Electric Blues Guitar For Beginnersrn-electric-beginner-blues.s3.amazonaws.com/RiffNinja... · 2017-06-21 · Electric Blues For Beginners 4 Introduction Hi there, and welcome to

Electric Blues Guitar

For Beginners

- Course Supplement -

ByColinDanielRiffNinja.comThisbookmaynotbecopiedinanyform.Itisforpersonaluseonly.©2017RiffNinjaProductions

ElectricBluesForBeginners 2

TableofContentsIntroduction...........................................................................................................................................4HowToGetTheMostFromThisBook.....................................................................................................5AFewFactsYouNeedtoKnow...................................................................................................................6GuitarTuning...................................................................................................................................................7

YourFirstGuitarRiff.........................................................................................................................10ThePick............................................................................................................................................................13TheHookerBlues..........................................................................................................................................17

ThePowerChord................................................................................................................................2112-BarintheKeyof“A”PentatonicMinor...........................................................................................2312-barBoogieWoogieBlues.....................................................................................................................27

YourFirstChords................................................................................................................................28Example1.........................................................................................................................................................31Example2.........................................................................................................................................................32Example3.........................................................................................................................................................33

MoveablePowerChords...................................................................................................................34

The“HookerBlues”withPowerChords.....................................................................................47

TheShuffleRhythm............................................................................................................................57TheHookerBlueswithShuffle.................................................................................................................63

ApplyingChordsToTheHookerBlues.......................................................................................64RestExplanation............................................................................................................................................65PutItTogether...............................................................................................................................................69

TheIceCreamMan.............................................................................................................................70HereIsTheDeduction.................................................................................................................................75HereWeAre!!.................................................................................................................................................77

ScalesUsedin“IceCreamMan”.....................................................................................................78

2-BarClosingRiff(IceCreamMan)..............................................................................................84

“IceCreamMan”12-BarWithStops.............................................................................................86Arrangement...................................................................................................................................................89

CallandAnswer...................................................................................................................................91Riff#1................................................................................................................................................................92Riff#2................................................................................................................................................................93Riff#3................................................................................................................................................................94Riff#4................................................................................................................................................................94Riff#5................................................................................................................................................................95


“G”PentatonicMinorScale..............................................................................................................96

“G”Blues(Dominant7th)in12-Bar...........................................................................................101

TheRhythmRiff...............................................................................................................................105The24-barRhythmRiffProgression...................................................................................................107ChordPush...................................................................................................................................................108

BonusProgression..........................................................................................................................110VerseProgression......................................................................................................................................115Pre-ChorusProgression...........................................................................................................................116

BarChordHeaven............................................................................................................................118


IntroductionHithere,andwelcometomy“kickstartforbeginners”course!

Ifyou’veeverwantedtolearntoplayguitar,youneedtolearnsomeblues–it’sagoodchoice.Understandtheblues,anditwillbefoundationaltoanyotherstyleofmusicyoumightwanttopursue.ThankyouforentrustingmetobeyourteacherandIwillputinmybesteffortstohelpyoureachyourguitarplayinggoalsandbecomeabettermusician.

Youdon’tneedgoodluckwhenyouhaveagoodteacherandagoodstudent!

Sincerely,


HowToGetTheMostFromThisBookHereareafewthoughtsonhowyoucangetthemostoutofthiscourseandbook:

• Oncethroughisnotenough

• Thereisnorushtofinish

• Qualitybeforequantity

• Makesureyoureadthroughallthematerial

• Ifsomeofthisseemseasyandyoualreadyarefamiliarwithit,youshouldstillreaditthroughoncejusttomakesurethatweareonthesamepage

• It’sgoodtoworkwiththebookandthevideolessontogether

• Theideaistomagnifyyourlearningprocess

• Bepatientwithyourteacher,andespeciallybepatientwithyourself

• Takeyourtimeandreallystudyanddrawasmuchasyoucanfromthiscourse

• Don’tgiveup–giveityourall–bepatientandputinyourtime

• Youwillimprove–goodstudent+goodteacher=success!

• Youpickedsomeawesomemusictostudy!Solet’sgettotheblues!


AFewFactsYouNeedtoKnow

Thisisthepalmofthelefthandfacingyou.

Thisisastandardlefthandfingeringnumbersgraph.Thisisyourfrethand.Whenyoupressstringsdownwithyourlefthandfingers,youwillsometimesusetheflatsofyourfingersorfingertips.Thiswilldependonwhatnotesyouneedtoapply.Commonsensewillprevail.Ifyouhavealargeenoughthumb,youcouldusethattoo(don’ttellanybodyIsaidthat!).Aslongasitsoundsgood!

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GuitarTuningThemostcommontuningofallfora6-stringelectricguitaroracousticguitarisstandard“E”.

E A D G B E = opennotes

6 5 4 3 2 1 = stringnumber

The6thstringistheloweststring.Thefirststringisthehighest.Therearemanyothertuningvariations,butforthiscourseweareinstandardtuning.

Asabonuslateron,Iwilldiscussthegoodnewsaboutstandardtuningvariations.Thereisaverygoodreasontheoreticallywhystandardtuningissouniversalandaverygoodplacetostart.Icouldwriteabookonthatalone.

Sonowwecometothesubjectofhowdowelearntotuneourguitar.Someofmystudentscouldjusthearitnaturallywithoutmuchpracticeorunderstandingofmusic;someofmystudentshadaverydifficulttimeandhadtoworkatit.

Irecommendtheuseofagoodqualityautomatic-chromatictuner.Getthechromatictunerevenifyoudon’tknowwhatthatmeans–youwillneeditalittlelateron.Agoodtunerisyourbestinvestment.Themodernelectrictunerisveryaccurateonceyouknowhowtouseone.

Ifyouhaveanaturallygoodeartobeginwithandyoutunebyear,yourearwillgetbetterusingatunerbecausetheyareveryaccurate.Ifyoustruggletohearthecorrectpitchestotuneaguitar,oryoucan’thearwhenyourinstrumentisoutoftune,youneedtolearnhowtouseanelectronictuner.Trainyoureartoheartheprecisepitchesyouneedtohaveyourguitarintunebyusingatunerasyourguide.Keepingyourguitarintuneisveryimportanttoanybodythatwantstolearntoplay.

Usingatunertokeepyourguitartuningconsistenteverytimeyoupickupyourguitarwillimproveyourpitchrecognition.Yourmusicalnotepitchesthatyouhearwillmakemoresensetoyou,andeventuallyyourearstartstogetmoreaccurate.

Speakingfromexperience,inthemid-eightiesIboughtmyfirstelectronictuner.Thepricewasaffordableandifitworkedwell,itwouldbehandywhenawholegroupneededtobeintunewitheachother.Ihavehadmanyotherelectronictunerssinceandusethemconsistentlywithmyguitars.Overtheyearsithasimprovedmymusicalear,eventhoughIcouldalreadytunemyguitarbyear.

Soyouneedtogetagoodqualityelectronictunerandlearnhowtouseit.


Sohowdoweusethiselectronictunerwenowhave??

WelltherearemanydifferenttypesoftunersoutthereandIcan’tcoverthemall,butyouneedtobeabletomakethetunerworkforyou.Tryingtowriteouthowtouseanelectronictunerinabookisdifficult,soforthiswatchingavideoisveryimportant.Buthere’sachecklistofdo’sanddon’tsthatworkwiththevideopartofmylesson.

Tips‘nTricksForUsinganElectronicTuner1. Itrunsonbatteries.Arethebatteriesproperlyseatedinthetuner’sbattery

compartment?

2. Arethebatteriesstillgood?Haveafreshsetofbatteriestocheckoravoltmeter(ifyouhaveone).Atunercanactfunny,notworkwell,orbeinaccuratewhenthebatteriesrundowninpoweratacertainpoint.

