Untold Secrets To Playing Emotional Blues Guitar Solos

What The Pros Know About Playing Guitar With Feeling

By Antony Reynaert

Many people believe that you can't learn to play emotional blues guitar solos.

My response?

Think again...

Playing guitar with emotions CAN be learned!

In order to make your guitar solos more emotional, there are three main things to consider:

1) Your foundation of guitar technique

2) Your emotional state when you’re playing a solo 

3) The feedback loop between what you hear and your feelings

Before we start talking about how to spice up your guitar playing with heartfelt emotion, we first need to address the fundament of your guitar playing.

Take a look at this image where you see my 5 Levels Of Blues Guitar Mastery Framework:

As you can see at the bottom of the pyramid is guitar technique (Level 1).

But why is guitar technique the foundation upon which everything else is build?

The answer is simple: in order to express what you feel you need to have the physical tools that allow you to do that in the first place!

Simply put: if you are playing mistakes all of the time it is hard to express yourself in the music.

In this video I explain my 5 Levels Of Blues Guitar Mastery and how everything is build upon Level 1:

As I talk about in the video, Level 1 - 3 are the true foundation of your guitar playing.

Without this foundation it is very hard to be self-expressive on the guitar.

But how does the world look if you have really mastered this foundation?

And are there things that you can start doing right now in order to be more self-expressive when you play guitar?

The answer is yes, there are things you can start to do right now in order to add heartfelt emotions to your guitar playing!

Now that you know that guitar technique is the true fundament of your guitar playing, we need to address what’s on your mind when playing guitar solos.

In order to make people cry, laugh, cheer or feel whatever you want them to feel, you need to be able to hold that exact emotion in your body when you’re playing your solo.

Many people believe that they need to first reach a certain level in their guitar playing before they have the permission to add any kind of feeling.

The first step in playing more emotional solos is in simply allowing yourself to be fully self-expressed, even if you aren’t playing on the level you want yet.

Whenever you hold an emotion in your body that you can’t fully express, watch your breath. Chances are you are not breathing fully. When you breathe strongly, then you can express yourself more freely.

When you play, allow what you’re feeling to reflect in your guitar playing. Let that feeling dictate what you play. It is important that you don’t try to steer this feeling in any kind of direction, rather try to listen to what it is that you are feeling and let that come out. It is a saying that you can’t step in the same river twice, because other waters are ever flowing on to you.

The same thing applies to guitar playing; if you play great one day you will want to reconnect with this feeling that you then had, but this is simply not possible because you will be in a different mood. It’s far better to listen to what you are feeling right now than trying to recreate 'that feeling you had in the past'.

So let your mood dictate how you play, connect with this feeling and listen to how you feel that moment when you play and allow this feeling to reflect in your playing.

It is proven that when you close your eyes you can focus more. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Focus on what you're feeling.

Think about the sadest, most terrific, joyfull (or whatever you want to express), moment of your life when you play your guitar solo. Let the feeling you hold inside you dictate what you play and how you play it. Are you feeling introvert; play quiet. Feeling blue; play a blue note. Feeling joyfull; play a bend, etc.

Of course when you close your eyes you have to be sure that you can hit all the right notes. That’s where specific practice strategies and exercises can help you. Try for instance to practice with your eyes closed (also practice this standing up with your guitar if you eventually want to perform). Or even better: practice in a dark room or blindfolded.

Think about it as a continuous feedback loop: you can either start focussing on what you’re feeling and let that determine which notes to play and how you play them. Or you can start playing and try to get a sense of how that makes you feel.

Once you have a certain feeling in your mind and in your body, you need to let it come out. Think about guitar technique simply as the key to releasing the feelings that you hold inside you into the music that you want to make. Spend time working on the techniques that allow you to express your feelings.

The most expressive technique in blues guitar (as well as most other electric guitar styles) is vibrato technique. Listen to blues guitarists like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Gary Moore, Peter Green, etc. They all have totally different vibrato styles. All are highly personal, but very effective in expressing what they feel through their guitar.

When you practice your vibrato technique it’s important to realize that there’s more then one way of adding vibrato to a note; you can make your vibrato wide or small, fast or slow and you can experiment with any of the options in between, for instance you can play a small and fast vibrato or a wide and fast vibrato. These all will generate totally different feelings.

Learn More About My Step By Step Approach To Advance Your Blues Guitar Playing