E-asy Blues

In this guitar lesson you will learn how to play a simple blues base line in the key of E. It's important to use first position fingering at this stage, since it will help to reinforce your awareness of the fretboard. You will find this base run to be a great exercise too, since all your fingers will be involved.

Try to keep your arm relaxed and relatively straight from your elbow through to your wrist. This may be a little difficult when trying to reach for the lower strings, but do not hyper-extend your wrist as this will create undue stress. When the wrist is stressed over a prolonged period of time it can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome. This is a very common injury of musicians and can be quite disabling. So, be careful when practicing this guitar lesson, not to overdue it. If your hand begins to feel tired, take a break! You need to give yourself time to develop strength and coordination skills when you are new to playing the guitar.

This base line is intended to compliment the basic 12-bar blues rhythm covered in lesson 9 .

If you have access to a tape recorder, you can record the rhythm part and then practice playing the base line along with it. Or, if you have a friend who plays the guitar, one of you can play the the rhythm, while the other one plays the base line. Be sure to alternate with each other so that you can practice both parts.

You will also notice these symbols > > above the notation. They are called accent marks. An accent mark simply emphasizes the duration of a beat slightly. In this case the first down beat of each pair of eighth notes is emphasized. So, you would strike the notes that fall on the numbered part of the count a little stronger and the &'s a little lighter.

Example:

1- & 2- & 3- & 4- & (etc.)

One of the best things you can do to help increase your understanding of the blues is to listen to some recordings. Eric Clapton's acoustic blues CD "Unplugged" is one of my favorites. It's just great. He also recorded a CD with B.B. King called "Riding With the King" which I highly recommend. Playing the blues is very dependent on "feel" so why not listen and learn from than the best?

But for now, it's time for you to click the following link so that you can...

Play the Blues Base Line!

Blues You Can Use!

Many hundreds of songs have been written using an easy format known as the 12-Bar Blues. Jimi Hendrix, Janice Joplin, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Elvis Presley, and The Beatles, are only a few of the famous names that have used this structure to create hit songs. So you can see that it's not something to be taken too lightly! If you have any desire at all to play rock n' roll, or lead guitar, then you definitely should gain an appreciation for, and an understanding of, the 12-bar blues. But what does it mean exactly? It's really quite simple...

The term "12-Bar" is referring to the number of measures in a particular song or chord sequence. In music, a measure (or bar) is the space between two vertical (bar) lines on a staff. Note values (beats) are measured to create a specific rhythm which is then indicated by a Time Signature such as 4/4 or 3/4, etc.

So the 12-bar Blues is basically a chord progression comprised of 12 measures. The cool thing is that the chord sequence (I, IV, V) is virtually always the same, with only a few minor variations occasionally. This makes it fairly easy to learn for most people, because it sounds so familiar. The simple structure also provides a great format for practicing chords, licks, and riffs, not to mention bass and lead guitar runs.

So, how do you get started? Well, I've created a 12 bar blues chord progression in the Key of E for you to practice. You will notice that you strum E for the first four measures, then A for two measures and then back to E for two measures. Next you play one measure each of B7, A, E and B7. That completes the 12 bars! Return to the beginning to play the chord progression again. When you are ready to stop, just strum E after the 12th measure and count to four. Remember that the arrows indicating the strum pattern are pointing in the direction of the strings.

DOWN = UP =

Here is a pdf file I created for you to try:

EASY 12 BAR BLUES CHORD PROGRESSION.

Common Chord Progressions

Chord progressions for guitar are easy to learn once you have a basic understanding of how the major scales work. Acquiring this knowledge will enable you to see how every degree of the major scale can be used to create a chord. Each of the guitar chords created from a particular scale will also have a unique relationship to the Key.

The letters associated with the Key of C Major are:

C D E F G A B C

Here is the C Major scale:

Today, I want to show you how to put a chord progression together using any given Key. So, with that in mind lets continue...

I'll use the letters of the C Major Scale: C D E F G A B C to help you understand some basic music principles. For instance, these letters can be used to represent either notes or chords.

