Question about playing blues guitar?

I've been playing guitar for about 10 years , and have tried a few times to learn blues, but every time I get into 12-bar blues and certain progressions/scales, it justs starts to sound exactly like type of parts guys in music stores play to impress people shopping for strings ... Mean while if I listen to Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Robert Johnson etc... It sounds completely different even though it's the same style, I've noticed blues is very good at telling the listener whether you are full of sh*t or not. I really want to work blues in my songs but not if it's obvious I'm forcing it, any hints?

Man, I gotta tell you the only way to do it is to think less and feel more.

I know that sounds stupid, but it really is it. And it is also not easy if you are too caught up in your head.

I think it makes it easier if you know a song. Don't play a lick of solos, but play the song. Know the words, understand the feeling the person is singing about. If you start simple, you can always add.

In music stores, people are playing musical masturbation to try to impress someone. In REAL music, less is more. (in just about any style).

Good music is less about playing the notes and more about playing the spaces between the notes.

I think that you should try closing your eyes and playing the lick from your heart and not your mind.

it`s a language,U need to learn how to speak it then sing it on your guitar...pick a few U like best and study their style.
try albert king, he doesn`t use a lot of notes but he sings heavy on those strings he chooses..the bent string vibrato &
reg. vibrato are the main tool in devolping your own sound.

Dude no you don't play the blues you gotta be the blues. You can't just pick up any guitar and start playing it you gotta feel it. It takes a real blues player in order to play it. Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, B.B. King all had the feel in it all they did was using basic blues scales and added in their creative works in order to make it sound good. Follow the rhythm and beat and hopefully it'll bring ya closer to being a blues master.

Two things:
First, you probably need different equipment, for a more authentic sound.
Second, most people have a preconceived notion of what the Blues is supposed to sound like, but they really don't listen to the masters. You can't learn to play the Blues by listening to Eric Clapton, you need to listen to Muddy Waters. Then, you need to figure out what Muddy's playing (or any other Blues musician). When you figure it out, you'll see that there's a lot more to it than you originally thought. Then, you'll be able to come up with your own, unique style in the Blues genre.

EDIT: Actually, BB King plays what's called Memphis synthesis, and Muddy started as a Delta bluesman, and helped form Chicago and electric blues.
You have to know the blues intimately before you can feel it. It's been said, "Improvisation is 90% persperation and 10% inspiration." You can substitute and get the same meaning for playing the blues.

If you have to force it, DON'T! Like you said, real blues players can tell if you've got it or not. The first guy that answered was right on the money, Think less , Feel more. If you don't feel it, don't play it. Some people play the blues and some people don't.

Coinsidently, the players you mentioned, B.B. King, Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson, playing the same style but it doesn't sound the same? Those are three vastly different styles of blues. B.B. is playing Chicago-style blues, Robert was the father of delta blues and Muddy Waters invented 'lectricity. lol

If your doing it right, your sound will be similar to those guys but with your own twist. You know, the same, but different. Keep trying, it'll come you. Maybe you just need a little more heart-wrenching tragedy in your life to draw from. It's where the blues came from. Have a good one and keep picking them blues.

The thing that makes any one blues song different from another one is the EMBELLISHMENTS - what little accents can you add that aren't in the other songs? Also, blues is meant to be played with a LOT of feeling, so if you are just "going through the motions" on the guitar, it won't sound the same. There's a lot more to this, but I think its the LITTLE things that make the BIG difference.

Definitely some good insights in answers above. For me, it's about finding your own voice. Don't try to sound like anybody - sure learn their licks but do your own thing. One thing I've done is to get a lick in my head and then try to capture the spirit or the feel of if without necessarily playing it note for note.

From a practical standpoint, I've found that singing licks while I play produces more melodic stuff (not just a bunch of notes in the scale).

Don't be afraid to play outside the blues scale - again try singing it.

Lastly, avoid sounding like your full of sh*t. (joke)

a not so obvious answer is to listen to the top hand of a blues
piano player. The intervals are easier to learn, no bends or slides, and the individual styles are so uniquely different that it
is really fun to cop a comp! Give it a try.

yeah man, you gotta feel it...that does sound kind of stupid, but oh well. also the time in between notes doesn't matter. for ex. listen to Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb...even though it's not blues, the spacing between notes is AMAZING!!! It's good to know that people are still listening to Muddy Waters and B.B. oh...and Robert Johnson. People think I'm crazy for being 17 and lovin the blues from 50-70 years ago, but it's good stuff! good luck with the playing.
P.S. John Mayer is really a good example of blues in a pop society...i'd listen to him and learn a few things

here it is.... pentatonic scales... im sure you know them if not.. learn them.. there are 5 of them (minor penatonics) !! this is important! most blues songs are minor penatonics! and you learn all 5 minors.. the majors are just the same thing just back a few frets... anyway.. most blues songs are these scales like b.b. king uses the 3rd position of the pentatonic which happens to be the pentatonic that is usualy not used by most.. thats where he gets a lot of his signature licks out of.. but anyway.. doing this will help you play up and down the neck and really come up with some great blues licks.. also jumping to a major pentotonic once in a while and then jumping back to a minor will blow peoples mind! lol.. and its not hard..