) Writing. I love to write (you may have noticed) and the idea of transcribing my dream trip (and preparation for it) will be fun to write. Can't promise it will be fun to read but, hey ho, can't have everything, eh?

There is a whole lot of preparation involved in turning this idea into reality but this blog is going to chart the course of that. It's also going to chart the course of me really trying my damnedest to hone my guitar playing to the point that I can, by the time I do this, feel confident enough to get up on stage and jam my way across America.

Personally, I think this is going to be a whole lot of fun...