My Blues stance - By way of an explanation

[Bluesberry]

I admire your honesty Flash.  I respect your right to your opinion. I just don't understand it.  I don't understand how anybody can say they can't stand Blues.  To me it is an incomprehensible thing to say.  To me it is like saying "I don't like water, I have no use for water, I never use water".  The blues, blues guitar in particular, is such an integral part of my musical mindset.  Practically all the music I listen to is related to the blues, all that I hold dear in modern music in fact.  Without the blues, what would be left?  To a guitar player it is essential to study the blues, it cannot be missed out on.  I just don't get it.  Unless you are just trying to be provocative and start a discussion, which you certainly did, I just cant understand it.  I will leave it at this, I respect you as a senior member of this forum, you have given me much encouragement over the last year on my songs, I greatly admire your bass playing, and wit, and I respect your right to your opinion.  In closing I will leave the following quote that I just found on a random web search a few minutes ago, and it sums up my thoughts on the Blues pretty much:

What's So Important About the Blues?
Whether you realize it or not, the blues is the foundation of nearly all the most popular styles of music listened to today.

The blues isn't just about the blues. Jazz, rock, country, soul, R&B, funk, and even ska all descended from, developed out of, and were influenced by the blues. The blues has served as the backbone of all these styles and probably for many styles yet to come.

What Do All of These Musicians Have in Common?
In no particular order, here's a short list of some familiar musicians and bands who studied, played, and often recorded blues music early in their development:

Louis Armstrong
Duke Ellington
Charlie Parker
Dizzy Gillespie
Miles Davis
John Coltrane
Chuck Berry
Little Richard
Fats Domino
Ray Charles
James Brown
Jimmie Rodgers
Hank Williams, Sr.
Bill Haley
Buddy Holly
Elvis
The Beatles
The Rolling Stones
Bob Dylan
Janis Joplin
Cream
The Who
Jimi Hendrix
Creedence Clearwater Revival
The Allman Brothers
Led Zeppelin
and many, many more... (don't get mad if I skipped one of your favorites)
From that important blues background, many of these musicians and bands went on to expand on it and create new sounds and ideas in the world of music. You might recognize many of these musicians as founders and pioneers of your favorite musical styles. If not, you need to read up on your music history and listen to more music!

That Inner Foundation
It's difficult to pinpoint, but somehow you can always hear something missing in players who lack this basic blues foundation. I think a big problem for younger musicians is they impatiently skip past developing their basic blues skills. Ironically, they're not even that hard to develop.

I'll give you an analogy in the world of art. For some reason new artists are avoiding learning the basic skill of drawing the human figure. (Some art departments don't even offer the class anymore!) They want to paint abstract paintings and think that skill is useless and a waste of time to study since it's not exactly what they plan to paint. But, when someone has skipped over this essential skill (and probably others), even in his or her abstract artwork you will clearly see a lack of form, basic artistic sense, and skill. Something is missing and the same sort of thing happens to musicians – especially those without any guidance. So, even if you don't plan on playing the blues outright, the skill is still essential.

Hopefully you don't need any more convincing about how important it is to learn the blues, but I'm going to offer one more big reason:

The Blues as a Learning Tool
If you've read over the harmony lessons and learned about the I-IV-V chord grouping, you should realize that these three chords are incredibly important in virtually all music and show up somewhere in just about every song. Well, guess what? The blues is based on those very same three chords – the I, IV, and V chords.

Thoroughly studying the blues means to thoroughly study the I, IV, and V chord relationship. By practicing the blues you will practice the harmonic foundation of millions of non-blues songs, too. Hopefully you can see the incredible value in that!

Even More Reasons...
Yet another reason to learn the blues is because just about everyone else learns the blues on their respective instruments. One day you may meet up with a guitarist or a saxophone player to play, but you don't know any of the same songs. Chances are he or she knows the blues. Knowing the blues will give you something in common to play. You certainly wouldn't want to admit you don't know how to play one of music's most common musical structures.

Still another reason is that many, many songs are just variations of the blues. Once you learn the blues you'll have a head start on learning numerous other songs.