3. Ifyou’repluggingyourelectricguitarstraightintothetuner,areyouusingaworkingcord?

4. Checktomakesurethevolumeandtonesonyourguitarareturnedfullup.

5. Usetherearpickuportreblepickuponyourguitarifyouhavethatchoice–yougetabettertunermeterread.

6. Donotstrikeyourstringstooaggressively.Anice,unforced,clearnotefedintotheelectronictunerwillgiveyouthebestpitchreadingonanyelectronictuner.

7. Strikeonlyonestringatatimeandlistenandpayattentiontomakesureyoudon’thitanyotherstrings.Unlessyouhaveapolytuner,mosttunerscanonlyreadonenoteatatime,andifyoufeeditanymore,itconfusesthetunermeterreading.

8. Apolytunerisatunerthatiscapableofrecognizingmultiplepitchesatthesametime–youdon’treallyneedoneofthose.Ifyouareaprofessionalmusicianandyouplayseveraldifferentinstrumentsandyouperformlive,thepolytunercouldbearealbenefit.

9. Whenyoutuneyourguitar,youneedtotuneitmorethanonce.Yougothroughyourguitaronceanddependingonhowfaroutitwas,thestringpitchchangesthewaytheguitarneckmovesfromthechangeinstringpressure,causingthestringstomoveabitor“settle”.Thismeansyouneedtore-tuneseveraltimesifneededuntilyourguitarsettlesandstaysinpitch.


10. Onsomefloatingbridgeguitars,youmayneedtogooveritmanytimesbeforethestringtensionbringsthebridgetoequalizewiththeneededtuning.Thevideolessononthissubjectismucheasiertounderstandthantryingtoexplaininthebook.

11. Whateverhardwareyouhaveonyourguitarandthewoodormaterialit’sconstructedofwillreacttothedifferentorchangingstringtensionsasyougothroughtheprocesstogetyourguitarintune.Youneedtorepeatyourtuninguntilyourguitarsettlesandstaysintune.

12. Startontheloweststringandworkyourwaytothehighestinorder.Nowcheckthelowstringorthe6thstring,whichinstandardtuningis“E”.Ifyour“E”isstillout,tuneagainfromlowtohigh.Eventuallytheguitarshouldsettleandstayintune.

13. Otherissuesthatkeepaguitarfromstayingintunearestringsthatareshot–usuallycorrodedortooold.Thesteelinthestringloosesitselasticityandstrengthandwillnotholdtuningverywell.

Oneofthebiggestproblemsthatcauseguitarsnottostayproperlyintuneanddifficulttoplayevenforanexperiencedplayeristhemechanicalsetupoftheguitar.Icouldrantandraveaboutthisalldayandaddanother30pagestothisparticularlesson.

Mechanicallyinpooradjustment,anyguitarcanbedifficulttoplay.Thepriceoftheguitardoesnotnecessarilyhelpinthissituation.Nomatterthevalueorqualitylevelofyourguitar,ifitisnotadjustedproperlyoraswesayintheguitarworld“setup”,youmayhaveallsortsoftuningandplayingdifficulties.IfastudentcomestomeforlessonsandItakealookattheguitarandcan’tkeepitintuneorplayitverywell,doyouthinkmystudentwillbeabletogetanythingoutofit?

Here’safreepieceofadvice:ifyouarereallyakeenerandwouldliketoknowmoreaboutthis,youcangotomyoveronehourlongyoutubevideo,“HowtoChooseanElectricGuitar–theUltimateElectricGuitarBuyer’sGuide”.Thisvideoisover40yearsofexperienceonthissubjectandyouneedtounderstandthistogiveyourselfthebestadvantagetolearntoplayguitar.Whateveryouagreeordisagreewith,thebottomlineisyouneedaninstrumentthatstaysintune.

Inorderformetokeepmypromiseasateacher,Ineedyoutotrustmyadvice.Iwantyoutolearntoplayandifyouwanttolearn,youneedasmuchadvantagetoassistyouwiththatgoal.Pleasetakethisadviceandmakesureyouhavefunwhileyouarelearningtoplay!


YourFirstGuitarRiffOkay!Yougotthisfarandyourguitarisintuneandreadytoplay!Alwaystuneyourguitarbeforeyouplay–it’sagoodhabittogetinto.

Whatisaguitarriff??

It’sasequenceofnotesthatcreatesarhythmicmelodythatismemorableorrecognizableaspartofasong.Ariffisusuallyrepeatedseveraltimesthroughoutasongtocreateamusicaltheme.

Thenotesinariffcouldbesinglenoteleadriffs,doublenoteriffs,orchordrhythmriffsorcombinations.

Herearesomeexamplesofriffsinsomecoolandfamousblues:

1. ChuckBerry’sintroto“Johnny‘B’Goode”isanexcellentexampleofadoublenoteriffthatwhenyouhearitplayedyourecognizethesongifyouarefamiliarwithit.

2. StevieRayVaughan–“ColdShot”.Theintroriffmorphsintotheverseofthesongandcreatesthethemeandcharacterofthesong.Itusessingle,doublenote,andchordcombonotestocreatethisriff.

3. JohnLeeHooker–“BoomBoom”.Agoodportionofthissongusesarepeatingriffforintro’s,verses,andinstrumentaljams.

SinceweareonthesubjectofJohnLeeHooker’s“BoomBoom”,it’stimetogetourhandsontheguitarandlearntoplayourfirstriff.

Therearethreepopularversionsof“BoomBoom”:theoriginalwithJohnLeeHookerin1962,TheAnimalsversionofwhichthereareseveraldifferentexamples,andthenthereistheversionofBigHeadToddandtheMonsterswithJohnLeeHookerinthestudioreleasedin1997andbecameahitsingleontherockcharts.

Wearegonnahavesomefunandstudythisparticularriffandstarttowakeourhandmusclesupabit.Youneedtolearntocoordinateyourleftandrighthandswhenyouplaytheguitarandthisisagoodplacetostart.

IamnotgoingtocopyJohnLeeHookerexactly–thisisjusttowakeupyourfingers.Onceyougettheidea,you’llstarttohearthewaytheriffissupposedtofeel–thegrooveortherhythm.Butfirstlearnthebasicnotesequencepatternandgetitdown.

JohnLeeHooker’srhythmicfeelisveryhardtoduplicateorwritedownmusically.It’sallaboutthefeel,sogettheriffnotesfirst.Forthiscourse,youdonothavetoknowhowto


readtraditionalmusicnotationortab,butknowingalittleabouteitherorbothcanreallyhelpyou,soIwillstartslowandsimple.

Haveyoueverheardabouttablatureformusicnotation?Becausethisiswherewewillstart.I’llkeepitrealsimplefornow.Tablatureortab,asitismoreoftenreferredto,issixlinesthatlookabitlikethe5-linestaffusedintraditionalclassicalmusicnotation.Thesesixlinesrepresentthesixstringsofyourguitarfromtheperspectiveofyourguitarlayingdowninyourlap,faceorfrontup,soyourthickeststring(thelow“E”or6thstring)willbeclosesttoyou.

Therearemanywaystowritetabout–againIwillstaytoabasic6-line“staff”,withyour6thstringbeingthelowestlineofthegroupofsixstrings.

Tabcanbecomequitecomplicatedwithtimingmarksandnotationsymbolsforvariousnotesounds.Fornow,I’mkeepingitrealbasictogetyoukickedin.

Here’syourfirstrifftabbedwithouttimingmarksorextrasymbols:

Sotheloweststringofthe6-linetabisthelow“E”or6thstring.“O”representstheopenstringoftheguitar.You’llnoticethatyouplayfournotesusingtheopen6thstringinthefirstfourbeats.Keepthemsteadyandevenlytimedbetweeneach.

