Just What is Blues?
Yes, you can play the blues on a ukulele. The Blues are at the heart of all American music. Be Rock, Jazz, Country, Folk or Pop, there's a bit of the blues in it all.
Blues are at the heart of all American music. be it Rock, Country, Folk, Pop or Jazz. There is a blues component and influence that can be found.
Blues is a genre and musical form that originated in African-American communities in the "Deep South" of the United States around the end of the 19th century. The genre is a fusion of traditional African music and European folk music, spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads. The blues form, ubiquitous in jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll, is characterized by the call-and-response pattern and specific chord progressions, of which the twelve-bar blues is the most common. The blue notes are also an important part of the sound. Blues shuffles or walking bass reinforce the trance-like rhythm and form a repetitive effect called a groove. ( from Wikipedia )
Learning to play the blues is a great bridge to more complex music.
The Blues can be a feeling, a chord progression or a scale. This Blues section of the site will cover it ALL.
- Chords
Common chords played in various blues styles. From a basic I IV V blues to a fancy jazz blues.
- Scales
Essential scales needed for soloing over blues progressions.
- Lessons
Blues ukulele lessons right here on my site.
- Play-along Tracks
Four FREE play-along tracks to download or play on-line and practice your blues soloing.