blues

[hi_lighter]

hey there,

i just got a question about blues stuff. i know the basic blues scale and can improv quite well with it. But when it comes to playing chords and using chord progressions i'm lost, i have no clue where to start!

someone care to help????

[Malcolm]

The 12 bar Blues --
Four bars of the I (tonic) chord ...... followed by
two bars of the IV chord............... followed by
two bars of the I chord................ followed by
one bar of the V chord ................ followed by
one bar of the IV chord ............... followed by
one bar of the I chord ................ followed by
one bar of the V chord and this leads you back to the start. If you are ending the song then do two bars of the I tonic chord - omiting the last V chord

This chord progression usually doesn't change during the whole song.
In dominant major Blues (There's also a minor Blues!), they are all played as seventh (7th) chords. This does not fit well into theoretical music theory, so don't think too much about it - just do it...

Here's a 12 bar Blues example in the key of E:

E7 - E7 - E7 - E7
A7 - A7 - E7 - E7
B7 - A7 - E7 - B7

You may want to use two string power chords for example E5's and E6's

E -----------------I-------------------I
B -----------------I-------------------I
G -----------------I-------------------I
D -----------------I-------------------I
A -2-2-4-4-2-2-4-4-I-2-2-4-4-2-2-4-4-I
E -0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-I-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-I

A5 moves up to the A string and the B5 is started on the A string but with 2/4 and 2/6 instead of the 0/2 and 0/4

Good luck, chording is easy, timing is another story.......

[hi_lighter]

yea i know the 12 bar blues shuffle thing and the chords progession you provided do help , but are there certain types of chords that should be used in blues?? i know hendrix's liked to use alot of major7 chords and he was a real blusey cat!

[Malcolm]

..... you answered your own question ---- all those 7ths sound good. Just do a I IV V progression and make them all 7ths.

[WildBill]

Why dosen't the 7th progression fit well into music theroy,, Just curious, it sounds good,, but does it make things harder like soloing,,

[Malcolm]

..... is we see all those 7ths because they sound good. In the old days blues players played by watching and doing what other blues players were doing --- had nothing to do with theory.

That's my opinion......

As far as soloing just use the blues scale, again this does not match up with all those 7ths, :confused: but if you stick with the blues scale notes your solo will be OK. :)

[popmusic_sux]

Eventually you'll learn what notes sound better when played over different chords, it's a matter of practice.

[Bluesin My Mind]

For a Chicago Blues sound, try 9th chords.