Ifyoulookcarefullyatthetab,youwillseethatthesecondgroupoffournotesusesthenotefoundonthe3rdfret6thstringforbeat#3andanopen5thstringnoteforbeat#4.Thisishowwemeasuretimeinmusic–bybeatgroupswhicharecalledmeasuresorbars.Inthisriffwehavetwobarsormeasures,eachconsistingoffourbeats.

Thefirstbarisallopen“E”notescreatedbypickingjusttheopen“E”or6thstringonyourguitar.Thesecondbarneedsonefrettednoteonthe6thstring3rdfretwhichiswhythe“3”issittingonthe6thstringofyourtabexample.Useyourthirdfingeronthelefthandtopressthe6thstringdownontothe3rdfret.Don’tpresstoohard–justenoughtogetthenoteclear.Pleaseuseyourthirdfingerforthe3rdfret6thstringnote–IhaveotherriffsIwanttoteachyouandyouneedtouseyourthirdfinger.Thiswillmakeiteasierlater.


Again,keepthesecondgroupoffournotesniceandsteadyineventimeincrements.Youshouldreallypracticewithatimingreferencelikeadrumbeatormetronomeorbeatloopofsomekindtohelpyoulearntokeepintime.Youneedtostartslowandsteady.

Nowyoucanmovethispatternoverandtryitinadifferentkey.Wehavemovedthesamegroupofnotesoverusingthe5thstringasthekeynoteormainnote,wherebeforeitwasthe6thstringorthe“E”stringthatwasthekeynote.Samepattern,justonestringovernow.

Thisisbasedonthekeyof“A”:

Useyourthirdfingeragain,nowonthe5thstring3rdfret.Youcanactuallyplayboththe“E”riffusingthe6thand5thstringsandthe“A”riffusingthe5thand4thstringstogether.Practiceplayingeachoftheseriffsfourtimesandthenchange.Startwiththe“E”rifffourtimesandthenrepeatfourtimesforthe“A”riffusingthe5thand4thstrings.

WhywouldIwantyoutodothis??

Becauseyouneedtoconnectyourrightandlefthandcoordinationtoplaytheguitarandthisisafunwaytodoit.OrIcouldjustgiveyouascaletoplayanddoitinamoretraditionalway.Boring!!!

Let’sgettheriffdownandlearntomoveitfromthe“E”to“A”changes.Youneedtomakeitsoundmusical–afteryougetthe4xeachchangesabove,try2xfor“E”,andthen2xfor“A”,alternatingthesetwochangestilltheybecomecomfortable.

Nowwehaveonemoreoptionusingtheopen4thstring“D”astherootnote:


I’vegottwomoreoptionsforthisriffthatyoumightliketolearnonceyougetthefirstideadown.

Bytheway,thisisaveryusedandimportantgroupofnotesandcanbefoundinmanyfamoussongs;sometimesaspartofasong,orevenmakingupagoodportionofthesonglike“BoomBoom”.Hereareafewmoreexamplesofthis:

1. “LaGrange”–ZZTop:bothverseandsolousethissamenotegrouping,justinadifferentkey

2. “RockyMtnWay”–JoeWalsh:theverseworksoffthisnotegroupin“E”;differenttimingandfeel,butthesamenotes

3. “BabyDidaBadBadThing”–ChrisIsaak:doesthisriffsoundfamiliar??Itshould!

ThePickIhavenotaddressedthisyet,butareyouusingapick??Maybeyourthumb??

Iamgoingtoencourageyoutouseapickforthiscourse,buttherearelotsofotherwaystostrikeastringotherthanusingapick.

Forthisriffyoucanusealldownstrokestostart–laterwewillincorporateanupstroke.

Tryanduseathickerpick.Therearemanydifferentstyles,shapes,andmaterialsusedforpicks–you’vegottofindsomethingthatworksforyou.It’salittleeasiertotalkaboutpickchoiceinmyvidportionofthiscourse,soyouneedtopayattentiontomycommentsandrecommendationsonthissubjectinthevid.


Okay,here’sthenextversionofthisriff.Inthisversionweusethehigh“E”octavefoundonthe2ndfret4thstring.Fret’sarethemetalstripsthatrunacrossthefingerboardofyourguitar.WhenIsay2ndfret,Imeanthatyourfingershouldpressdownbehindthe2ndfretonthe4thstring.Don’tpresstoohard–justenoughtogetaclearnote.Andtrytouseyourfingertip.Wewilluseoursecondfingertopressdownonthehigh“E”onthe2ndfret4thstring,andourthirdfingerforthe3rdfret6thstringnote.

Thiscombinationwillhelpyoulearnhowtoskipstrings.Sincethefirstsixnotesusethe2ndfret4thstringnotesandthenyouhavetocrossovertothe6thstring3rdfretandendyourriffusingtheopen5thstring“A”.

Insometabyouwillfindtheuseofthelefthandfingernumberstorefertowhatfingeryouneedtouseforaparticularnote.Correctfingeringcanbeagreathelp,especiallyifyouwanttoprogressandgetbetter.Thisisasecretofmanygreatpro-guitarists–efficientfingermovementthroughcorrectfingeringtechniques.Playingwithmorecalculatedfingermovementscanmakeitmucheasiertoplaycertainnotecombinations.

Tryandgetintothehabit–formetoexplainallmyreasoningforthisistoomuch.Justgetintothecorrectfingeringhabittostartwith.Therestwillbeeasierlater.

Mostofthetimeyouwillfindthefingerassignmentintabatthetopofthetablinesabovethenoteyouneedtoplay,usuallyinsmallersizedfont.

=“E”octaveriff


Youcanalsoplaythe“A”riffusinganoctavehigher“A”notefoundonthe3rdstring2ndfret.You’rebasicallytakingthe“E”octaveriffpatternandmovingitoveronestringhigherforeachstringusedinthe“E”riff.Usingthesamepatternandmovingitovercreatesan“A”octaveriffoption.

Playingtheoctaveriffforthe“D”changeisnotverypracticalbecauseoftheawkwardfingering,butthe“E”and“A”changesworkwell.

Herewehavethe“A”octaveriffintab:

Okayhereisonemoreapproachtothisgroupofnotesthatyouneedtoknow:

Thisistoshowyouanalternatefingeringforthisriffwhichwillbenefityoulateronandwilldevelopyourfingerstrengthandmovementnow!Thispatterncanberealfuntomovearound.Onceyoulearnthefingerpattern,allyouneedtodoisthesamethingfinger-wiseontheotheropenstrings.

Ifyoulookatthetabforthisfingerpattern,youwillnoticeyouneedtheopen6thstringwithnotesonthe3rdand5thfrettocompletetheriff.Noticethefingeringforthe3rdand5thfretnotes.Useyouropen“E”6thstringwiththefirstfingerforthe3rdfretandthethirdfingerforthe5thfret.

Rememberthispatternandyoucouldplaya12-barbluesusingthisriffbycreatingtwomoreopenstringriffstoworkwiththeopen“E”6thstringriff.

=“E”change

=lefthandfingering


Theopen“A”stringisagoodstarttolearntoplaythesameriffwiththesamefingeringonthe5thstringopen“A”:

Nowmoveitovertothe4thstringwhichisanopen“D”:

Wenowhavethethreebasicchangesweneedtohavesomefunwithitandcreatea12-bar.Thethreebasicchangesare“A”,“D”,and“E”.Wehaveanopen“A”5thstringriff,anopen“D”4thstringriff,andanopen“E”6thstringriff.