Remember:

a note is a single tone



a chord is 3 or more tones sounded simultaneously

Because of this, the numbers: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 are commonly used to represent each note, or degree of the scale,

and the Roman Numerals: I II III IV V VI VII VIII are use to represent each of the chords in a given Key.

The chords will correspond with, and have the same letter name as, the degrees of the major scale that they are associated with.

Lets look at how a chord progression is made when using the C Major Scale above:

Notice how the I chord has the same letter name as the 1st degree of the scale, the IV chord has the same letter name as the 4th degree and the V chord has the same letter name as the 5th degree. This is called a I IV V chord progression. The progression ends by returning again to the I chord.

• C = 1 = I
• D = 2 = II
• E = 3 = III
• F = 4 = IV
• G = 5 = V
• A = 6 = VI
• B = 7 = VII
• C = 8 = VIII (same as I)

I IV V chord progressions are used for the 12 bar blues, plus many rock, blue-grass, folk and other popular tunes. The V chord (G) is commonly played as a dominant 7th in order to create more tension or pull back toward the I chord (C).

This would slightly alter the chord progression given above to:

In other words, the G7 chord can be used as a substitute for the G Major chord and vice-versa.

Now, if you are new to the guitar, this chord progression might be a little hard to play in the Key of C. In that case, we can simply transpose it into another Key!

For example, the next Key in order of sharps is G. The scale degrees are:

G A B C D E F# G

So, our I IV V I chord progression for the Key of G is: G C D G

If we convert the V chord to a dominant 7th chord we have:

Here are the remaining I IV V7 I chord progressions for the Keys of D A and E. This completes the first five Keys (in order of sharps).

Now that you are equiped with this information, you have the tools to start playing a wide variety of songs!

Here is a simple strumming pattern you can use...

Remember- two eighth notes equal one quarter note. Since a quarter note has a value of one beat, an eighth note has a value of only 1/2 a beat. That means you will have twice as many eighth notes when counting a 4/4 rhythm. Therefore, eighth notes are counted: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &

Another thing that will help your understanding is to realize that the numbers are thought of as downbeats and the &s are upbeats (ignore the arrows for now).

Try this simple arrangement of the song...

Wild Thing

Feel free to download it if you'd like. You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view it. Don't worry, it's free!

The strummming pattern for Wild Thing is:

The first and second beats are DOWN strums. Then there is an eight rest on the third beat. This is followed by an UP, DOWN, UP strum to end the measure. Notice that the arrows are pointing in the direction of the first string, which is DOWN. This can be a bit confusing at first, because the arrows are pointing up on paper. But if you think in terms of your guitar strings you should be ok.

Primary Guitar Chords

Learning guitar chords may seem a bit overwhelming at first, especially if you don't use a systematic approach! There are so many shapes and positions available that it could literally take years to try and memorize them all!

In my opinion, it's better to gain an understanding of how chords are made and to focus on learning the most essential ones you need to start playing right away.

There are three types of PRIMARY chords:

MAJOR

MINOR

DOMINANT 7TH

All other guitar chords are a modification of one of these 3 basic types! To begin with, I encourage my students to learn these three primary types because they are used in hundreds of popular songs!

When you are learning guitar chords it helps to understand how they would be used in a song or chord progression. Songs are written in KEYS, of which there are only twelve.

The KEY is determined by the scale that is used to write the melody of a song.

The MELODY of a song is the tune which is sung or played instrumentally.

So, if "Mary Had A Little Lamb" was written in the Key of C, the notes used to sing or play the song would come from the C Major Scale. The chords used to strum the rhythm and accompany the melody would also be related to the C Major Scale.

Learning all the Major, Minor and Dominant 7th primary guitar chords in relationship to each Key provides a good solid foundation from which you can continue building your chord vocabulary. This is the approach I use with all my students.

If you've been following ABC Free Beginner Guitar Lessons, you should already be familiar with:

two MINOR chords - Am and Em

and one Major chord - C

I introduced these guitar chords first because they are fairly easy to play and you can move from one to the next without lifting your second finger. This gives you an "anchor" and helps you to remember the guitar chords faster.

