There’s a line from an old blues song 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 good example of a blues guitar progression being played with a rock drum beat and a vocal melody that is unusual from how a typical blues melody would sound. It doesn’t stop there though. The influence on modern music is still very dominant. 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.

Discovering how to play the blues 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 classic songs, riffs and/or solos. Many guitar players that I know improvize on the blues scale to make their main riffs and super spectacular leads as well as use the chord progressions to write radical, more modern music.

Don’t let anybody convince you that the blues is out!