Theopenstringforeachriffistherootnoteofthecomplete2-barriff.Therootnoteisthenotethatcanbeusedasareferencepointtohelpwithgettingaroundontheguitarfingerboard.Herewewillusetherootnotelogic/theorytoorganizeourthreelowestoptionsoftheriffontheguitarintoa12-bar.Fornow,weareinthekeyof“A”blues(relatedto“A”minor),andourthreechangesare“A”,“D”,and“E”:

A = I = tonic= keynoteD = IV = four = importantharmonyE = V = five = veryimportantharmony

Okay,Iamgoingtochallengeyoujustalittlemore.Weareonlygoingtousethesecondbaroftabinthelastexample.Thismakesthe3rdand5thfretnotechangesseemearly–nottoworry,youneedtogetthis.Itwillhelpyouwithyourtimingasyoulearntoplaya12-barusingwhatyouhavelearned–sofarusingtheopen“A”,“D”,and“E”riffs.

Ifyoutakealookat“TheHookerBlues”tab,youwillnoticethatweplaytwoopenstringnotesandthe3rdand5thfretnotesonceeach.Noticeitisthiswayforallthreechanges!!

=“A”change

=“D”change


TheHookerBlues

Rememberthisisjusttogetstarted.Lateron,afteryoulearnalittlemoreaboutrhythm,wewillcomebacktothisprogressiononemoretimewitharealbluesbeatrhythmfeel.

Thesethreechangesareveryuseful,somakesureyougetthisdown.Onceyoulearn“TheHookerBlues”,youcouldmaybeexperimentwith“A”,“D”,and“E”changesandcomeupwithyourownversionifyoulike.Youjustneedtoberealfamiliarwiththosechanges–theyareveryimportantandwillcomeupagainwhenwegettopowerchordsandfullchordpatterns.

Usingthis12-baroutline,youcouldalsohavesomefunandapplytheoctavechangesfor“A”and“E”.Thistimewecanusethebasic2-barriffandalternatebetweenthelowoctaveandthehighoctavevariationsforthe“E”and“A”changes.


Inthisexample,weusethefull2-barriffinsteadofjustusingthesecondbar,likewedidin“TheHookerBlues”–itisstill12bars:


Wecoulduseour2-barriffandcreatea24-barcycle,whichisdoublethelengthof“TheHookerBlues”,butstillfollowsthebasic12-barorderofchanges.

Youcanseethatwearestillusingthebasic12-bararrangementof“TheHookerBlues”,justdoubletheamountofbarsbecauseweareusingthe2-barphraseratherthanthe1-barphrasewherewejustusedthesecondbarofour2-barphrasetocreate“TheHookerBlues”12-bar.

Therearemanyvariationstothisidea,andyoushouldexperimentwiththisideatocreateyourownversionof12-baror24-barcycles.Basicallywehavefollowedthesame


arrangement–firstjustusingthesecondbarofourrifftocreate“TheHookerBlues”,orthefull2-barphrasetocreateour12-barvariationorthe24-barvariationexamples.Youneedtogetcreativewiththeseideas–thismakespracticeinterestinganditreallyisbeneficialtoyourprogressontheguitar.

Hereisacomparisonofwhatwedidtocreateour24-barcyclefromourbasic“TheHookerBlues”12-barwhichIwouldconsiderfoundationaltoblues:

“TheHookerBlues” Usinga2-barphrase/24-barexample

A=I=4bars A=I=8barsD=IV=2bars D=IV=4barsA=I=2bars A=I=4barsE=V=2bars E=V=4barsA=I=2bars A=I=4barsTotal=12bars Total=24bars

Thisisagoodfoundationalformulathatisusedinmanyfamousbluesprogressions.


ThePowerChordWhydoIwanttoteachyouaboutthepowerchord?Becausethepowerchordisaveryusefultooltocreatemusicwith.Somepeoplehavewrittenandcreatedverypopularsongsjustusingthepowerchordinacreativeway.Oh,thepowerchordisreallypopularwithheavyrockandheavymetal,butthebluesusesitjustinadifferentway.Ifyoucangetthepowerchord,Icanshowyousomeverycoolboogiewoogiebluesrhythmpatternsonyourguitar,soyouneedtoknowthis.

ThispowerchordI’mspeakingofisactuallybasedonatwonoteharmony–sometimesusingallsixstringsatonce,butonlymadeupoftwobasicnotes.

WhatI’msayingis,alotoftimestheycanbemistakenforachordharmony,whichneedsthreedifferentnotesplayedtogether.Alotoftimesinchordharmonywegetnoterepeats.

SotomakethiseasyIwillstartwiththethreeopenstringpowerchords,plusamovablepatterntoo.

Theseopenstringpowerchordsarethesamerootnotesweworkedwithin“TheHookerBlues”.Wearegoingtoapplythethreebasicchangesin“A”blues(“A”minor):“A”,“D”,and“E”intoa12-barusingthepowerchordharmony.

Thepowerchordneedstwodifferentnotes,technically,itisaninterval.

Interval=2noteharmony=powerchord

Thethreeeasiestpowerchordspossibleontheguitarareagainthe“A”,“D”,and“E”changesforthekeyof“A”blues.Again,wearegoingtousethesameopenstringswedidfor“TheHookerBlues”,justnowinpowerchords.

Weneedtolearnjustabitmoretheoryabouthowmusicworks.EarlieronImentionedthatforthekeyof“A”,ourthreechangesare“A”,“D”,and“E”.Thekeyisthenotesinascalearrangedtocreateamusicalpiece.Ihavenotgivenyouascaleyet,andIdon’twanttogothatfarintothispieceoftheory–that’sforalittlelateroninthiscourse.Fornowthough,thefirstnoteisknownasthekeynote,tonic,orrootnote.Theyallapplytothesamenote,justindifferentharmonygroupsornotegroups.

Soourkeynoteisknownasthe“one”orthe“I”change/chord/riff.


Nowinthekeyof“A”,then:

A = one = I = firstnoteofyourscaleD = fourth= IV = fourthnoteofyourscaleE = fifth = V = fifthnoteofyourscale

Keepthistheoryformoreuselateroninthiscourse–it’sveryimportant.

Whyallthis?SoIhaveawaytocommunicatetoyouandgetyouplaying.

Tocreateapowerchord,weusetheI=powerchordroot,andV.Ourfirstpowerchordwillusetheopen5thstring“A”,whichisourrootnote,andthe4thstringsecondfret.Useyourfirstfingeronthelefthand–getintothathabitbecauseasImentionedbeforeaboutthefingerpatternfor“TheHookerBlues”,doingthisnowwillmakeitaloteasierlateron.

Youneedtosoundonlytheopenstringrootnoteandthefrettedharmonyonthesecondfrettogether.Alltheotherstringsshouldnotsoundout.

Thetrickwiththesepowerchordsistoonlysoundoutthetwostringsneededforeither“A”,“D”,or“E”powerchords.

Iusebothleftandrighthandtechniquestomuteandcontrolunwantedstringsfromringingout.Thisisadifficultsubjecttowriteaboutinabook,somysuggestiontoyouistopayattentiontomylessoninthevidwhenItalkaboutormentionmutingtechniqueswithmyrightorlefthand.Thereisnooneapproachtothissubject,butitneedstobeaddressed.


NowI’mgoingtoraisethebarabitmore.Firstmakesureyoucanplaythestraight¼noterhythmbyusingthethreepowerchords“A”,“D”,and“E”ina12-barprogression.I’vetabbeditoutforyouinstraight1/4rhythm.

Thatis =4beatstothebar =1/4notegetsonefullbeat

$ =timesignatureMostofourmusicisbasedonsomefractionalformof$timesignature.

Herewego!!

12-BarintheKeyof“A”PentatonicMinor(AP5=“A”PerfectFifth)

Onceyou’vegotthebasicpowerchords,usingadownstrokeonly,learntoplaythroughthe12-barinthekeyof“A”(tab)assteadyasyoucan.Makesureyourchangesarerightonthebeat–allnotesareequalintimetoeachother.