If you've been LISTENING AS YOU PLAY, you have probably noticed that

Minor chords sound sad or dramatic

Major chords sound positive or happy

This is an important point to recognize if you wish to develop your ear. You want to be able to distinguish the sound of one type of chord from another.

A DOMINANT 7TH CHORD has a distinct sound also. It seems to be asking a question: "Are we there yet?" or "When is this song going to end?"

This is an important question and it is the reason why you often see dominant 7th chords near the end of a song. They tend to draw the ear back to the Tonic or keynote chord (usually the first chord of a song) for resolution, bringing the song to an end. Dominant 7th chords are always written using a letter from the Musical Alphabet along with the number 7.

So, to sum up, there are three basic types of primary guitar chords: Major, Minor & Dominant 7th. Each letter of the Musical Alphabet can be made into one of these three types. For example, we could have an A major, an A minor or an A dominant 7th chord, etc.

MINOR

DOMINANT 7th

Notice how the second finger is on the same string in each of the primary chords above.

Exercise:
Strum the chords and listen to the difference in sound between them.

When a song is written, various chords from a Key will be played together in a specific sequence known as a CHORD PROGRESSION. I will be covering more of this in another lesson, but for now, try the following simple version of the Beatles tune "Yellow Submarine" using the primary chords A MAJOR, E MAJOR and E DOMINANT 7 from the Key of A.

• Each chord is strummed four times, which is equivalent to four beats per measure.

• Notice how the first finger is on the same string for all three guitar chords!

• Remember "economy of motion" as you move from chord to chord. Do not pick up your first finger when moving from A to E. Instead, Slide your finger to the first fret, play E and E7, then slide back to the 2nd fret to play A.

_______________________________________________________
YELLOW SUBMARINE

We all live in a

Yellow submar-ine -

Yellow submar-ine -

Yellow submar-ine -

Learn Every Major Scale (First Position for Guitar)

This lesson will focus on learning every major scale in first position on the guitar. By using this method you should begin to firmly establish your "map" of the fretboard and reinforce the strength of your musical foundation.

ORDER OF SHARPS:

C Major = zero sharps.

G Major = one sharp.

D Major = two sharps.

A Major = three sharps.

E Major = four sharps.

B Major = five sharps.

F# Major = six sharps.

C# Major = seven sharps.

ORDER OF FLATS

F Major = one flat.

Bb Major = two flats.

Eb Major = three flats.

Ab Major = four flats.

Db Major = five flats.

Gb Major = six flats.

Cb Major = seven flats.

As you are practicing, be aware of the fret you are on, the name of the note and the finger you are using. "Play it & say it" is a good guiding principle to remember when practicing. This will help you to associate and memorize the notes on the fretboard with the scale you are learning.

Some things to keep in mind...

There are seven scales which use sharps [#] and seven which use flats [b]. The number of sharps or flats which a scale uses is written on the staff following the Treble Clef and is known as the Key Signature.

After the Key Signature is the Time Signature, which resembles a math fraction. The top number of the Time Signature tells you how many beats are in a measure while the bottom number tells you the type of note (quarter, half, whole, etc.) which receives the beat.

The scales move progressively in order of sharps or flats. This simply means that the first major scale will have zero sharps (or flats) the second will have one, the third will have two and so on. C is the only major scale which uses neither sharps or flats, therefore it is the first one.

If you are playing the major scales correctly you will ALWAYS hear the familiar sound of: DO RE ME FA SO LA TI DO

LESSON OBJECTIVE:

To become familar with playing each of the 12 major scales in first position.

PRACTICE:

1. Play through all the sharp scales first, starting with C major. Then memorize the fingering for each one so that you can play from the C scale through the C# scale without looking at the tab.

2. Play the C major scale again. Then go through all the flat scales from F through Cb. Memorize the first position fingering for each flat scale.

MORE HELP:

Guitar Scales in Tablature

Guitar Scales in Tablature - shows major, minor and rock guitar scale forms in evey key, plus a special section on blues and rock scales in various positions.