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CAVEDWELLER'S GUITAR TIPS
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LEARN HOW TO PLAY BLUES IN A DAY!
b = bend
/ = slide
H = hammeron
P = pulloff
Did I actually say that...! Well, it's true, and a whole lot easier then you would ever think. I have posted in the past an example of a twelve bar blues, but now I'll show you how you too, can write your own.
The simplest form of 12 bar Blues uses a key, and for our example, we will use the key of A, and the 1, 4, 5, which in the key of A, would work out like this.
1 equals your starting chord, A
4 is the forth chord from the A, which would be D
5 equals the fifth chord from the A, which would be E
So your 1, 4, 5 (I, IV, V) would be A, D, and E.
For the purpose of this lesson on 12 bar Blues, we will work with those good old power chords, to keep things easy. Once you get your feet wet, you can try it out with more advanced chords.
Below will be the power chord shapes we will be using.
-----A5------D5------E5
E---------------------------
B---------------------------
G--------------2-------------
D-----2-------0-------------
A-----0----------------2----
E-----------------------0----
So the first power chord is an A5, the second a D5, and the third a E5. Nothing hard about any of this so far, right. Well, it only gets easier...now it's time to build our progression, using these three chords. A 12 bar Blues has, as it's name implies, 12 measures. So I'll write out a simple 12 bar blues progression, and then I'll talk some on how to play it.
---------A5----------------A5-----------------A5------------------A5
E---------------------l---------------------l--------------------l---------------------l
B---------------------l---------------------l--------------------l---------------------l
G---------------------l---------------------l--------------------l---------------------l
D----2---2---2---2---l---2---2---2---2---l---2---2---2---2---l---2---2---2---2---l
A----0---0---0---0---l---0---0---0---0---l---0---0---0---0---l---0---0---0---0---l
E----------------------l--------------------l---------------------l---------------------l
----D5---------------------D5-----------------A5-----------------A5
E-----------------------l--------------------l--------------------l---------------------l
B-----------------------l--------------------l--------------------l---------------------l
G-----2---2---2---2---l---2---2---2---2---l--------------------l---------------------l
D-----0---0---0---0---l---0---0---0---0---l--------2---2---2---2---l---2---2---2---2---l
A---------------------------l--------------------l---0---0---0---0---l---0---0---0---0----l
E---------------------------l--------------------l---------------------l---------------------l
---E5---------------------E5--------------------A5-----------------A5
E----------------------l---------------------l--------------------l---------------------l
B----------------------l---------------------l--------------------l---------------------l
G----------------------l---------------------l--------------------l---------------------l
D--------------------------l---------------------l-----2---2---2---2---l---2---2---2---2---l
A-----2---2---2---2---l---2---2---2---2---l---------0---0---0---0---l---0---0---0---0---l
E-----0---0---0---0---l---0---0---0---0---l---------------------l--------------------l
And that's all there is to it. Yes, there are patterns you can follow, but believe it or not, you can rearrange these measures in any order you want to, and you will still have a 12 bar Blues in the key of A, just be sure to begin your first measure with an A chord.
Now for the hard part, how will you chose to strum these...that's entirely up to you. You could strum them one strum per chord, but I would suggest you strum in 8ths, as in
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + or strum,strum,strum,strum,strum,strum,strum,strum per measure, which would be two strums per chord.
Now make no mistake, this is Blues, but you can get even more Bluesy with the next progression I'll show you, and again, this will be based in the key of A using the 1, 4, 5 method we talked about earlier. You see, you really can write your own music.
Now for this next progression, like I said, it will get more Bluesy, and that means a little more finger work will be involved, but nothing that you can't handle, you'll see. For this progression, our power chords will be A5, A6, D5, D6, E5, E6. In each chord, you will finger the first note with your first finger, say the A5, play that note as indicated, then fret the A6 using your third finger, and so on throughout the progression. Again, I will leave how you play these up to you, but I would suggest you play this also in 8ths.