Ididnotspecifyhowfastorslowtoplaythis12-bar,butwhateverspeedyouchoose,findaspeedthat’snottoofastsoyoucangetthroughthechangessmoothlyandontime.Ifyou


canplayitfastandcorrectly,that’sgoodtoo.Justdon’tsacrificequalityforplayingsomethingfast–it’sbettertostartalittleslower.

Nowweneedtodevelopthepickhandalittlemorebyapplyingalternatepickingtechnique.Thisisasteadydownuppickstroke,whichcouldapplytofullchords,singlenoteleadlinesandsolos,ortheintervalpowerchordsweareworkingonrightnow.Sobreakupthebars(alltwelvebars),andplaytwonotesper1/4note,andwenowhave1/8notes:eightnotesperbarof :sameamountofmusicaltime,justdoublethenotes.Thisiswherethedownuppickingcomesin.Thedownstrokewiththepickisstrongerthantheupstroke.In1/8notes,thefirst1/8noteofeachbeatgroupisstronger.Thisbecomesthe“one”.Thesecondeighthnotebecomesthe“and”,andit’stheweakerbeatofthetwo.Sothishappensfourtimesinastrongandweaknotegroup:

n=2joinedorbeamednotesisauniversalmusicnotationsymbolfor1/8notes:

4groupsof2=eightnotes.

WhywouldIwanttotellyouthis??Isthisreallyimportant??Well,itisveryimportantasatooltocommunicateanapproachtobasicrhythmsthat’seasytounderstand,startingwiththetablaturemarkedoutin1/8timing.

Countoutloud“oneand,twoand,threeand,fourand”asyouplaythroughthe12-bar.Countingoutloudortappingyourfootwhileyouareplayingcanreallyhelp.Youcouldalsofindsomeeasytousetimingdevices,drumloops,loopers,metronomes,ordrummachines.Ilikedrumprograms,ordrummachinessothatIcanprogrammyowndrumloops.

Digitaldrummachinesareveryaccurate,andifyou’recreative,canbealotoffuntojamwith.Itwillalsoimproveyouroverallsenseoftimingandrhythm.

Okay,gettoit:startwithadownstrokeandthenalternatethroughoutthe12-bar.Makesureyourdownstrokestrikesbothstringsclearlyandthenrepeatthesamefortheupstroke.Again,justlikewiththe1/4notes,youneednicesteady,equaltimednotesusingyourdownuppickingthistime.Alternatepickingisaverygoodhabittogetinto.


Starttogetthis12-bardownataspeedthat’scomfortableforyou.Onceyougetthat,don’tgetlazy–practiceatdifferentspeedsduringyourpracticetimes.Someslowrhythmscanbejustasdifficultasafasterrhythm.Mostofall,havefunwithit–createsomegoodsoundingmusicofyourownandbecreative!

PickStrokeSymbols

Nowwetakethenextstepbyaddingonemoretwonoteharmony(interval)incombinationwiththepowerchord.Thereissomedeepertheorywhichexplainsthisindetail,butI’llspareyouthelectureforthesakeofbeingabeginnerscourse.

Thesetwonotecombinationsareusedtocreateoneofthemostfamousbluesboogiewoogiepatterns.Therearemanyrhythmicvariationsofthesetwonotecombinations.Your“HookerBlues”riffwhereyouusedyourfirstandthirdfingerforamovableriffisnowgoingtopayoffifyoupracticed.Thenotewearegoingtoaddtoourpowerchord(perfect5th)harmonyistechnicallythemajor6th(+6).Weusethesetwointervalsandalternatevariationstocreaterhythmmovement.


WhatI’msayingisyoucancreateyourownversionofthisverycommonrhythmriff.Wearegoingtostartbygettingtherhythminjustthe“A”root.Onceyougetthe“A”change,the“D”and“E”areverysimilar.Remember,wearegoingtouseafamiliarfingerpattern.

UseyourfirstfingerforAP5likewepracticedearlier.Now,whilekeepingthefirstfingerdownonthe4thstring2ndfret,useyourthirdfingertofretandplaythefirst1/8noteofbeat2and4asa+6.OnceyougettheAP5/+6pattern,trythe“D”and“E”changestoo.Nicesteadydownuppickstrokes!!Pickonlythetwostringsneededforeachofthethreeboogiewoogiepatternchanges.

AP5/+6 = open5thstringroot,4thstringharmony = I(one)DP5/+6 = open4thstringroot,3rdstringharmony = IV(four)EP5/+6 = open6thstringroot,5thstringharmony = V(five)


Here,checkoutDP5/+6andEP5/+6.Theyarethesamefingermovements,justonadifferentsetofstringcombinationstocreatethreebasicchangesforthekeyof“A”blues:

Nowlet’sputallthreechangestogetherforafun12-bar.

12-barBoogieWoogieBlues


YourFirstChordsAllright!Timetolearnafewchords.WewillstartwiththethreeprimarychordchangesforA7th(dominant7th),knownastheblueskey.

Justasapointofinterest,“A”major,and“A”minoraretwooppositekeys,butA7oranydominant7thchordhasthemusicalharmonyabilitytositoneithersideofthefence–itcanbeasubstitutechordforeithermajororminordependingonthemusic.

Forthiscourse,wewillapplythedominant7thtopentatonicminororthebluesminorkey.Inotherwords,wearegoingtouseA7,D7,andE7relatingtotheminor.Especiallyintheblues,makesureyouonlyincludestringsthatareassignedinharmonytoeachofthethreechords.Getallyournotesclearandlearntostrumyourthreechordsniceandeven,downup.Practicechangingfromchordtochord,pickouteachindividualnoteineachchordpatternuntilallthestringsincludedinthechordringoutniceandclear,thenstrum.Thisisagoodwaytopracticegettingeachofyourchordsdown.

Whileyou’reworkingonyourchords,wearegoingtotakealookatsomesticknotationwhichyouneedtounderstandsoIcanteachyouanewstrum.Thisstrumissoveryimportantfortheblues,andsincethisisabluescourse,well…………


SticknotationrelatestowhatIhaveallreadybeenteachingyouwithtab.Nowwejustfocusonrhythmicnotationandlearntobreakdownsomebasicfractioninginmusicrhythmsandapplyittosomestrumming.

EarlierinthiscourseItalkedaboutthetimesignature andhowwecreatedonefullbarin .Herearethreenotesymbolstohelpyoulearnbasicmusicfractioning:

= 1/4notestrumslash

or = 1/8notestrumslashes–eithersinglewithflagorbeamedtogether

or = 1/16notestrumslashes–eithersinglenoteswithtwoflagseachordoublebeamedtogether

Thesethreebasicrhythmfractionscometogethertocreatemanyofourmostpopularstrumpatternsfoundinmanyfamoussongs.

Startbyusingyourthreenewchords:A7,D7,andE7,andtryoutthe1/4and1/8notestrums.Noticethestrummarkingsorpickstrokemarkingsabovethestrumnotes.

Usealldownstrumsforthe1/4notesandalternatestrummingforthe1/8notes.Tryanyofyourchordsoutwiththesetwofractions.Learntocountoutloudtohelpyougetthefeel.Playitlikeyousayit.Thisworksreallywellespeciallyifyoustrugglewithsteadystrumissuesortimingissuesofanykind.


SowecancreatesomebasicstrumpatternstoapplytoourA7,D7,andE7chordsusing1/4noteand1/8notefractioninginourstrumming.Let’shavealook:

Thisisastraight1/8notestrum:

Two1/4strums,two1/8strums:

One1/4andtwo1/8andone1/4strumpattern:

Theseareverygoodstrumpatternstolearnandquitepopular.Experimentwiththesestrumsatdifferentspeeds.Whileyouareworkingonyourstrumpatterns,paycloseattentiontohowyourchordsaresounding–nodeadnotesandnoextrastringsringingout,especiallyfortheA7ortheD7chords!!!

