GUITARHABITS

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8 Ways to Play a 12 Bar Blues Shuffle in The Key of E

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Photo by Pablo Docal
Today I’ll show you 8 different ways to play a 12 Bar Blues shuffle. Blues shuffles sound really cool and the basic ones are not that hard to play.

In the first example I wrote out the entire 12 bar blues. In the other examples I just wrote out the alternatives to bar 1,2 and 9. More you don’t need, the rest of the bars is played the same way as those 3. Just play them in the right order. You’ll see what I mean once you’ve tried the first 12 bar blues.

The shuffle blues is one of the most common used rhythms in blues and so used by all the great blues artists like Clapton, BB King, Albert King, Robert Johnson etc. For those who are just starting out in blues, this is the backbone of blues rhtyhm guitar so I suggest you get your hands dirty. :)

If you want to read more about the origin of the blues shuffle and blues in general check out
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blues

Enjoy!


12 Bar Blues Rhythm #1
e:-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
B:-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
G:-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
D:-------------|-22-44-22-44-|-------------|-------------|
A:-22-44-22-44-|-00-00-00-00-|-22-44-22-44-|-22-44-22-44-|
E:-00-00-00-00-|-------------|-00-00-00-00-|-00-00-00-00-|
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The Most Important Scales to Learn on Guitar

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Photo by Michael Mooney
The first scale I learned as a teenager was the minor pentatonic scale. That was a good starting point for me cause I was really into rock music and metal.

I only learned the first and classic position that most guitar players know, but l did learn it thoroughly though.

I also figured some blues boxes like the “Albert King box” and the “B.B King box”. (they are not official names).

They are just little pieces of postion 2 and 3 of the blues scale. I learned how to connect the minor pentatonic scale and some of these blues boxes together and tried to improvise over these scales in every possible way I could. (by creating licks, applying sequences, learning solos to gain input, building a vocabulary to understand soloing and improvisation, etc.)

Much later on I learned to use the other 4 postions of the pentatonic / blues scale. Then I moved onto the major scale and it’s modes, harmonic minor, melodic minor etc. But not all those scales are important or necessary for every guitar player.

So the big question is: What is the most important scale for you to learn?Continue Reading

3 Juicy Blues Chord Progressions to Be Prepared

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When I learned my first blues progression it wasn’t something I really got excited about.

It was okay but it didn’t make me want to play it over and over again.

I would rather prefer cool or mind blowing. Later when I started adding a sprinkle of jazz to it things became more interesting.

Blues chord progressions start to change from mediocre to superb.

So why should you learn blues chord progression in the first place?

Well first off, blues chord progressions are the foundation of blues rhythm and essential for accompanying a great blues solo.

Or you could put it the other way around, where would a great lead guitar player be without some awesome accompaniment?

This is where you come in.

So now anytime you’re in front of a lead guitar player you are cool, confident and prepared because you’ve mastered these 3 juicy blues chord progressions.

Being able to play the blues is a great tool for guitar players and musicians in general to get together, jam, explore, evolve and have a great time.

I urge you to practice these chord progressions in every key through the cycle of fourths.

Experiment with playing different rhythms, different key signatures and tempos.

It’s important to learn all 3 chord progressions by heart.

You will develop a great skill you will use the rest of your musical life.

Enjoy!

MAJOR BLUES PROGRESSION

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6 Cool Guitar Blues Turn Arounds in the key of E

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Photo by Steve Garry
A good blues turnaround is the icing on the cake of every blues progression.

I always beg, borrow, steal and create my own nice sweet sounding turnarounds to add that extra magic when I’m playing a blues song. It’s one of the things that makes the blues sound so cool.

Blues turnarounds are played at the end of a section of a blues progression which then leads to the next section or the end of the song.

To get a good impression of how turnarounds are played listen to blues guitar players like B.B King, Albert King, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton and study theirs.

Tip: Every time you play the blues try to play a different turnaround, so you don’t end up playing the same turnaround ten years from now. It’s easy to fall into that trap. Expand your vocabulary!

Enjoy these 6 turnarounds to spice up your blues:

Have a great one!


BLUES TURNAROUND #1


 

e:-------0--------0--------0-----------------------------|
B:-----------------------------0-----3--2----------------|
G:----4--------3--------2------1-----3--2----------------|
D:--6--------5--------4--------2-----2--1----------------|
A:---------------------------------x-3--2----------------|
E:-------------------------------------------------------|

 

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