How to Play Blues Guitar - Open D Guitar Tuning

Open D and dropped D is a great way to get into finger-picking the blues when you want to create a nice bluesy feeling, or even just for pleasant folk songs. Just drop the bass E down two steps to D and you're on your way!

After studying the best ways to finger pick blues guitar for the last forty years or thereabouts, it strikes me that thumb motion control is crucial. If asked by trainee guitar players 'exactly what's the most essential method to practice once again and once again', my reply is constantly - deal with your fundamental thumb strategy, repeat and check out the possibilities.

Early Picking Techniques

A picking style typical in the early blues music is called the 'monotonic bass'. This shows that the thumb strikes several bass strings, and does not alternate in between strings.

This enabled the fingers to be imaginative, as you didn't need to believe excessive about your thumb. Likewise, typically the basses weren't fretted at all, which enabled increased versatility for the fretting hand fingers.

For this factor, players held the palm of their picking hand in contact with the very first 3 or 4 bass strings, silencing the noise so that it ended up being more of a 'thunk' or 'thrumming' sound than a clear noticeable note. Big Bill Broonzy was a master of this style.

Other guitar players, such as Lightnin' Hopkins, frequently utilized this monotonic bass style, however let the bass keeps in mind ring. The monotonic bass style was utilized by other blues guys such as Mance Lipscomb, Scrapper Blackwell and naturally Robert Johnson.