Whenyou’restrumming,pictureyourpicklikeabrushmovingacrossyourstrings:downstrumandpicktipispointingup;upstrumandyourpickispointingdown.

Tryandgetthestringstoringoutequallysothatallnotesneededforachordcanbeheardclearlysoundingout.Ifitdoesnotsoundgood,bettercheckyourguitartuningoryourfingerpattern.

Ididnotgiveyouanythingthatsoundsbad–theseareallveryusedandpopularchordsinmusicsomakeitsoundgood.Payattentiontowhatyouaredoingandhowthatcomesout


onyourguitarsound-wise.Usesomecommonsense:bepracticalandpatient.Thereisnorushtogetitdownrightaway.

Here,let’sgetthesethreechordsintoa12-barprogression.Youneedtoworkyourchanges,thenwewilladdastrumpattern.

Basic12-Barin“A”BluesUsingDominant7thChordsA7,D7,andE7

Example1

Startbystrummingeachchordforeachbar,lettingitringforthefullfourcountofeachbar.Ifyouhavenotnoticed,this12-barprogressionfollowsthesamechangesthatareusedformy12-barboogiewoogie,andyoucanactuallystrumyourA7,D7,andE7changesoverthesamechangesintheboogiewoogiepattern.

Soyoucouldrecordyourboogiewoogie12-barandthenlearntostrumyourchordchangesoverthe12-barboogiewoogie.Thesetwomusicalideasworktogetherverywell.Youcouldfindajambuddyandoneofyoucanplaythechordsandtheothertheboogiewoogie12-barpattern–theyshouldsoundgoodtogether.

Ifyoucanplaya12-barusingonestrumperbarandmakeitsoundgood,thenwecanaddthestrum.

Learningtoplaythesinglestrumperbar,perchangeinthe12-barexampleisagreatwaytohelpyoudevelopyourchordchangesandtimingaccuracywithoutsweatingittoomuch.


Ifyoustrugglewithtiming,thisiswhereyouneedtostart.Onceyounaildownthe12-barwithsinglestrums,you’rereadytomoveon.

Here’sastrumforthechordsthatwouldworkreallywellonyourownorifyouhaveawaytoplayboththeboogiewoogie12-barandtheopenchord12-baratthesametime:ierecordingprogramorjambuddy.

Example2

Youcanfindthis12-barusedformanywell-knownsongs.Someexamplesare:

MeanWomanBlues–RoyOrbisonJohnny“B”Goode–ChuckBerryCrossRoads–CreamVersion

Theyallusesomeformof12-barinthekeyof“A”pentatonicminor.


Example3Hereisanother“A”blues12-barvariationbasedon“CrossRoads”:

Thisistheprogressionthatisusedforalltheversesin“CrossRoads”byCream.


MoveablePowerChordsAtthebeginningofthiscoursewetookalookatJohnLeeHooker’s“BoomBoom”onpage17wehavethecompleted12-barprogression.Wearenowgoingtobeefupthatideabyusingpowerchordstofollowsinglenoterootsinthisprogression………

ButfirstIneedtoshowyouthenotesonthe6thand5thstrings,andthenyouwillbeabletofindatleast24powerchordsbasedonthe6thand5thstringroots.Youneedtolearnalittlebitmoretheorysowecanapplyittothe“HookerBlues”progression.

Remember,powerchordsarethetwo-noteharmony(intervals)thatareusedtoreplacefullchords.Theyarenottechnicallyachordharmony.Westudiedthethreebasicopenformsofpowerchords(page22),nowwearegoingtolearnaclosedpatternwhichismovabletoanyfretpositionyoucanreach.

Youjustneedtolearnafewpointersonhowthenotesworkandyouwillbeabletomovethesepowerchordswhereveryouwant.Herearesomebasicrulesaboutourmusicalnotesystemthatyouneedtoknow.

1.Wehavesevendifferentletternamesinourmusicalsystem:ABCDEFG

2.Theeighthnote,oroctave,isarepeatnote:samething,justhigherorlower

3.Ontheguitarit’spossibletofindthreeorfouroctaves,dependingonhowmanyfretsyouhaveandwhatnoteyouarelookingfor

4.Your12thfretisanoctaveforeachstringontheguitarfingerboard

5.Your12thfretisusuallymarkedwithadoubledotinlaysomewhereontheneckorfretboardofyourguitar

6.Theconclusionis:whatevernoteIhavemyopenstringtunedto,12fretshigheryoucanplaytheoctave

7.That’sforeachstring(seediagramonthenextpage)


8.Wehavetwotypesofnotesinourmusicalsystem:naturalnotesandaccidentals

9.Wehavesevennaturalnotesavailabletous:ABCDEFG

10.Theaccidentalsarefoundinbetweenthenaturalnotes,sofirstlearnwhereyournaturalnotesare

11.Tone=wholestep(higherorlower)=2fretsdistance

12.Semitone=1/2step(higherorlower)=1fretdistance

13.Theaccidentalsarefoundinbetweenthenaturalnotesthathaveatonedistancebetweenthem

14.Sharp=♯ =1semitonehigherinpitchthanthepitchoftheletternameitiswritteninfrontof

654321=strings


15.Flat=♭ =1semitonelowerinpitch–thereverseofthesharp Allright,nowthatyouhavethisinformation,youneedtoknowthedistancesbetweenthenaturalnotes.Thesearefixeddistancesthatwestartwith:itiswhatourearheardnaturally,andthisishowweexplainit.Icannotchangethesedistances–theyareastandardruleforallinstrumentsallovertheworld.

Herearethedistances:

Youwillnoticeinournaturalnotestate(yes,thesearethenotesforthe“A”minorscale)thatallofthenaturalnoteshaveonetonebetweenthemexceptforthedistancesbetweenBtoCandEtoF.BtoCandEtoFaretheonlynaturaloccurringsemitonesoutofourmusicalsystem.

Therestofournotepossibilitiesareaccidental,flat(♭),orsharp(♯).Thesearetheinbetweennotes.

Let’susethisinformationtolearnthenotesonthe5thand6thstringofourguitarusingstandardtuningasourstartingpoint.Noticeonthefollowingdiagramsifwestartonthe6thstring,“E”isouropennotethatwestartwith.Remember,wearegoinghigherinnotepitchbecause“E”isourlowestnoteonthe6thstring(diagramonpage35).

Ifweuseourknowledge,ournextnotehigherthan“E”is“F”,andthesetwonotesareonlyonefret’sdistanceapart:oneofournaturalsemitones.That’swhyifyoupressyourfingerdownonthe1stfret6thstring,youhaveraisedyouropen6thstringonefret.Thiswouldnowhavetobean“F”natural.

Thenextnoteis“G”andwehaveatonedistancehere.ForGtoAandAtoBdistances,wealsohaveatwofretdistance,oratone,so“A”willbeatthe5thfret6thstring,andthe“B”willbeatthe7thfret6thstring(seediagramonpage38).

RememberthedistancebetweentheBandCnotesisasemitone.Thisisourothernaturalsemitonedistanceinourmusicnotesystem.Afterthat,twofretshigherthan“C”(onetone)isthe“D”noteandtwomorefretsandyouarebacktothestartoneoctavehigheratthe12thfret.Youcancontinueonfromthereifyouneedto,repeatingyournotesoneoctavehigher.


Thiscanbeappliedtoeverystring.let’stakealookatthe5thstringnotes,andthenwecanapplythistoourpowerchordpatterntogetthechangesweneedfor“BoomBoom”.