---A5/A6
E----------------------l---------------------l--------------------l---------------------l
B----------------------l---------------------l--------------------l---------------------l
G----------------------l---------------------l--------------------l---------------------l
D-----2---2---4---4---l---2---2---4---4---l---2---2---4---4---l---2---2---4---4---l
A-----0---0---0---0---l---0---0---0---0---l---0---0---0---0---l---0---0---0---0---l
E-----------------------l--------------------l---------------------l---------------------l
---D5/D6--------------------------------------A5/A6
E-----------------------l--------------------l--------------------l---------------------l
B-----------------------l--------------------l--------------------l---------------------l
G-----2---2---4---4---l---2---2---4---4---l--------------------l---------------------l
D-----0---0---0---0---l---0---0---0---0---l---2---2---4---4---l---2---2---4---4---l
A------------------------l-------------------l---0---0---0---0----l--0---0---0---0---l
E-----------------------l--------------------l----------------------l--------------------l
---E5/E6---------------------------------------A5/A6
E----------------------l---------------------l--------------------l---------------------l
B----------------------l---------------------l--------------------l---------------------l
G----------------------l---------------------l--------------------l---------------------l
D---------------------l-----------------------l---2---2---4---4---l---2---2---4---4---l
A-----2---2---4---4---l---2---2---4---4---l----0---0---0---0---l---0---0---0---0---l
E-----0---0---0---0---l---0---0---0---0---l---------------------l--------------------l
There you go, I told you this would be easy to understand. Nothing to it. Just remember the 1, 4, 5 (I, IV, V) to come up with your chords and your on your way.
Key of A = A, D, E
Key of G = G, C, D
Key of D = D, G, A
Key of E = E, A, B
And if your not comfortable rearranging the measures and experimenting around, I'll list some of the patterns using the key of A that we could have played this progression out in;
Just remember in our progression, I=A, IV=D, V=E
I, I, I, I, IV, IV, I, I, V, IV, I, V
or
I, IV, I, I, IV, IV, V, IV, I, V
And now that you know how to build and play a 12 bar Blues, the very same things you learned for that also apply to a 8 bar Blues, except instead of using 12 measures, your using eight. Here is one example of what a 8 bar Blues pattern would look like;
I, I, IV, IV, I, V, I, I
It really is that easy. Just remember, the I is your key chord, once you establish that key chord, it's as easy as 1, 4, 5.....so the I could be A, or E, or whatever you want it to be...have fun.
Now what I would like to do is take a closer look at the patterns we used, and see what else we could have used for a pattern. The patterns above followed a pretty straight forward 2/0 2/0 4/0 4/0 approach. Below are a few examples of "other patterns" we could have used;
___idea #1______idea #2
E
B
G___2_4_2_4__l___2_4_4_2__l
D___0_0_0_0__l___0_0_0_0__l
A
E
This just gives you an idea of just how you could change things up. I did not write out the entire progression, just gave you a sample of the patterns we could have gone with.
Now if you hadn't noticed, there are three things that make this sound like a Blues progression;
1; It starts out on a I chord
2; moves to the IV chord in measure 5
3; returns to the I chord in measure 7
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MOVABLE SCALES AND HOW TO USE THEM
Now in order to do solo's, write your own riffs, or intro's, or simply be more creative on the guittar, you will have tto learn some scales and how to use them. All the scales I use will be movable scales, meaning you can move, or slide the scale up and down the neck from one key to the next. For each scale you learn, you will have actually learned twelve...I'll explain a bit later on. We will begin with the Blues scale, since we are learning the Blues.
