Blues Rhythm Guitar Essentials

Live Stream – Wednesday Aug 29th 2018

By Erich Andreas YourGuitarSage.com

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Click Here for $1 Access to UGS and 365 courses Blues is one of my favorite genres of music, especially to play on guitar. For as fun as it is to play, it is surprisingly simple and lends itself to other popular genres such as rock and country. Like many, I first discovered the blues when I was a child. I loved to hear the instruments "shuffle" and swear that I could hear those guitars cry and feel the weeping souls of the players conveying the blues to me. Blues rhythm guitar is an easy yet exciting style to learn and is the backbone for many other popular styles of music. In this series, we are going to focus on four key areas that once explained will open up a whole new world of blues playing for you. Those areas in order are:

1. 12 bar blues

2. Building seventh chords

3. Boogie-woogie riffs

4. Boogie-woogie turnarounds I know the above subject matter seems a bit like I'm speaking in code but I promise you that playing the blues can be easy and fun if we break it down to its essentials as we will do here. I'm so excited that we are taking this journey together and that you are entrusting me with your guitar education. My promise to you is that I will deliver on these goods and with practice, you too will be playing blues rhythm guitar.

Are you ready? Let's bring on the blues!

12 Bar Blues

The “12 bar blues” (AKA “blues changes”) is one of the most popular chord progressions, not just in blues, but in all of popular music! The progression is based off of the 1, 4, 5 chords. As the name suggests, this chord progression has 12 “bars” or measures. This progression typically repeats and is a favorite among musicians and singers for improvisation and songwriting.

There is also typically a “turnaround” in 12 bar blues. A turnaround is a motif (musical idea) occurring at the end of the chord progression denoting the end of the chord sequence and preparing the listener to hear the chord progression again. In blues, the turnaround typically occurs in the last two bars of the 12 bar progression.

There are 1000s of songs based off of the 12 bar blues progression while other songs are strict 12 bar progressions.

Here are just a few famous songs from that list:

 Hound Dog by Elvis Presley  Blue Suede Shoes by Elvis Presley  Jailhouse Rock by Elvis Presley  Rock and Roll by Led Zeppelin  Tutti Frutti by Little Richard  Red House by Jimi Hendrix  Pride and Joy by Stevie Ray Vaughan  Scuttle Buttin‟ by Stevie Ray Vaughan  La Grange by ZZ Top  Tush by ZZ Top

If you are not familiar with these tunes, check some of them out and you will notice how often this classic chord progression is used throughout popular music. Being familiar with it in every key will help make you a powerful blues player. You will always have something to “go to” when you pick up your guitar!

I have included for you the 12 bar blues progression in several different keys and also in the Nashville Number System (or just “Number System”). If you are unfamiliar with the Nashville Number System, check out eBook1 at YourGuitarSage.com

Your practice for this section of the book should include playing and memorizing each chord progression, being able to play them at varying tempos (slow, medium, fast) and with various feels.

12- Bar Blues In A

In 4 12- Bar Blues In E

In 4 12- Bar Blues In G

In 4 12- Bar Blues (Number System)

In 4 Building Seventh Chords

There is an expression that says, “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.” That is to say, if I show you a chord and show you where to put your fingers on what frets, you could memorize the chord easily. But if I show you how to assemble chords from scratch, then I enable you for years to come. There are literally thousands of chords. So it‟s your choice: memorize each chord or learn a method of assembling them and save yourself hundreds of hours. How cool would it be if I could show you how to make a seventh chord out of every chord that you already know instead of having to memorize hundreds of chords, effectively doubling or tripling your chord vocabulary in one night? If your answer was anything close to “Super-uber-mega- cool!!!,” then HANG ON, because we are getting ready to rock!

As a rule, shortcuts typically “cut” some stuff out and often times “short” you of the full picture. But you know that already, and that‟s why you are studying so diligently. So digesting this information, understanding the concept and putting it into practice may take extra time up front (the long way), but I promise you it won‟t take you nearly the amount of time it would take you to memorize a few hundred new chords (the “shortcut”).

The definition of a seventh chord is a chord consisting of a triad plus a note forming an interval of a seventh above the chords root. There are seven commonly used seventh chords in Western music. You can easily master these first 3 (most often used) formulas - immediately doubling your minor chord vocabulary and tripling your major chord vocabulary. How cool is that? Take your time with these and get the first three formulas down before moving to the others (FYI-The three most popular formulas are Major 7th, Minor 7th and Dominant 7th.)