The5thstringstartswithanopen“A”note,andournextnaturalnoteisonetonehigheratthe2ndfret5thstring.Thisisthe“B”naturalnote.Nextwehavethe“C”naturalnote,onesemitonehigheratthe3rdfret5thstring.thedistancesfrom“C”to“D”and“D”to“E”arebothonetoneortwofrets(seediagramonpage38).

Goingfrom“E”to“F”isanaturalsemitone.Thisleavesuswithtwomorenotedistancesbeforethe12thfret“A”octave.From“F”to“G”and“G”to“A”wehaveonetonedistance,whichbringsustothe12thfretoctave“A”onthe5thstring.

I’vealsodiagrammedouttheopen4thstringor“D”stringnotes.Again,thesamerulesapplytofindyournotepositionsonthefretboard.Watchoutforthetwonaturalsemitones:thedistancesbetween“B”to“C”and“E”to“F”.

Itisactuallyquiteeasytorememberifyoulookatitthisway:exceptforthedistancesfrom“B”to“C”and“E”to“F”,allournaturalnoteshaveadistanceofonetonebetweenthem.Anynaturalnotesthathaveatonebetweenthemhaveanaccidentalseparatingthem,whichcanbeeithersharporflat.


T=Tone

ST=Semitone


Hereishowtheflatsandsharpsfitintothedistancesbetweenthenaturalnotes:

Usuallyweusesharpswhenwearegoinghigherinpitchandflatswhenwearegoingdown.Thisisauniversalsystem,andsomeinstrumentsworkbetterusingflatswhileothersareeasiertoworkwithusingsharps.

Youbasicallyhavetwoletternamesforeachaccidental.Likethedistancebetweenthe“A”and“B”naturalnotes,wehaveA♯(eysharp)orB♭(beeeeflat).Theyarethesamepitch.IfIraisedmy“A”naturalbyonefret,oronesemitonehigher,itisanA♯(eeehsharp).IfIgofrommy“B”naturalonefretlower,youcouldcallitB♭(beeeeflat).Remember,thisisuniversalforallinstruments.

SowhydoIwantyoutoknowthis?Welltheansweriscomingrightup.

HerearethetwopowerchordsIneedyoutoknow.Onepowerchordhasitsrootonthe6thstringandtheharmonyonthe5thstring.Theotherpowerchordusesthe5thstringastherootnoteandtheharmonyisplayedonthe4thstring.Theybothusethesamefingerpatterns.Generallyspeaking,therootnoteisyourpitchreferencenoteanditisassignedbythestringitappearson.

Nowbyusingournotetheorywejuststudied,wecanrenameourchordsasweraiseorlowerthemonthefretboardoftheguitar.Justkeepthesamefingerpattern,andwhatevernoteyou’replayingfortherootwillbeyourchordpitch.

Souseyourfirstandthirdfingerstocreateourtwonotepowerchord.Makesureyouonlyplaythetwostringsneededforaparticularpowerchord.

Useyourleftandrighthandstomuteunwantedstringring.Checkoutthevidformoredetailsonthis–it’smucheasiertoexplainonvideothaninthebook.

DiagramAgivesyouthetwobasicpowerchordswearegoingtouse–let’sstartbymovingtheroot6powerchordupthefretboard.


DiagramA–2basicpowerchordroots6and5

NoticefortheGP5orG5therootnoteisonthe6thstringandforC5itisfoundonthe5thstring.


TakealookatdiagramBwhereImovetheG5(6)onthe6thand5thstringsupthefretboard.Youcanapplythesametheorytotheroot5powerchord,movingitupthefretboardtolearnthenamesofyourpowerchordsusingthe5thand4thstringpattern.

DiagramB

Movingtheroot6powerchord:

Asyoucansee,byusingyourknowledgeoftonesandsemitones,youcanusetherootnoteasapitchreferenceandrenameyourpowerchordwiththecorrectpitch.


NowtakealookatdiagramC.

DiagramC–movingtheroot5powerchord

Remembertosoundoutonlythe5thand4thstringsfortheseroot5powerchords.


Nowlet’sapplysomeaccidentalsandtakealookatdiagramDwherewetaketheroot6powerchordandlearntofindaB♭5powerchord,whichiscommonlyusedandneeded.

DiagramD


DiagramDcontinued


Let’stakealookattheroot5powerchordthatusesthe5thand4thstrings.

DiagramE

ByraisingtheC5(5)powerchordonefret,wehaveC♯5(5)powerchord,alsoknownasD♭5(5)powerchorddependingontheapplication.


DiagramF

ByloweringtheE5(5)powerchordonefret,wehaveE♭5(5)powerchordknownalsoasD♯5(5)powerchord.

Nowyoushouldbeabletoseethevalueinknowingyournotesystembetter,andthisisonlygoingtobemoreusefulasyoutakeyourmusicaljourneyfurtheron.

Nowlet’sgetdowntothe“BoomBoom”progression.


The“HookerBlues”withPowerChordsAllright,wehavereallystudiedtheI–IV–Vin“A”bluesandnowwearegoingtodiginto“E”blues.AsIhavementionedbefore,theI–IV–Vrepresenttherootnotesofthethreemainharmoniesthatcanbefoundinanyonekey.YoucanfindtheI–IV–Vinbothmajorandminorscalesorkeys.Thescaleisthenotesthatbelongtoaparticularkey,andareusedtocreatesolos,melodies,chords,andintervalsthatbelonginthatkey.Bothmajorandminorkeyshaveoppositesoundingqualities,buttheI–IV–Vrootnoteswillbethesame.

Forthekeyof“A”major,yourI–IV–VwouldbeA,D,andE.Yourchordswouldbemajor,soyourthreeprimarychordsfor“A”majorwouldbeA+,D+,andE+.For“A”minor,theyareAm,Dm,andEm.For“A”bluestheyareA7,D7,andE7.Althoughthe7thchordsoundsdifferenttonallythantheminorchordandthemajorchordhasanoppositecolourtotheminor,therootnotesfortheI–IV–Varethesame.

ThereisamusicaldistancethatlinesuptheI–IV–Vharmoniesandthisisreallyimportantthatyoustarttounderstandthissincethesedistancesapplytoallkeysinmusic.

Inmusicwehavetwomeasurementstohaveacorrectdistancebetweennotes.Thesecrettogoodandbadsoundingharmoniesistoknowthecorrectmusicaldistancesandthenbeabletoplaythemphysically.

Firstgetitinthebrain,andthenputittoyourfingersontheguitar.

Herearethedistancesyouneedtoknow:

I–IV = 2½tones(5frets)plus4letternamesI–V = 3½tones(7frets)plus5letternamesIV–V = 1tone

Thesedistancesapplytobothmajorandminorkeys.Youcountboththeletternameyoubeginandendwith.ThisiswhyourI–IV–Vfor“A”isA,D,andE.


IfyougettheIVdistancecorrect,itiseasytogettheV–justraisetheIVonetonehigher(or2frets)andyougetyourVharmony.Armedwiththisinformationwecannowcalculatethethreeprimarychangesforthekeyof“E”.

Okaynowwehavethethreebasicchangesforthekeyof“E”.

E=IA=IV 3primarychangesB=V

Keyof“E”blues=E7,A7,B7

Keyof“E”minor=Em,Am,Bm

Keyof“E”major=E+,A+,B+

Eventhoughthesechordsareallindifferentkeys,theI–IV–Vrootnotes(E,A,B)arecommontoallthreekeys!!

Whyallofthis?Becausenowwearegoingtolearnaprogressionusingthethreebasicchangesin“E”andcreatean“E”bluesprogressioninspiredbyarecordingofJohnLeeHooker’s“BoomBoom”.Thisisthesolosectionandaveryfamouschordprogressionthathasbeenusedinmanysongsinvariousways.

OurinspirationcomesfromthestudiorecordingofJohnLeeHookerguestingwith“BigHeadTodandtheMonsters”jamming“BoomBoom”.ThisversionisalittledifferentthansomeofJohnLeeHooker’srecordingsof“BoomBoom”,butthisisourreferenceforthisexample.

