How to Learn Blues Guitar Soloing?

The great thing about blues guitar is that it involves a lot of intuitive understanding and creative license. It is much about your own comprehension rather than following a copy book style. So, learning blues guitar soloing is also relatively easier than in case of other guitar genres. But at the same time, you must have a good knowledge of the guitar techniques and a deep understanding of the blues music repertoire.

One of the most effective ways of learning blues guitar soloing is to listen to as many great artists as you can. This is a full proof way of developing a connoisseur taste on blues music, which is as much needed as the technical knowledge about playing blues guitar. If you can manage to listen to many varied styles, you can combine them and can create your own unique solos.

It is important for you to remember that blues guitar is not about fast paced and flamboyant guitar playing. It is about feeling the inner strength and the beauty of the music and expressing that through your guitar. It is not about mathematical precision, but involves slow unraveling of the mystical aspects of this art form.

But you should also be well acquainted with the basic guitar skills as blues guitar solos are often steeped with sophisticated and complicated guitar techniques. You might want to start with few guitar licks and combine them to produce a great solo. A guitar lick is a series of notes which creates a musical expression. So, combining all these expressions will help you create your own musical tapestry.

If you are a die hard blues fan, then some of the great solos might have left a lasting impression in your mind. Albert King’s “Born under a bad sign”, B.B. King’s “The thrill is gone” or Eric Clapton’s “Crossroads” are some of the magical guitar solos, which have enthralled us for ages. It might be difficult for a beginner to instantly recreate the magic with his own guitar, but with practice and patience, you can come close to sounding like a professional guitar player.

So, learning soloing is not a difficult task but getting the perfect feel and the sound might take some time. But if you are a blues fan, the whole process will be immensely enjoyable as you will come closer to discovering the heart of blues music.