In Summary
I can't stress enough how essential learning the blues is to your musical development. I've never heard anyone regret learning it. I suggest you give it a lot of time and attention. It will really anchor and guide your playing and creating of music for your entire lifetime just like it did for many musicians before you.

[Flash Harry]

Thanks Bluesberry for a thoughtful and well argued response to my post.

I do see the the legacy that the blues have left to modern music, some of the people you have listed are heroes of mine. I'm not saying that it's not a valid and cherished part of music, I'm just saying that I struggle to listen to it in the raw just as I struggle to listen to Stockhausen or even Handel who's Water Music was battered into me as a part of the English education system.

I learnt twleve bar in a class of about 10, it was painful. I listened to a local band murdering Walking the Dog every Friday night with a bloke on the mouthorgan turned up so loud my ears bled. I have my fill. I need no more. I'm not saying it is unworthy, I'm just saying I don't dig it.

All those of you who post blues tracks, make your guitars sing and cry in the most exquisite fashion,  I applaud you all, partigularly those who are learning through playing the blues what a wonderful thing a guitar is. Deep respect to the masters, the pupils and those who make this a vibrant and fun place to be. I just can't comment on your posts, I have no right to comment on something that I just don't understand.

I hope that in omitting to do so that I do not cause offence.
 

[Bluesberry]

You are a character Flash.  You make this community richer by being part of it for sure. 

[StevieM]

I hope that in omitting to do so that I do not cause offence.

Well, I'm deeply,deeply,deeply,deeply offended, so won't comment on any of yours from now on either, nah nah de nah nah :   !!!!!!!!!







Don't be bloody silly Mike, how could you possibly offend anyone??
You've been open and up front with very reasonable arguments on your point of view. I think everyone can respect you for saying it, even though you didn't have to ( maybe even more so because of that?), even if they don't agree with it.

I've said it ( or something similar) before, and will probably say it again, but that's one of the things I REALLY like about this place. Somebody can say something like that and it doesn't turn into a big bitching and name calling session, totally unlike just about every other forum I know.

[Davo]

I smell what you are cooking, but the blues is in EVERYTHING, in some way.  I actually like the older acoustic delta blues the most, its just so organic and real.

[Ferryman]

Flash, the Bonzos summed it up in a few words and a great song - "Can Blue men Sing The Whites"!

I admire your honesty and it's a good thought provoking post. Up until I came on here I had little time for the blues. Didn't dislike it, acknowledged most of punk wouldn't exist without the 12 bar but never had much time for it. Since coming on here, my eyes (well ears I guess) have been opened a lot. I've really enjoyed listening to the blues done by folks on here and have even participated in a few blues jams, something I never thought I would do. And I had a blast. Horny Harold came into being thanks to one of them! It's made me pay a bit more attention to my guitar playing as well, no bad thing. And I've really admired the skills of our resident blues men and women.

So certainly my inner blues is getting out, as has my inner prog since being on here and I have to say I've enjoyed it. But respect the way you feel - I feel the same way about pretty much all jazz, which does very little for me and feels totally alien as an art form. The only jazz I can take is 30's stuff, especially Hot Club de France. I'm a rocker and a punk, so when I hear a 4/4 rhythm and a twelve bar, something stirs deep inside. When I hear most jazz, nothing happens for me.

Cheers,

Nigel

[Ted]

Mischievous idea:
Go through all of the Blues topics and post, "Conspicuously silent: Flash Harry."

Flash,

First of all: I don't jam with other musicians very often.  And when I do, I try to sense when the Blues jam will loom it's awful head and make my exit before it does.  That said, there is a small number of blues artists who help me to "understand what all the fuss is about."  But those moments of heightened Blues appreciation are rare.  Likewise, Jazz, and dancing.

Second: Do you really think that people notice when you don't comment?  "Where the fuck is Flash? Too good to comment on my post, eh?  That asshole!"

Speaking only for myself, I appreciate the comments I get to my posts, but I hardly keep tabs.  And I don't imagine that anyone else keeps tabs either.

Hell, if I thought that I'd be slighting people when I don't comment on their music, I'd turn into one of those lurkers who never create a topic or comment on anything.