MOVABLE BLUES SCALE - KEY OF A
E_____________________________________________(5)__8__________________
B______________________________________5__8___________________________
G_______________________________5__7__________________________________
D_____________________5__(7)__________________________________________
A____________5__6__7______________________________________________
E__(5)___8___________________________________________________________
Note that we are in the Key of A, so I have placed () around all the root notes. The root note that gives this scale it's name is the A note on the low E, or thick string. Now had I wanted to play a solo in the key of G using this same scale, I would have simply begun my pattern on the 3rd fret of the low E string, which would be a G note;
MOVABLE BLUES SCALE - KEY OF G
E_______________________________________________(3)__6________________
B_______________________________________3__6__________________________
G________________________________3__5_________________________________
D______________________3__(5)_________________________________________
A____________3__4__5__________________________________________________
E___(3)__6____________________________________________________________
Now if you compare this G scale to the A scale above, you will see that tthey are the exact same scale, the only difference is they start out on a different note. The space, or interval between each notte is the same, regardless if itt's the key of A, B, C, or whatever key you want to solo in. Now you see the beauty of tthe movable scale, once you learn one, you know twelve. So how do we get the twelve...well, lett's take a look at that low E, thick sttring;
E (open), F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E - notes all repeat
So there are our twelve notes on the low E, thick string, from the open E to the D#, then they all repeat beginning at the next E an octave up.
So any of these notes above that you start out on, that's the key your in. So now you know why they say, once you've learned one movable scale, you've learned twelve.
So are there other movable scales out there that work this same way? You bet, and I will list some below...remember, they may have different names, but they all work the same way.
MINOR PENTATONIC SCALE - KEY OF A
E____________________________________________(5)__8___________________
B____________________________________5__8_____________________________
G____________________________5__7_____________________________________
D___________________5__(7)____________________________________________
A____________5__7_____________________________________________________
E___(5)__8____________________________________________________________
If it looks a litttle like you've seen this before, it's because the minor penttatonic scale pattern is the same as the Blues patttern, but with one less note.
AEOLIAN SCALE - KEY OF A
(THIS SCALE IS ONE OF THE 7 MODES AND HAS A GRITTY, BLUESY FEEL TO IT.)
E_____________________________________________________(5)__7__8_______
B___________________________________________5__6__8___________________
G____________________________________5__7_____________________________
D_________________________5__(7)__9___________________________________
A_______________5__7__8_______________________________________________
E___(5)__7__8_________________________________________________________
MOVABLE MAJOR SCALE - KEY OF A
E__________________________________________________4__(5)__7__________
B__________________________________________5__7_______________________
G________________________________4__6__7______________________________
D_____________________4__6__(7)_______________________________________
A____________4__5__7__________________________________________________
E___(5)__7____________________________________________________________
THE MINOR SCALE - KEY OF A
E___________________________________________________(5)__7__8_________
B_________________________________________5__6__8_____________________
G__________________________________5__7_______________________________
D_______________________5__(7)__9_____________________________________
A______________5__7__8________________________________________________
E___(5)__7__8_________________________________________________________
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HOW DO I DO A BLUES SLUR?
This one blues move has been driving me crazy for the past year...seen it done hundreds of times, but it happens so quickly, just never been able to get it down...until now. So this is how you pull it off...it's a real cooool blues slide you'll want to add to your bag of tricks...
E
B----
G-----7--9------7----5---------------l----------
D---------------------------7----5----l----7----
A
E
Okay, pretend that the first 7 on the G string is half it's size, because this is how it should look, I just don't know how to make the seven half it's size on the computer. When you have a number half it's size next to a regular size note, it means to fret the note with your ring finger, the 7 in this case, play that note, and quickly slide up to the 9 then back down to the 7 again, then continue on playing the other notes, 5 notes in the example above, like you normally would...it's a pretty cool move...
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A BLUES AMP TRICK
Okay Blues players out there...here's another cool trick to add to your bag...just how do Blues players get their cool sound? Well, there are many answers to that question, but at least here is a part of the puzzle
Turn the volume all the way down on your guitar. Now turn the volume all the way up on your amp, that's right, far as it will go. Now slowly bring up the volume on your guitar, testing the sound.
BLUES RIFFS & INTROS- - page 2
Free Guitar Lessons - - --- page 3
AMP SETTINGS ------------PAGE 4
THE ROCK HOUSE METHOD
BACK TO FREE LESSONS
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Copyright © 2007 J.R. Libby. All Rights Reserved