Beginning the Blues

I've been mucking about with stringed instruments for a fair time now (that pic is coming on for 30 years old), and sometimes it hits me that I've never taken a guitar lesson in my life. Obviously, at some point I sat down and learned chords and scales, but I have only vague recollections of going about this process - and certainly none that made me think of guitar as a difficult instrument to pick up. Quite the contrary.

But all that is mechanical.

To "learn" the blues, the best way is to listen to it. Absorb it. Feel it. With streaming and downloads these days, delving back into the vast catalogue of blues and blues-based music is pretty easy. Gone are the days of having to hunt down vinyl in obscure second-hand record shops.

Whether you're into the heavier side of blues/rock, or just a lone singer/songwriter with a beaten-up acoustic - the best way to pick up the blues is to open your ears, mind, and heart to what has come before.

Malky, age 17 - a summer with a 12-string