I assume that most people are like me, and are too busy to sample but a portion of all the posts on this forum.  If I want a specific member's opinion on my post, I will PM them to make sure they see it.

As far as I'm concerned, you're off the hook, Flash.

[The Reverend 48]

I felt as one of the sites Bluesmen I had to reply
Bluesberry your post summed up my views perfectly
Flash Harry I think you are just being contraverstial because you have left loads of great feedback in the past to Blues posts in fact you have even said a couple of em have been sent to the famous piepod!..........
Having said that there is no rule or law that states you have to leave feedback
But FH your feedback is always welcome and appreciated......

In General defence of my beloved Blues.......there are quite a few of us that love the form and the BR forum is our only outlet to showcase our stuff...I guess sometimes if you are not a fan particularly if a challenge is in progress it can seem like the site is clogged up, but it soon dissipates......
I take issue with anybody who says it's easy...because it can take a lifetime to perfect........

I would have said I hate Classical, Jazz and Soundscapes till I joined this site but the quality of the likes of Jackofall and Osckilo have taught me the beauty of these genres I just wish I had opened my eyes 20 years ago.......

[Ferryman]

Just an aside. My son plays in a band, they are all 13 and pretty new into the game, although they are getting pretty good. The guitarist is superb for a 13 year old and reads all the guitar mags, has recently been teaching himself some blues licks (from the CDs and internet). Also, their music lessons at school have included understanding the blues scale and 12-bar blues (pretty good music lessons!), so my son (bass), the drummer and keyboard player have all been introduced to the 12-bar blues. I spent some time showing my son some 12-bar progressions on bass.

Well, a couple of weeks ago at rehearsal they just decided to have a blues jam. It was great - to see them all playing together on something totally improvised, even switching solos, was a joy to watch. It really showed how they had matured both as a band and as musicians. They played a short jam live to their schoolmates at a recent gig and it went down very well. So the blues is definitely helping them grow and move forward.

BTW, I wouldn't have been able to help my son so much if I hadn't been listening to so much blues here!

Cheers,

Nigel

[Bosko Schwartz]

I think what Flash Harry said and did by posting this was both brave and kind.  He was being courageous -- because we are surrounded by blues players and lovers -- in his honesty that he doesn't dig the blues, and kind because he wanted everyone to know there was a specific reason he doesn't comment on most blues songs posted.

I feel similar to Flash, but more because I feel uneducated about the blues -- not just that I don't like it.  I have heard blues I loved and blues I hated.  But I could say that about any and all genres of music.  I could say it is a genre I don't specifically listen to or know much about, but knowing the influence it has had on nearly all music listened to by the majority of the world, I could never say outright that I don't dig the blues.  It just depends on the style of blues.

Blues is a pretty broad genre.  I could say I write "pop" music (which I consider it to be) and no one would have a clue what it sounds like until they listened.  Admittedly, if someone says they've posted a blues song, the range of what it could sound like isn't quite as broad, but there are still many different facets to this genre.  Muddy Waters is considered blues, but so is Jimi Hendrix.  Although you can hear the influence on Hendrix, I wouldn't say they sound all too similar.  I don't listen to Muddy Waters -- although I appreciate him -- but I LOVE Hendrix.  When I choose to listen to Led Zeppelin or Cream or even The Beatles (my heroes), in much of their work, there is a HUGE influence, in other songs, it's more subtle, and still others, it's not much present at all.  But I must appreciate the blues, if nothing else, for being the roots of all of my favorite music and the inspiration for many of my favorite artists.

All of that said, if I don't comment on blues works posted, I hope no one takes offense, for it is for many of the same reasons Flash doesn't comment.  I hear your points, BB, and I believe Flash completely understands how much the blues has influenced much of his favorite music -- I think he is simply referring to blues in its rawest and purist form, which I can relate to because of my lack of education on the genre.

I will say this: this forum has opened my ears to many different genres of music I don't normally listen to, and classic Blues is certainly one of them, thanks to the likes of incredible musicians like 48, Bluesberry, 0jimi0, Pinedog, and many others.  THANK YOU for this.