Jon Spencer :thumb:

Oh yeah, that would make sense.

Amen! And he has a great voice suited to blues music, IMHO.

The guitar, daddy-o.

Listen to this:
Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack The Legendary Sessions V. 1

and then try to tell me that the guitar or the harmonica or the sax are the best. Can you play [B]any[B] of those instruments solo for a whole album and sound this good?

Guitar is the greatest, i whould love to play blues much better, but is not so easy. Sure, it's not hard but requires dedication. Harmonica is much characteristic, sure. Blues is great with anything, just need a good musician ;)

I think the human voice is the primary blues insturment. Most people choose guitar but the guitar nearly always plays off the singer. Blues originated from the field hollers, chain gang songs, African tribal chants and the gospel music of African Americans. All of which only required a human voice to sing.

When Charley Patton and Robert Johnson finally came along, their guitar playing was simply a counterpoint which imitated and enhanced the vocalization of the song. Here's an example:



It's pretty clear that the guitar is subordiante to the vocal on Stones in My Passway, as is the case with all of Johnson's music.

Indeed Robert Johnson's innovation as a guitarist was crafting his playing to compliment his powerful singing voice. There would have been no blues without the human voice.

Kawai Grand. beautiful for blues if you know what your doing.
after that, guitar

My personal favorite is slide guitar. (More of a style really, but still seems relevant)

Da' Pianer

Im gonna go with the good ol' resonator guitar. Their is just something about the way the guitar cries when someone is sliding it, that makes me close my eyes and picture the delicate beauty of sitting on a stump encircled by bush. Whilst the sound of water is tunneling down a stream, plummeting against rocks and debris.

Either then the resonator guitar. I enjoy the occasional harmonica thrown into a tune, and maybe even a banjo. A good banjo pickin blues artist that actually just came to mind as i was writing this, was. Skip James.

I love the piano in blues music. You can beat a good, bluesy piano solo in swing beat.

Harmonica. It can blow like a train leaving town, or wail and cry like a lonesome lover.
More can be done with a harp than any other instrument.

what?

Haha, then what's Joanna Newsom's excuse?

I love the harmonica. I just wish I had the patience to practice mine.

Listen to some Little Walter or Sonny Boy Williamson (he could play two harmonicas at once, one with his mouth and the other with his nose!)

So amazing. I LOVE the harp.

yeah i'm well versed with both of those guys, but saying that the harmonica is the most dynamic instrument in any genre is ridiculous.

guitar. always guitar

I'm going to see my friends dad's blues band play this weekend! I've never heard them before, so it should be new and exciting.

Guitar, but more specifically an acoustic one.

Neither? Because every instrument has such a different job that it's not really comparable? --I mean, it is to an extent, but not enough to decide the best--just your favorite... in which case would be the slide guitar. :D

peace out,
-nick

Nothing says blues to me like a wailing harmonica. Yeah the guitar is great, and a good raspy voice is nice, but I love that harmonica.

I'm not really into Blues, but I associate it with the saxophone for some reason.
Am I totally of the mark or is there some sense to it?

for blues i would say harmonica/guitar. for jazz, sax wins hands down for me :)

guitar and harmonica

piano can do well with it too.

I gotta second the vote on the slide guitar :)

Delta bluse style slide guitar...with some steel spoons as a rythm

Rubberband on a cigarbox ;-)

That would work. Depending on who was playing it.

hammond b3 organ

You cant beat a good blues harp :yeah:

Hard to beat a Fender Strat for some blues. Many variable instuments to use for that great Blues sound though. Each musician having a different approach and making it their own.

I was always under the impression guitar = blues. It's the only instrument you can really create blues entirely of(well, I guess apart from maybe piano but that's a very different kind of blues that very quickly bridges into jazz).

Should clear up the controversy

acoustic guitar

With a brass slide and a few strings slightly out of tune.

Such a good video/song.

Acoustic Steel-Stringed Guitars can be 6-string or 12-string guitars. These guitars have a wide variety of sound variations from a brassy, folk style to a fuller, more driving sound. The quality of the guitar, body shape and the types of wood used each combine to determine where the instrument falls along the spectrum.

Source: What are the Different Types of Guitars?