Blues Improvisation - it's all in the wrist - wrong! Blues Improvisation - it's all about the pentatonic scale - wrong! Blues Improvisation - it's all about the... ahhh.. what the hell is it all about?

iI's all about the pause man... THE PAUSE!

What pause? What this some kind of sex technique?... Well, to tell the truth. maybe.. it's no secret blues improvisation turns people on.. is there anyone that hasn't made love to some cool guitar solo?

And like sex, playing the blues is a contact sport.. You have to take off your robe.. get in the ring and take your chances.. Like a prize fighter, you got to know when to punch, when to duck and... when you smell blood, how to bring your solo to its climax!!! and get the hell out of there!

The master is, was and always will be B.B. KIng... listen to the album "Live at the Regal", the B.B. King's blues guitar solo throws you off balance, gets you leaning one way and then POW!!! Right in the gut man..

OK, so where does the PAUSE come in? Take a guess... Right at the start of most blues guitar licks... instead of a playing a a note on the beat.. you leave a rest - an eigth note or sixteenth note rest depending on the tempo.. and POW!!! You're guitar solo's are going to get noticed!!

It may not seem like such a big deal, but "the pause" separates the men from the boys. It make take you a long time to figure this out.. but once you do, you're on your way.. Once again... the trick is to catch the listener's ear with a quick note that's more like a "pick up" than an eighth note.. or to start your blues licks with a rest instead of a note.. Just listen to all the greats BB. King, SRV, Eric Clapton, Robert Cray and Albert Collins, my main man.. Good luck and funky blues.. Johnny Mayer.

Check out Killer Guitar and Boxin' the Blues!

		The Allman Brothers Band Collection  By The Allman Brothers Band. Songbook for voice, piano and guitar (chords only). 168 pages. Published by Hal Leonard. Average customer rating:
		101 Blues Patterns for Bass Guitar  Written by Larry McCabe. Instructional book and examples/accompaniment CD for bass guitar. Intermediate. 39 pages. Published by Mel Bay Publications, Inc. Average customer rating:
		Beyond Basics - Acoustic Blues Guitar  Written by Keith Wyatt. Instructional book/CD package for guitar. Series: Ultimate Beginner Series. 68 pages. Published by Alfred Publishing. Average customer rating:
		Eric Clapton - Acoustic Classics (DVD)  (A Step-by-Step Breakdown of Guitar Styles and Techniques) Written by Doug Boduch. Instructional video: DVD for guitar. Published by Hal Leonard. Average customer rating:
		Lightnin' Blues 1983-1987  By Stevie Ray Vaughan. Guitar tablature songbook for guitar and voice. Series: Hal Leonard Guitar Recorded Versions. 220 pages. Published by Hal Leonard. Average customer rating:
		The Guitar Style of Stevie Ray Vaughan  By Stevie Ray Vaughan. Instructional book (song excerpts only) and examples CD for guitar. Series: Hal Leonard Guitar Signature Licks. 78 pages. Published by Hal Leonard. Average customer rating:
		Tears In Heaven - Easy Piano  By Eric Clapton, composed by Eric Clapton, Will Jennings. Single for voice, easy piano and guitar chords. From the motion picture "Rush". G Major. 4 pages. Published by Hal Leonard. Average customer rating:
		The Definitive Collection For Guitar - Volume 2  By The Allman Brothers Band. Guitar tablature songbook for guitar and voice. Series: Hal Leonard Guitar Recorded Versions. 199 pages. Published by Hal Leonard.
		The Best of George Thorogood  By George Thorogood. Guitar tablature songbook for guitar and voice. Series: Guitar Anthology Series. 128 pages. Published by Alfred Publishing. Average customer rating:
		Volume 100 - St. Louis Blues - Dixieland Classics  Book and accompaniment CD for singers, vocalists, drums, bass, guitar, flute, clarinet, violin, viola, piano, keyboard, organ, saxophone, trombone, trumpet harmonica. Celebrate the music of great innovaters who started in all with these Dixieland favorites. Level: Intermediate/Advanced. Series: Jamey Aebersold Standards Play-A-Long. Published by Jamey Aebersold Jazz. Average customer rating: