Name some great blues guitarists.
Who comes to mind? Robert Johnson? Robert Lockwood Jr.? B.B. King? Albert King? Stevie Ray Vaughan? Albert Collins? T-Bone Walker? Johnny Copeland? Derek Trucks? Eric Clapton? Buddie Guy? ..to name just a few of the many.
Now I have a question:
What makes a great blues guitarist?
Whatever it is, they all have one thing in common:
They sound like themselves.
You may be able to hear their influences. After all what would Stevie Ray Vaughan sound like if he had never heard Albert King or Lonnie Mack?
And what if Eric Clapton had never heard Freddie King?
Hell, if Jimmie Hendrix had never heard Buddy Guy he may have ended up working in a carwash somewhere.
But every one of the greats had something unique. They were not afraid to put themselves out there and do it their way.
When you play the blues it is not about sounding like the masters. If you want to do that play Beethoven.
There are way too many people trying way too hard to sound like SRV. There is even a website devoted to teaching people to play just like him.
What a waste of the blues.
When you play the blues it’s about telling your stories. We already had a Stevie Ray Vaughan. He was truly great. You are not him.
Everytime you get up there to play the blues you need to be brave, you need to meet the challenge.
The challenge? What the hell is the challenge?
It’s simple really. Every time you step up to play the blues do you have the guts to show your soul?
What do you have to say?
Here are some other great blues and guitar sites. Thanks for visiting 100 Blues Licks!
What Makes A Great Blues Guitarist? -Blues Guitar RANT!
Cubist Blues: Music of Joel Hoffmann: Information from Answers.com
Worldwide Internet Music Resources: Blues
The 10 greatest female soul singers of all time
Blues piano legend Pinetop Perkins dies at 97 - CBS News
blues music | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Listen Up - USATODAY.com