Major seventh - for example Dmaj7, DM7, DΔ, etc. (these are chord symbols that you will see on charts)

Formation -(1, 3, 5, 7): to easily convert any major chord into a major seventh chord, find a higher octave of the root and flatten it by a half-step (meaning, don't flat the lowest note - the root, but find a higher octave to alter). For example, play a D major chord. To convert this chord to a D major seventh, drop the high D on the second string back one half-step to Db (or C#). To play this easily, bar the second fret at strings 1, 2 and 3 while you play the 4th string open. Minor seventh - for example Emin7, Em7, E-7, etc.

Formation - (1, b3, 5, b7): to easily convert any minor chord into a minor seventh chord, find a higher octave of the root and flatten it by one whole-step. For example, play an E minor chord. To convert this chord to an E minor seventh, drop the E on the fourth string back one whole-step to the open D. Then strum all the strings. Dominant seventh - for example A7 or A7

Formation - (1, 3, 5, b7): to easily convert any major chord into a dominant seventh chord, find a higher octave of the root and flatten it by 1 whole-step. For example, play an A major chord. To convert this chord to an A dominant seventh, drop the A on the 3rd string back one whole-step to the open G. Then strum strings 1 through 5. Half-diminished seventh - for example “D minor seventh flat five” Dm7b5, D-7b5, Do, etc.

Formation - (1, b3, b5, b7): to easily convert any minor seventh chord into a half- diminished seventh chord, flatten the 5 by a half-step. For example, play a D minor seventh chord. To convert this chord to a D half diminished seventh chord, flatten the A on the 2nd fret of the 3rd string by a half-step, to an Ab (or G#). This chord can easily be played by barring strings 1-3 at the 1st fret and strumming strings 1-4. Diminished seventh - for example D°7, or Ddim7

Formation - (1, b3, b5, bb7 (or 6 - known as enharmonic 6)): to easily convert any half-diminished seventh chord to a diminished seventh chord, flatten again the already b7. On the above D half-diminished seventh chord that we just played, flatten the C (on the second string) by a half-step. The fretting should be as follows high E string (1st fret), B string (open), G string (1st fret), D string (open). Now, if you are anything like me, that double-flat seven (bb7) bothers you. This is how it is justified. These are 7th chords we are talking about right? How can a 7th chord NOT have a 7 (interval) in it, but a 6 instead? Things get a little complicated with this type if theory, but no worries! I will guide you through it. Too, I don't expect you to digest/retain all of this in one sitting. It may take several days or weeks for this to really settle in, depending on how much attention you give it. Let's keep moving forward. Minor major seventh- for example Dmmaj7, DmM7, DmΔ7, D-Δ7, etc.

Formation - (1, b3, 5, 7): to easily convert any major seventh chord to a minor major seventh chord (I know “minor major” right? Just roll with it.); flatten the third by a half-step. For instance, play the D major seventh chord from our 1st example. Now flatten the 3 which is on the second fret of the first string. If you move this one note back one half-step to the “F”, it will produce a D minor major seventh chord. Augmented major seventh - for example Dmaj7(#5), D+M7, D+Δ7, etc.

Formation - (1, 3, #5, 7): to easily convert any major 7th chord to an augmented major 7th chord; sharpen the 5th by a half-step. For instance, play a D major seventh chord. Now find the 5th and raise it by a half-step. The D string should be played open, while the 3rd string is fretted at the 3rd fret, and strings 1 and 2 are fretted at the 2nd fret.

Whew!!! Now go take a rest! I know your brain is tired! Mine sure is! Remember to take this slow. You could no more easily digest all of this than you could an entire Thanksgiving meal! But over time, this will be no problem. Remember, I can easily say “this is this chord, and that is that chord,” but that won‟t make your brain start thinking - which is what I am trying to do here with you. If this feels like too much for you at one time, try to understand the concepts on the first 3 examples. Those are the ones that you are going to use the most. Dominant seventh chords are very popular in blues and other styles of music, so if you like blues make sure that you understand dominant sevenths. If you‟re interested in learning jazz guitar, it will be important that you eventually learn all of these examples. Now go grab your guitar and start applying these concepts immediately so that they can become part of your playing. Boogie Woogie Riffs

BOOGIE WOOGIE is a style of piano-based blues that became very popular in the late 1930‟s and early 1940‟s. Boogie-woogie guitar riffs are based off of that style of playing and are great for really spicing up a basic 12 bar blues chord progression. The basic feel of boogie-woogie riffs are based off of the dotted quarter note, swing feel that is so commonly associated with blues. If we were strumming eighth notes (strict down/up) where each note was equidistant (same distance) from the following note, this would be a very “straight” feel and wouldn‟t sound very good in blues. However, if we shuffle the beat, it changes the feel of the tune completely. In this case, the upbeats or up strums are hesitated slightly. From a technical standpoint, if an upbeat or up strum is halfway in the middle (50%) of two down beats, then for a shuffle beat we must move that up strum over 75% away from the beat that was just played, and 25% away from the note that follows. This is also known as a dotted quarter note. Adding a dot “ . “ directly to the right side of any musical note adds an additional half of the value of that note. Confused? Don't be… as I always say, “a riff is worth 1000 words”. So listen to the examples and watch the videos associated with these lessons and you will hear exactly what I mean by a shuffle beat.

