Drained out of the blues.

[Jorge]

I have

[stax]

I know exactly what you mean, I play on what’s left of the UK blues circuit and for 12 years I played the kind of stuff I thought I should. I sort of became aware that some nights after the first few songs I didn’t have anything left to say and nowhere left to go.
This was stupid as over the years I could play lots of different styles I just put myself in a box.
My last CD although blues based has elements of surf, country, fingerpicking etc etc
And it’s the one as a guitarist I am most proud of.
I guess what I am trying to say is no matter what type of player you see yourself as, incorporate other styles to keep things interesting and fresh for you and your audience.

[bluetele54]

...and experience more...Albert King (pretty much) played the same thing all the time,with variations according to his harmonic and rhythmic environment...I draw from a deep melancholy,and I do my best to use my fingerboard travels to imply,strongly,the harmony of each chord that I'm presented with,using phrasing shifts,and different notes,to express that feeling...challenge yourself to learn your licks in a different place on the fretboard...find the next inversion of any chord you know,then the next...I used to,and still do, close my eyes to envision/and hear myself playing a solo in an ideal environment,using dynamics,and phrasing to lead on a supportive (very important consideration)set of players in this very personal story...it's amazing to me when I hear musicians who find it difficult to be able to support a soloist in ways subtle enough to acknowledge that they're hearing the solo,the story,without trampling on the mood...it requires a sense of intimacy that few musicians are willing to express...let alone human beings...to me,your question felt more existential than technical...forgive me if I'm incorrect...

[Big John]

Do something away from music for a while !!, you can become too immersed in it.
Take up a hobby, go for a walk, make a model, do some voluntary work, when you get back to playing you just might view it differently.
I lived in Norway for most of the 1980's and must admit felt pretty burnt out so after a chance call from an old friend i came back to the UK and worked for an undertaker for a couple of years !, still played at the weekends but realised there are more important things in life than a I - V - IV progression !!
I did it for a couple of years but it was long enough to adjust my attitude.

[Telenator]

Are you stuck in the pentatonic minor rut?

Is your playing full of 9th chords? 11ths 13ths? Diminished chords? Do your scales and riffs cover these?

I have no idea where your playing is at so I have to ask.

Do you play any swing? jazz?

Do you want to learn anything new? Or is it just time to put it down for a while?

[Larry F]

This is a very serious situation. Already, you are getting suggestions about taking a break, whether short or long. Great artists do not take breaks. As a composer, I aspire to greatness. One consequence is that I have learned to work through fallow periods, short or long. Your job as a blues musician is to play the blues, not take breaks. Do what I and my wife (she's a painter) do: get up every morning and go to work on your art. It feels great and gives you real power as an artist to know that, no matter what the situation, you still make art every day.

In this thread, you will learn lots of tricks for jumpstarting inspiration. All are equally valid. Lots of things can work and it doesn't really matter which technique you use, as long as it produces results. Yes, of course, try new things and change environment. But eventually you'll find that all growth and change comes from within.

[68tele]

Great artists do not take breaks.
Whaaa? I guess I'm no great artist, but removing myself from playing for aperiod of time has always given me new perspective and approach.

[professor]

Originally Posted by Joerge

I have more and more started to feel like I don't tell anything new with my blues solo playing.
The solo's is starting to feel useless and the licks are old.
Any sugestions?

Have you listened to any Charlie Christian, Grant Green, or Kenny Burrell...?

There's a LOT of vocabulary to be found, just in Christian's body of work...

[Big John]

Originally Posted by Larry F

This is a very serious situation. Already, you are getting suggestions about taking a break, whether short or long. Great artists do not take breaks. As a composer, I aspire to greatness. One consequence is that I have learned to work through fallow periods, short or long.

Great artists DO take a break, surely you want the widest perspective of all, not one, narrow viewpoint ?, i know i do.
I too aspire to greatness but i dont need my Tele welded to my hip to be thinking about music or what i want to play.
If Joerge feels in a rut 'working' (or being told "it is his job") isnt going to get him out of it, its not a race, competition or job, if it's your obsession then expect ups and downs and know you will get through them.

IMHO of course.

[wilkat1]

A break may be in order.

A mental break in your approach may help. Here's a few ideas:

Listen to more folks like Lonnie Mack, Roy Buchanan, Danny Gatton - whose approaches to the blues are more unorthodox. Think about playing the blues like a jazz guitarist or a country picker would. How might the Edge approach blues?

Play more slide or slide-finger hybrid solos. Slapping a slide on your pinky may disable your hand from resorting to your usual licks. Figuring out how to work a slide note or lick into a solo may force you to think outside the box.

Sonny Landreth tries to make his guitar sound like an accordion. Jimmie Vaughan sometimes tries to make his sound like an organ. Heck, the original Chuck Berry signature lick was an attempt to sound like Johnny Johnson's piano. What might happen in a blues tune if you tried to play a violin or mandolin solo on a guitar?

I am constantly redefining my definition of "blues." Not that it makes me much of a better player - since I stopped gigging it's easier for me to fall into playing the same licks over and over when I noodle. But seriously, is James Burton's solo on "Working Man Blues" a blues? What about some of the supporting licks on Diana Krall's "Girl in the Other Room" CD?

[maestrovert]

Originally Posted by Joerge

I have more and more started to feel like I don't tell anything new with my blues solo playing.
The solo's is starting to feel useless and the licks are old.
Any sugestions?

you feel ready for jazz ?
Wes Montgomery played the blues too, y'know.....

[hollowman]

I love blues, but got bored of playing it and started another band, more focused on rock n roll and rock a billy. Of course I don't make a living playing my guitar, so I can do whatever I want musically. A change of genre for me is exhilirating.

