Pay attention to the effects and techniques that make the blues so special. The final phrase is based on the famous minor penta position. You will notice the perfect symmetry between the first 2 bars, and also the use of chromaticism to bring an almost jazzy side. One of my favorite lick ideas is to focus harmonically on the V-IV sequence ( D7-C7). Nevertheless, be careful to negotiate the exit. This type of phrase can of course be extended as long as you like. In blues or rock music, repeating notes in licks is cool and sounds well. Now everyone has 4 bars to play and this dialogue last during 3 full grids. As for the lead phrases, they are based on the famous minor penta position (here in G, 3rd fret) or its extension. ![]() The rhythmic part supports the groove of the piece and beats 2 and 4 (also called “weak beats”). We speak about antecedent and consequent. Indeed, each group of four bars can be divided into 2:Ģ bars of rhythm and 2 bars of solo phrasing. A quick look at the score and you’ll see the natural breakdown of this 12-bar grid. The inspiration for this song is Come When I Call by John Mayer. The first roundīut before we go deep into that, let me first start with a full grid. The rest of the grid follows a very classical pattern in the alternation of degrees: two measures of IV ( C7), two measures of I ( G7) and then the sequence V-IV-I-I ( D7-C7-G7-G7).īecause of its internal structure, easily divided into groups of two or four bars, the blues is an ideal playground for practicing the famous “question and answer” concept. We start with G7 and then, in bar 2, we find the chord of the IVth degree in order to bring a light harmonic movement: it is what we call a “quick change”.Īs this variation is not imposed, we could also have stayed four measures on the G7 chord. The harmonic progression is quite simple and is based on 3 chords (degree I = G7 / degree IV = C7 / degree V = D7) arranged according to a pre-established order. We’ll learn how to add these new chord shapes to our 12-bar blues progression.We are in the key of G. These chords are some of the most common chords used in blues music. In the next lesson, we’ll learn about dominant seventh chords. Work on getting the feel for the progression using these simple chords before trying to use more complicated chords or riffs. You’ll use an E power chord rooted on the open E string, an A power chord rooted on the open A string, and a B power chord rooted on the 2nd fret of the A string. Once you get the feel for it, you’ll notice you’ve heard this chord progression in lots of different music.īe sure to just use power chord shapes to start. After that, you’ll go back to the beginning and start again. You’ll play the 1 chord for four measures, the 4 chord for two measures, the 1 chord for two measures, the 5 chord for one measure, the 4 chord for one measure, the 1 chord for one measure, then the 5 chord for the last measure. The best way to understand this is to listen to the example in the video.Ī 12-bar blues progression is a set chord progression that repeats every 12 bars of music. For a shuffle feel, you’ll play a long note followed by a short note. These notes or beats are evenly distributed throughout the measure. This simply means that there are 4 beats per measure. The jam tracks you’ll be playing along to in this series are in 4/4 time. Since we’re in the key of E blues, the 1 chord is E, the 4 chord is A, and the 5 chord is a B. These three chords are the 1 chord, the 4 chord, and the 5 chord. The standard 12-bar blues progression contains three chords. Keeping all that in mind, we’ll be in the key of E blues for the rest of this lesson series. Often times, you won’t see a key signature noted on the sheet music for a blues song because of this. Blues is a hybrid of a major and minor key, which can be a bit confusing. ![]() It’s also an easy progression to get down if someone doesn’t already know it.īlues is it’s own thing when it comes to keys. It’s simple enough that everyone will be on the same page from the start, and then you can add stuff to it from there. Understanding the 12-bar blues progression is great because it’s the perfect starting point when you want to jam with other musicians. We’ll just be using power chords to start. The focus of this lesson will be to keep things simple and focus on just getting a feel for the chord progression. The 12-bar blues progression is essentially the foundation for everything you’ll learn about in the style of the blues. In this lesson, we’ll be going over one of the most important parts of playing blues on the guitar. Welcome to the second lesson of the Blues Guitar Quick-Start Series.
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