The Secret Influence of Blues On Popular Music
There is an old lyric from a classic blues track that says, “the blues had a baby…and they called it rock n′ roll.”
Let me tell you, there is so much truth to that line! You can listen to all the first rock n′ roll songs and discover the blues guitar riffs, chord progressions and scales being played, just in a less bluesy kinda way.
“Johnny B. Good” is a essential example of a blues guitar progression being played with a rock drum beat and a vocal melody that is different from how a standard blues vocal melody should sound. It doesn′t stop there though. The influence on modern music is nevertheless really prevalent. We hear it in hip-hop, rock, emo, indie, reggae, r & b, funk, etc
The popularly used 1 - 4 - 5 chord progression (3 chords) that is used in blues is also used in almost All type of music that exists. Even Mozart uses this chord progression as well as many others from the classical period. Not only do blues guitar riffs and chord progressions get used in modern music, but nearly all guitar solos also have blues overtones in rock music as well as the other styles that I mentioned. It has been a Essential ingredient in forming the shape sound of modern music no matter how you look at it.
Mastering how to play blues music should be a top priority on any guitar players ‘to-do’ list. Once you learn the ins and outs of this genre, you can improvise it to create your own modern songs, riffs and/or solos. Many guitar players that I know improvise on the blues scale to produce their main riffs and super spectacular leads as well as use the chord progressions to write different, more modern music.
Don′t let anybody convince you that the blues is out!