[Jorge]

[quote=T elenator]

[zombywoof]

Go back to the roots. Too many folks dwell on the post-War electric players.
Forget about 'em for a bit. Rediscover Son House, Charley Patton, Tommy Johnson, Bukka White, Elmore James, Barbcue Bob. Play some acoustic for a bit. Mix it up - take non-blues songs and play 'em in a Delta or Piedmont blues style. See what ya can do with Britney Spears "Oops I Did It Again."
Do oddball medleys.

Or if ya want to plug in, instead of clean picked single line solos or an Albert King-esque attack, try playing a distortion drenched version of "My Black Mamma" or "Pony Bues."

Ya want to stay contemporary - go pick up a copy of R.L. Burnside's "Too Bad Jim" give it a good listen and call me in the morning.

[Disastercaster]

Originally Posted by professor

Have you listened to any Charlie Christian, Grant Green, or Kenny Burrell...?

There's a LOT of vocabulary to be found, just in Christian's body of work...

I was about to suggest the same thing. Studying Christian's solos has vastly increased my body of licks.

[KC]

go get yourself a copy of "My Kind of Blues" by BB King -- 50s Crown recordings -- and learn to play it note-for-note, no cheating. then get that four disk T-Bone Walker compilation and, again, learn it note-for-note. You'll find whole new worlds of harmonic and rhythmic possibilities unfolding.

blues is a deep, deep well -- the reason some of us get bored with it is because we're blind to the subtleties of it, preferring our own "version" of it. pentatonic spaghetti-bending over a I-IV-V IS kind of boring. robert nighthawk microtonal slide guitar is not boring. huibert sumlin is not boring. go back to the well.

[TheGoodTexan]

Originally Posted by Larry F

Great artists do not take breaks.

Jeff Beck has been known to set the guitar down for years at a time, and totally fall under the radar during this time. He explains that there are times in his life when he gets tired of play guitar and would rather spend time doing other things, most notably, build hot rods. When he does come back to the guitar, he totally blows our minds....again.

I heard an online interview with Eddie Van Halen a couple of years ago where he claimed to have not even picked up a guitar in 2 years after the Van Halen III album was released.

[stephent2]

I can't really take a break since I rely on the money i make playing guitar. I have to play through dry spots/flat spots. I'll get irritated with my playing and it'll force to me to try other things.

I work in a situation were we try to "play it anew" every night so that keeps us all listening to each other and helps us from becoming complacent. I'm lucky in that regard.

Also gives us with new avenues to explore musically. It's hard to get in that place night after night but that's the goal.

Like zombywoof, I find constant inspiration in older material. Half of the songs my band plays is from the 20s and 30s. I know one of the things that draws me to that old material is the honesty of expression. And understanding those values has helped me in my approach to framing a song.

[maestrovert]

Originally Posted by Disastercaster

...../.....Studying Christian's solos has vastly increased my body of licks.

Originally Posted by Joerge

I have more and more started to feel like I don't tell anything new with my blues solo playing.
The solo's is starting to feel useless and the licks are old.
Any sugestions?

Try to focus on Melody, and forgo the "licks".....
it just might help to lay the guitar aside awhile, because regurgitating guitarisms & licks is indeed a trap....
Jes' m.h.o. here....one way that works for me is to attempt an instrument i'm unfamiliar with, or even to whistle a melody when i'm writing/recording.....

[fakeocaster]

I know I allways say this but in any style of music you should try to sing what you play.For example tape any chord progression and try to sing simple 3 or 4 note phrases.Then duplicate what youre playing .remember it.learn 2 or 3 phrases and see how many ways you can manipulate them into new melodies.

It will always get you out of a rut and youll have fun(which is why we all started in the first place!)

[Larry F]

Originally Posted by stephent2

I can't really take a break since I rely on the money i make playing guitar. I have to play through dry spots/flat spots. I'll get irritated with my playing and it'll force to me to try other things.

I think this is important to one's artistic growth. It takes a lot of emotional effort to work through the blahs, but you'll be able to take pride in the fact that you did. That, in turn, will give you confidence as you mature as an artist. Knowing that you can take anything that comes at you, and still produce great stuff.

I'm not saying that this approach is right for everybody, especially those who don't do it for a living. But for myself, I love the fact that every day I get up and do it. And I find that inspiration can turn on a dime. And I need to be at the desk when it happens.

[jazztele]

yeah, like a couple cats said, dig on some jazz-blues. when i was 16 and my guitar teacher played me the john coltrane/kenny burrell album, i knew i'd never be the same...

jazz-blues will ruin SRV for you though, be forewarned :)

[Chuck 909]

Originally Posted by KC

go get yourself a copy of "My Kind of Blues" by BB King -- 50s Crown recordings -- and learn to play it note-for-note, no cheating. then get that four disk T-Bone Walker compilation and, again, learn it note-for-note. You'll find whole new worlds of harmonic and rhythmic possibilities unfolding.

blues is a deep, deep well -- the reason some of us get bored with it is because we're blind to the subtleties of it, preferring our own "version" of it. pentatonic spaghetti-bending over a I-IV-V IS kind of boring. robert nighthawk microtonal slide guitar is not boring. huibert sumlin is not boring. go back to the well.

Yep. I'd add Robert Lockwood Jr. and Lonnie Johnson as well.

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by Chuck 909

Yep. I'd add Robert Lockwood Jr. and Lonnie Johnson as well.

Learn Lonnie Johnson note for note? Mister Your a Better Man Than I (to quote the title of a great old tune). Heck, I would settle for just getting the same vibe as Lonnie does on "Toothache Blues."