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I agree with MMM and Pete that if you don't love the blues and have a real feel for it, then obviously you won't enjoy playing it. And you won't likely play it very well either. Part of the problem is so many think the blues is easy to play and only has 3 chords. Yes, just like the saxophone, it's easy to play...badly. So you get tons of bands butchering the music. The same happens in other genres (especially rock). Not as much in jazz because it's reputed to be more difficult, but there are plenty of hack jazz musicians out there running scales all over the place, which is the epitome of boredom.
Anyway, to put a more positive spin on this thread, here are a few guidelines to prevent boredom for those who do love the blues and want to play it (as Pete says, no one is forcing you to
![Yellow Emoticon Smile Mouth Smiley]()
):
1) Get a good rhythm section, a GOOD one. Without a solid bass player and drummer you don't stand a chance.
2) Learn to play a variety of blues styles. There are several (Chicago, swing, jump, Texas, New Orleans, etc) styles and rhythmic types. No need to limit it to 'shuffles in G or E.'
3) Learn variations on the standard I-IV-V progression: 8-bar, 16 bar, 24 bar, blues with a bridge, ii-V7 instead of IV-V (jump blues especially), iii-VI-ii-V turnarounds, and minor blues. Minor blues progressions can sound very different than the standard 'major' blues.
4) Use intros and head arrangements to bring in the vocals. Louis Jordon did this all the time (for ex., Caldonia, Good Times Roll). As a sax player, in some cases you can double up with the guitar on these, which can be very effective. Also devise and vary the endings. One huge difference between a hack 'jam' band and a 'pro' band are polished intros and endings (very important!).
5) There is a lot of room for improv and solos in the blues, so you can take advantage of that and get creative, especially if the band plays some substitute changes and different forms (#3, above).
6) Play some instrumentals. Learn some 'soul jazz,' blues jazz type of tunes that may still be danceable, and/or some funk tunes to play for variety. A few instrumentals actually help support and make the vocal tunes stand out, and vice versa.
7) Keep the volume under control; most real blues fans (believe it or not there are more of them than jazz fans, although there's plenty of overlap) don't want their eardrums blown out and the 'real' blues are not meant to be played at ear-splitting volume.
8) As a sax player, learn as many backing riffs, horn lines, and horn arrangements as possible. One of the fun aspects of playing blues on the sax is to step in with the rhythm section and play backing lines. But don't overdo it. Lay out on some verses, and don't play over the singer.
Ok, that's enough. I could think of lots more, but if you apply most of the above, and you get some good musicians to play with (very important), I don't think you'll be bored playing the blues, nor will your audience! But of course if you don't even like the blues, then play something else. OTOH, if you do like the blues, but get stuck in a hack "blues jam band," move on or recruit some musicians who want to dig in and do it right.
Sorry to go on so long....
Anyway, to put a more positive spin on this thread, here are a few guidelines to prevent boredom for those who do love the blues and want to play it (as Pete says, no one is forcing you to
1) Get a good rhythm section, a GOOD one. Without a solid bass player and drummer you don't stand a chance.
2) Learn to play a variety of blues styles. There are several (Chicago, swing, jump, Texas, New Orleans, etc) styles and rhythmic types. No need to limit it to 'shuffles in G or E.'
3) Learn variations on the standard I-IV-V progression: 8-bar, 16 bar, 24 bar, blues with a bridge, ii-V7 instead of IV-V (jump blues especially), iii-VI-ii-V turnarounds, and minor blues. Minor blues progressions can sound very different than the standard 'major' blues.
4) Use intros and head arrangements to bring in the vocals. Louis Jordon did this all the time (for ex., Caldonia, Good Times Roll). As a sax player, in some cases you can double up with the guitar on these, which can be very effective. Also devise and vary the endings. One huge difference between a hack 'jam' band and a 'pro' band are polished intros and endings (very important!).
5) There is a lot of room for improv and solos in the blues, so you can take advantage of that and get creative, especially if the band plays some substitute changes and different forms (#3, above).
6) Play some instrumentals. Learn some 'soul jazz,' blues jazz type of tunes that may still be danceable, and/or some funk tunes to play for variety. A few instrumentals actually help support and make the vocal tunes stand out, and vice versa.
7) Keep the volume under control; most real blues fans (believe it or not there are more of them than jazz fans, although there's plenty of overlap) don't want their eardrums blown out and the 'real' blues are not meant to be played at ear-splitting volume.
8) As a sax player, learn as many backing riffs, horn lines, and horn arrangements as possible. One of the fun aspects of playing blues on the sax is to step in with the rhythm section and play backing lines. But don't overdo it. Lay out on some verses, and don't play over the singer.
Ok, that's enough. I could think of lots more, but if you apply most of the above, and you get some good musicians to play with (very important), I don't think you'll be bored playing the blues, nor will your audience! But of course if you don't even like the blues, then play something else. OTOH, if you do like the blues, but get stuck in a hack "blues jam band," move on or recruit some musicians who want to dig in and do it right.
Sorry to go on so long....
