The Secret to Great Blues Solos - Blues Backing Tracks

Learning blues guitar takes good instruction and practice, but not just any practice. Since playing the blues is as much about feel as it is about skill you need to put yourself in a performance scenario every chance you get.

Since most of us don't have a full band to jam with a couple of times a week you can substitute with some good blues backing tracks.

What are Backing Tracks

Backing tracks, sometimes called jam tracks, are professionally recorded arrangements of a 12 bar blues pattern in a particular key. Often these tracks include bass, drums, guitar and maybe even piano. The tracks will often last much longer then a regular song to provide you with lots of time to jam along with.

The Secret of Great Players

Blues backing tracks have been the secret of many great blues guitarists over the past few years. They offer you a full band track to practice along to, create you own riffs and really begin to feel the music. With consistent practice using jam tracks you'll find that when you do jam with other musicians it will be second nature.

Where to Find Backing Tracks

Thanks to the web there are tons of great free and paid blues backing tracks. There are packages of tracks available for purchase from $20-$50. These paid tracks are generally going to be of higher quality then free, but they won't necessarily improve you're playing any more.

The key is to practice and do it often. Also practice in a variety of keys, not just the same key over and over. With consistent use of blues jam tracks in your practice routine you'll become a much better lead blues guitar player then if you spent hours and hours memorizing scales and techniques on your own without the use of other instruments.

Ready to learn more about the blues? Why not take some lessons from home with a blues guitar dvd or online blues guitar lessons. These self study video lessons are a great alternative to private instruction and require far less time and money.