Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Blues Shuffle
Now that you have mastered the basic 12-Bar pattern and can play a 12-Bar Blues in E, it is time for us to focus on the other standard form for blues guitar - the shuffle. This style, made famous by the great John Lee Hooker, is a simple pattern using just 2 fingers on your fretting hand, alternating between the 2nd and 4th frets on the A, D, and B strings.
Most of the work in a shuffle is actually done by your strumming hand. Rest the side of your strumming hand just in front of the bridge of the guitar. This is a technique called "palm muting" and it will help to dull the sound and give it a thick, gritty feel. The other thing you need to practice is trying to pick only two strings at a time - the one that is being fretted and the one above it. This can take time and practice, but I'm sure you will get it!
In the video below, he uses a variety of chords, but you don't need to worry about those, just remember the 2-4-2-4 fretting pattern and do your 4-counts that we practiced in the first song. Use the following string pattern as you go.
A - 2 bars (8 counts)
D - 2 bars (8 counts)
B - 1 bar (4 counts)
A - 1 bar (4 counts)
Complete this pattern twice through, and you've played a new variation of the 12-Bar Blues!
Most of the work in a shuffle is actually done by your strumming hand. Rest the side of your strumming hand just in front of the bridge of the guitar. This is a technique called "palm muting" and it will help to dull the sound and give it a thick, gritty feel. The other thing you need to practice is trying to pick only two strings at a time - the one that is being fretted and the one above it. This can take time and practice, but I'm sure you will get it!
In the video below, he uses a variety of chords, but you don't need to worry about those, just remember the 2-4-2-4 fretting pattern and do your 4-counts that we practiced in the first song. Use the following string pattern as you go.
A - 2 bars (8 counts)
D - 2 bars (8 counts)
B - 1 bar (4 counts)
A - 1 bar (4 counts)
Complete this pattern twice through, and you've played a new variation of the 12-Bar Blues!
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Song #1 - 12 Bar Blues in E (Part 5 of 5)
In this video, you will see three kinds of turnarounds. We will be working with the first one he shows you (aka "the easy one").
Song #1 - 12 Bar Blues in E (Part 1 of 5)
For our first song, we will be working on a tune called the "12 Bar Blues in E." This is a very famous blues guitar tune, and many blues standards by Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, and many others follow this chord progression. It is called a 12 Bar Blues because it is a blues song that lasts for 12 bars (4 counts each). Simple enough so far?
Because we are wanting to give our song a bluesy feel, we will be using a special type of open chords called "seventh chords." There are three chords used in this song, and two of them are extremely easy to form with your fingers (E7 and A7). The final chord, B7, is a little tricky so be sure to practice lots! The following three lessons will teach you how to play each chord individually, but below you will see the chord progression and a video of the song itself. That way, you will know what you are working toward. After you've practiced all three chords, and are able to switch between them, come back to this lesson to play along with the song itself.
Because we are wanting to give our song a bluesy feel, we will be using a special type of open chords called "seventh chords." There are three chords used in this song, and two of them are extremely easy to form with your fingers (E7 and A7). The final chord, B7, is a little tricky so be sure to practice lots! The following three lessons will teach you how to play each chord individually, but below you will see the chord progression and a video of the song itself. That way, you will know what you are working toward. After you've practiced all three chords, and are able to switch between them, come back to this lesson to play along with the song itself.
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