Are You Playing Blues Guitar Like a Singer?

[update May 14th 2019]

After listening to music for so many years, there is one thing I have realized when it comes down to feeling the emotion from a guitar performance.

Almost every time, the most passionate blues solos that make the hair on the back of my neck stand up are the ones that imitate the quality of the human voice.

If you really want to take your blues or slide guitar playing to the next level, then learning how to play with the feel and emotion of a singer is where you need to look to.

How?

So how do you start playing vocal-like blues guitar that makes your audience stand up and listen?

I believe it first starts by listening to classic vocal melodies that really stand out from the pack.

No, I don’t mean Beyonce’s XO. She has a great voice no doubt and you can probably find some really cool licks in there, but this is a blues guitar site so first start with the Masters. This is where Beyonce learned her style from. Have you seen Cadillac Records?

You might think that learning these simple vocal patterns will not help you to play better blues solos, but YOU are wrong. All those speed licks you are playing WILL NOT mean a thing if you can’t communicate a melody to a listener.

FACT – The average listener will not be impressed by your blazing speed unless you have unbelievable chops. And even then once they’ve seen it, then it’s not very impressive anymore. Maybe kinda like a circus act.

The fastest licks in the world won’t mean a thing unless they are setup properly and executed in a manner which sounds great in the context of the song and has some memorable parts.

Why do most people love certain songs?

The lyrics, and the melody of the chorus.

Sure there are those who just love only the guitar in songs, but this is not the majority of listeners, and if you think this is the case then you are kidding yourself.

Even then, just take a look at the Allman Brothers. Why are they so popular? One of the main reasons is that they have GREAT SONGS with GREAT MELODIES!!

Most people want to hear a great chorus and a melody that they can remember. You should use this idea to your advantage with your guitar playing.

If you want your playing to be heard and enjoyed by the majority of people out there, wouldn’t you want to add this element to your playing? I can’t think of one reason why you wouldn’t.

Listen to any great guitar player, and you’ll hear lots of melody in their playing. They all have excellent rhythm, phrasing, and melodies within their chaotic solos.

SRV
Steve Vai
Van Halen
Derek Trucks
Warren Haynes
Eric Clapton
Dimebag Darrell
Tom Morello
John Frusciante
Albert King
Jimi Hendrix
Albert Collins
BB King
Wes Montgomery

and many other famous guitar players play vocal-like guitar licks as solos and guitar parts and have a very large following because of it.

Now back to the “How”.

To start playing vocal-like guitar licks, you need to start listening to the greatest vocal melodies of all time.

For me, this would be the melodies of Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Solomon Burke, Beethoven, Ben E. King, Chopin, and Ray Charles are a few to get you started. But there are so many amazing vocalists that it’s impossible to list them all here.

More than 10 years ago I sat down with, “When A Man Loves A Woman” and learned all the main melodies using Open E Tuning Slide Guitar. I, later on, would learn many more and I believe this really shaped my slide guitar style.

By learning the vocal melodies of legendary vocalists, you will learn to think in a completely different way.

Singers naturally phrase different than guitar players, and their vocals make for some very tasty guitar licks.

Singers have to breathe in between phrases. Utilize this element in your playing. I’ve heard many a guitar solo where if the guitar were actually a singer, then they would be dead from suffocation.

I urge you not to miss out on these awesome guitar licks that are waiting to be unlocked! This technique WILL set you apart from your average guitar player and you don’t want to be average, do you?

Commitment

Make a commitment today to learn at least one vocal melody a week, and in the next year, you will have 52 melodies that shaped the world of music at your fingertips! This is powerful stuff that WILL make you stand out from the pack.

To learn more about vocal melodies, please check out my Slide Guitar Method 2 Open E Tuning.

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* This article was originally published here