The following pages include several boogie-woogie riffs that slowly increase in tempo. If you're not able to play them at the prescribed tempo, feel free to slow them down. Any of these pat- terns can be mixed and matched with different feels, rhythms and turnarounds. Feel free to experiment!!! These examples are meant to open your mind and get you thinking outside the box. If it sounds good, don't be afraid to venture out.

Your practice exercises for this boogie-woogie style is as follows:

Boogie-Woogie Basic (Key of A) - this is the first boogie-woogie riff that I ever played and often times is still my “go to” riff for blues. Remember to not let any strings ring out that are not to be played. This means left or right hand muting and/or accurate picking. Suggested tempo is 90 beats per minute. Boogie-Woogie Basic (Keys of G and F) - this is the same basic riff as in the key of A, but allows you to play in two new keys. The reach on this one can be difficult at first, but keep trying. You will get it!!! Notice that this is a movable pattern and can be transposed to any key by simply sliding the whole pattern up or down the fret board. Tempo for G is 95 beats per minute. Suggested tempo for F is 100 beats per minute. Yep, I'm speeding you up!

Boogie-Woogie Basic with Turnaround (Key of F) - this riff is the same one as above with the exception of a “turnaround”. Notice that this is also a movable pattern. Suggested tempo is 105 beats per minute.

Boogie-Woogie Variation 1 (Key of A) - this is like the first boogie-woogie basic riff in A with a little melodic variation. Suggested tempo is 110 beats per minute.

Boogie-Woogie Variation 1 (Key of G) - this is also like the first boogie-woogie basic riff in G with a little melodic variation AND you get to play it in an open position. This one is less movable than some of the others but it's perfect for the key of G. Suggested tempo is 110 beats per minute.

Boogie-Woogie Variation 2 (Key of A) - a LOT of changes here!! We are adding thicker chords, a funky little turnaround, second measure plays the 4 chord (instead of staying on the 1), an open E7 chord at the end and a small change in melody (be very precise on this one so that you notice the melody difference). Suggested tempo is 115 beats per minute.

Boogie-Woogie Variation 2 (Key of G) - Again, a LOT of changes here!! We are adding thicker chords, a funky little turnaround, second measure plays the 4 chord (instead of staying on the 1), a movable D7 chord at the end and a small change in melody (be very precise on this one so that you notice the melody difference). Suggested tempo is 115 beats per minute.

Whew!!! There is a lot to practice here. Your ear will get better as you play through these progressions. Your finger dexterity will increase. But the thing that I find most helpful about these riffs, is that they give you more knowledge, patterns and places to go on the guitar.

Are you feelin‟ the blues yet? Boogie Woogie Basic (Key of A) Boogie Woogie Basic (Key of G) Boogie Woogie Basic with Turnaround (Key of F) Boogie Woogie Variation 1 (Key of A) Boogie Woogie Variation 1 (Key of G) Boogie Woogie Variation 2 (Key of A) Boogie Woogie Variation 2 (Key of G) Boogie Woogie Turnarounds

A turnaround is a musical passage at the end of a chord progression which leads to the next section or a repeat of the same chord progression. In blues, this typically occurs in the last two measures of the 12 bar blues progression. The musical passage is typically an emphatic, “arrow” pointing you back to the top of the chord progression.

In this document I have included turnarounds for the keys of A, E, F and G. Notice that some of the turnarounds in keys A, E and G utilize open notes (notes that you don't fret) or open strings. Also notice that the turnarounds for the key of F do not use open notes. I've done this purposely so that you can transpose any of those F turnarounds up the fret board into other keys. Now that's not to say that you could not do the same for the other keys (A, E and G) that we have covered here. The guitar represents 12 notes by name, and then re- peats every octave. I don't know about your guitar, but mine have six strings and 22 frets which equals 138 possible notes and thousands of melodic/chord possibilities. All that to say, these turnarounds are just scratching the surface of the different melodic and harmonic possibilities left for you to discover. So, another great exercise for you is to transpose those turnarounds with open notes into other keys with movable patterns. Some of you will have a harder time grasping this concept than others. For those of you willing to take the challenge, dig in deeper as the knowledge that you will gain would be difficult to teach in 1000 books. Boogie Woogie Turnarounds (Key of A) Boogie Woogie Turnarounds (Key of E)

Boogie Woogie Turnarounds (Key of F) Boogie Woogie Turnarounds (Key of G) Click Here To Watch The Free Beginner Series

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