How to Play 12-Bar Blues Guitar in the Key of E
Video Lesson
- Open E Blues Rhythm Beginner Lesson - YouTube
The Shuffle Blues Rhythm Pattern for beginners.
No Theory!
OK I lied. There will be some theory involved but I will try as much as possible in these beginning stages to keep information on a "Need to Know" basis. Lets just play first and ask questions later.
The main point of this article is for the student to memorize the chord changes to a typical 12-bar blues. Some other scale and improvisation information and links are included but first things first.
Overview of Basic Elements
Roughly divided into five elements they are as follows:
- Chords used
- Order in which the chords are played
- Rhythms
- Scales
- Putting it together
E7
Chords
The blues examples will be in the key of E. What does it mean? It doesn't matter yet except that there are 3 chords to learn to get into this sound of a 12-bar blues progression.
You will learn the
Open Chords
E7, A7 and B7
A7
B7
12 Bar Blues Chord Progressions
A typical blues uses 3 chords and is a repeating 12 measure cycle. Oops theory time. A measure is 4 counts and is also know as a bar. So you could say a typical blues is a repeating 12 bar cycle hence the common name of 12 bar blues,
- 4 bars of E7:
- 2 bars of A7:
- 2 bars of E7:
- 1 bar of B7
- 1 bar of A7
- 1 bar of E7
- 1 bar of B7
Add them up.
/ E7 / E7 / E7 / E7 / A7 / A7 / E7 / E7 / B7 / A7 / E7 / B7/ Repeat
12-Bar Variations
Quick Change (Quick IV, more on Roman Numerals coming up) AKA go to the A chord sooner.
E7 / A7 / E7 / E7 / A7 / A7 / E7 / E7 / B7 / A7 / E7 / B7 /
Other Than 12 Bars?
Technically the blues could be whatever amount of bars the songwriter chose but typically 12 bar is the most common followed by 8 bar blues or16 bar blues and even some 32 bar blues.
16-Bar "Hoochie Coochie Man"
E7 / E7 / E7 / E7 / E7 / E7 / E7 / E7 /
A7 / A7 / E7 / E7 / B7 / A7 / E7 / B7/ Repeat
8-Bar "Key To The Highway"
E7 / B7 / A7 / A7 / E7 / B7 / E7 / B7/ Repeat
There are even some blues that stay on one chord and are uneven in each verse. Since there are no chord changes this is not hard to do. John Lee Hooker was the king of one chord story songs.
Blues Rhythm
The simplest rhythm is 4 downstrokes per bar. Counted 1234. Try it about the speed of a clock ticking. Pretty boring perhaps, but it is absolutely necessary to learn the form of the blues. This means knowing without a doubt when the chords change.
If you don't get it right away jump ahead to the scales part (almost everyone does) but keep coming back to this.
12- Bar Blues Basic Rhythm
Boogie Rhythm on Open E Power Chord
This is a classic sound you might want to try if you are getting bored with the straight down-stroke rhythm. There would be 2 strokes to every count.
Classic Rhythm Pattern
Own It!
You will start to notice the majority of blues songs use this chord progression. Of course there are many variations but they are usually pretty small. Make sure the sound of this becomes ingrained. It doesn't matter what key you're in I-IV-V always sounds like I-IV-V.
Blues Styles
Also pay attention to the different tempos, rhythms and grooves used. The following is an extremely general list of overall styles that each have many subcategories of variations and tempos. A lot of these overlap and different musicians interpret these feels differently as well.
- Shuffle Blues
- Jump Blues
- Jazz Blues
- Straight/Rock Blues
- Country Blues
- Boogie Blues
- Slow Blues
- Funk Blues
- Latin/Rhumba Blues
- New Orleans (2nd line) Blues
This article is not specifically addressing these variations. Just sayin' be aware and start researching these things.
Blues by Number & Changing Keys
OK more theory. Sorry (not really). In any key (music stuff such as scales and chords that go together) there are 7 possible chords. We only care about 3 of them in blues. The 1st, 4th and 5th.
In the key of A that would be A, D and E. Roman numerals are used so A=I, D=IV and E=V.
So...If C is 1, then D is 2 and E is 3, F is 4 and G is 5.. Use Roman numerals and you are talking music language. I IV V in C = C F G
The 5 Keys of Open Chord Blues
I - IV - V
A7 D7 E7
C7 *F7 G7
D7 G7 D7
E7 A7 B7
G7 C7 D7
* OK ok F7 isn't really an open chord but the key of C is popular so suck it up and learn the d*** thing or use a plain F
Blues in A
Video Lesson Key of A Classic Shuffle Pattern
- Classic 12 Bar Blues Guitar Rhythm 1 Minute Lesson - YouTube
Slow Shuffle Blues using classic boogie blues rhythm pattern in a one minute lesson. The one minute lesson on various guitar subjects is challenging to produ...
E Minor Pentatonic Scale
Scales
The common scale to use is the 5-note minor pentatonic scale or it's basic variation called the blues scale which has 6 notes. In this lesson we are using the E minor pentatonic and the E blues scale.
On the guitar there are 5 places to play this scale but we will concentrate on the most used pattern which will have an open position fingering and a way up on the fretboard fingering.
Video Lesson
All 5 E Minor Pentatonic Patterns here. Learn the one called #1 1st
Bend Them Strings!
One of the 1st recognizable sounds on the blues guitar is the bending of the strings.
Some Lead Guitar Concepts
These aren't all in the key of E but will give you some ideas to think about..
Some things to consider when learning how to improvise.
Horizontal ideas
Keep it simple! Much can can be learned soloing on one note.
The secret to good blues guitar riffs.
More Rhythm
A little more advance but what the heck.
Turnarounds
Blues Guitar Solos
- Blues Guitar Solo Improvisations
A page about Mark Fitchett's blues guitar performance and styles he's learned over the years.
Keep Blues Moving
- Keeping Blues Alive By Not Being Traditional
All about traditional blues guitar verses modern blues guitar. Innovating so that the blues doesn't become stagnant.
Blues History
- Blues: An Original American Music
An overview history of how the blues started and progressed in America.
- The Basics of Playing Together in a Band
About how play in a band and not kill each other. Practice and rehearsal tips. - Pro Band - Jamming Tracks App Review
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An in-depth look of how the notes are laid out on the guitar neck. - The CAGED Guitar Chord System is Simple
There seems to be a lot of mystery and confusion surrounding the much lauded - Learning To Play Jazz Guitar From The Beginning
How to approach learning beginning jazz guitar - Creating Chords Beginner to Advanced
how chords simple to complex are created and a little theory behind them - How to Memorize the Notes on the Guitar Neck
This article will show you the best method ever of how to efficiently learn and memorize the notes on a guitar neck in the shortest amount of time.
© 2014 Mark Edward Fitchett
