Right now there is nothing more popular to learn on the guitar than the blues. The blues can be learned on an electric or an acoustic guitar and has many sub genres to choose from. This article will cover some of the different styles of blues and what you could expect to learn from blues guitar instructors.
Blues originated in the Mississippi Delta in the 1920’s by players such as Robert Johnson. This style was named “Delta Blues” after this region of origin. This style started on the acoustic guitar as a solo act. Blues guitar instructors for this style could teach you; major, minor, 7th and minor 7th chords, using a slide with open tunings and minor pentatonic scales.
In the 1930’s a new style emerged called “Piedmont” in Georgia, Virginia, and the Carolinas with players like “Blind Boy Fuller”. It is a spin off from Ragtime and country bands that is very upbeat. Blues guitar instructors of this style may teach you finger style, alternate bass lines, and 12 bar chord progressions.
During the “Great Migration” of the 1940’s, the black population migrated along the Mississippi river to Detroit and Chicago and started a new style known as “Chicago Blues”. Players like “Muddy Waters” brought there Delta Blues style with them and transformed it to the electric guitar and added drums and bass to form small blues bands. Blues guitar instructors of this genre could teach you; major, minor, 9th and 11th chords as well as minor and major pentatonic scales and to use a guitar pick.
Texas musicians, such as “T-Bone Walker”, that migrated to California in the 1940’s spawned a style known as “west coast blues” or “California blues”. This style featured piano and is very Jazz oriented and was played on an electric guitar. Blues guitar instructors of this style could teach you; major, minor, 7th, minor 7th, dominant 7th, 9th and 11th chords, as well as major and minor pentatonic scales.
In the 1960’s the black population in the rural parts of Texas migrated to big cities like Houston for work. They brought there acoustic and electric guitars with them and a new style was born, “Texas Blues”. This style became very popular and is still going strong today with artists such as Stevie Ray Vaughn and ZZ Top. Blues guitar instructors of this style could teach you; 12 bar shuffles, 1-4-5 chord progressions, to use a slide, to use a pick and fingers together (hybrid picking), 9th and 11th chords and major and minor pentatonic scales.
Choosing to learn the blues could take a lifetime if you wanted to study all of the different styles. If you search online for blues guitar instructors in your area, you may just find one who can give you some direction in all of the different styles and sub genres of blues guitar.