Nowwearegoingtogobacktotheonebarriffusedinthe12-barexampleonpage17andmoveittothekeyof“E”insteadofthekeyof“A”.Notethatthekeyof“A”andthekeyof“E”havetwooutofthethreeprimarychangesincommonwitheachother.


Compare:

“A” = A,DandE“E” = E,A,andB

The“A”and“E”changesarecommonwithbothkeys.

Let’sstartbytakingthe“E”change,sincethatisourtonicorkeynoteor“I”changeinthekeyof“E”.Nowwearegoingtotakethe“E”rifffromthe12-barprogression(page17),andreplacethesinglenoteswithourpowerchordswejuststudied.

NoticethethreenotesweuseareE,G,andAforthesinglenoteriffonpage17forthe“E”change.

Hereistheonebarriffusingtheopen6thstringastheroot(keyofEpentatonicminor):

Thesesinglenotescanbeusedtorepresentrootnotesofthepowerchords.Wesubstitutesinglebassnotesforpowerchordsforabigrhythmsound:a“Phatrhythmsound”.

YoushouldalreadyknowtheopenpowerchordE5–wecoveredthatearlieroninthecourse.

Startyour“G”powerchordwithyourfirstfingeranchoredtothe6thstring3rdfret,thenuseyourthirdfingerfortheperfectfifthharmony.

Weneedthreepowerchordchanges:E5,G5,andA5.Ichosetoplaythemusingthe6thand5thstrings–it’sagreatpatterntoknow.

“Iconic”bluesriff–thisriffrepresentsthe“E”changeorIchord.OurnextchangewillbetheIVchord“A”,whichisthesamefingering–usingthe5thand4thstring–the5thstring“A”beingyourrootnotefortheIVchange.

Soyouplaythesamepatternthatyoudidforthe“E”changeonthe6thstring;useopen“A”5thstringasourrootnotenowandrepeattheonebarphraseforthe“A”root.


Nowusingpowerchords,getthe“E”changedownandthenIwillshowyouhowtogetthe“A”changewhichistheIVchangeinthekeyof“E”.

The3powerchordsforthe“E”riff=I

Herearethepowerchordstabbedforthe“E”change:

Noticehowwehavetwostringsplayedtogethertabbedout,directlybeloworaboveeachotheronthetablines.Toreallybeeffectivewiththesepowerchords,youneedtobesoundingthemouttogetherasequalaspossible.Ifyou’reabeginner,makesureyousoundoutbothstringsandbecarefulnottohitthestringstoohard.Findthesweetspotwiththechanges.Usethefingeringgraphedoutinthediagramabove.


Ifyouhavethe“E”powerchordriffdown,you’rereadytolearnthe“A”powerchordriff.

Makesureonlythe5thand4thstringsaresoundingout–noextrastringsringingorbeingaccidentallypicked.Extrastringsringingoutisacommonbeginnerissue,andyouneedtostartworkingonusingbothyourleftandrighthandsformutingunusedstringsfromringingout.Gotothevideoforthispart–it’stoodifficulttoexplainonpaper–thereisnoincorrectwaytomutestringsusingtheleftorrighthand.

Dependingonwhatkindofsoundyoulikeoutofyouramp,thiscanalsoeffecthowthestringsneedtobemutedinacertainway.Experimentwithdifferentsoundswhileyougetthe“E”and“A”powerchordriffsdown.

Someexamplescouldbeplayingtheguitarwiththebackpickuponandyourpickhandclosetowherethestringscomeoffthebridge–thisgivesyousometwang.

Maybegototheothersidewithsomeseriouslyheavydistortion–metalblues!!!Orsomeotherinbetweenblendyoufindonyourguitarandamp.Howaboutjustusingalittlebiddybitofdistortioninsteadofreallyoverthetopheavydistortion.Eachvariablewillmakeyourguitarsoundandreactdifferently.


Hereareyourthreepatternsforthe“A”change=IV


Allrightwehaveonemorechangetogetdown–theVchange,whichforthekeyof“E”is“B”.The“B”changeisthemostdifficultoutofthethreepowerchordriffchanges,butit’sallweneedtoputitalltogether.

Wearegoingtoplaythe“B”powerchordriffusingpowerchordsonthe5thand4thstrings.

HowdoIknowwhattheothertwopowerchordchangesareforthe“B”change?Musicaldistance–checkoutthedistancebetweeneachofthenotesintheriffforboththe“E”and“A”changes.Rememberwehavetwomeasurementsusedinourmusicalsystem–tonesandsemitonesdistance,plustheletternamecount.

Checkthisout:tocreateour“E”riff,weusedthechangesE–G–A.Nowuseyourtwomusicalmeasurementstofindouttheanswerforthe“B”change:

Ifyoucheckthe“A”changeriffnotedistances,youwillgetthesamemusicaldistances,justrelatedtothe“A”changeratherthanthe“E”.

Nowrelatethedistancestofindthechangesforthe“B”.“B”isourrootandweneedtogothreeletternamesand1½toneshigherforthenextnote,justlikewedidfortheE–Gforthe“E”changeriff.

Canyoucount??

Nowwehavetheanswer,let’slearnournew“B”changeriffandthenwe’llputittogether!

B–D–E!


Ichosetoplayallthreepowerchordsneededforthe“B”changeriffusingthe5thand4thstrings.Thisisanotherpatternyouneedtoknow.

Herewehaveour“B”powerchordrifftabbed:

Therewehaveit!Nowlet’screateour12-barrhythmusingourthreechangesinthekeyof“E”pentatonicminor.Thatisourblueskeyforthisexample.

Nowifwegobacktowhatwedidonpage17,andmarkoutthechangesforeachbar,youwillknowwheretoplacethechangesforthekeyof“E”inthe12-barpattern.


Let’shavealook.Onpage17wewereusinga12-barprogressioninthekeyof“A”pentatonicminoror“A”blues,andourthreeprimarychangeswere“A”,“D”,and“E”.

A=ID=IV 3primarychangesE=V

YouwillseeonmychartthatIjustusednumberstorepresentthechanges,soifIwastoplayinthekeyof“A”:

I=AIV=DV=E

Nowapplyinthesamewayforthekeyof“E”tochangethekeyofour12-barandplacethechangesatthecorrectbar:

I=EIV=AV=B

Inmusicthisiscalledtransposingfromonekeytoanother.


Nowputthebasicchangesintotheprogressionforthekeyof“E”:

Andnowweplayourpowerchordriff–onceforeachbarandgothroughthechangesinthe12-barprogressionandseamthemtogetherforaclassicblues12-barrhythm,whichyoucanhearbeingusedintheJohnLeeHooker,BigHeadTodandtheMonstersversionof“BoomBoom”thatImentionedearlier.Thisistheprogressionfoundintheinstrumentalpartsoftheirversion.

Herewego!!


=4beatsperbarormeasure=1/4noteisonefull/completebeat

TheShuffleRhythmWearegoingtotakewhatwejustworkedonandraisethebarbyapplyingashufflerhythmtothis12-barprogression.Weneedtotakealookattherhythmicmathofwhatmakesupashufflebeat.

Someofyouwillconnectwiththisrhythmeasily;manymoreseemtohavedifficultiespickingupontheshufflerhythm,sowewillbreakitdownsoyoucanunderstanditbetter.

Inmusic,mostofourrhythmscanbebrokendownusingfractionsof1/4,1/8,and1/16.Thisiswhatweusetotryanddescribewhatrhythmoptionsareavailable.

Onerhythmweneedtotakealookatifyouwanttoplaybluesisknownasadotted1/8noteorshufflerhythm.Inorderformetoexplainhowthisshufflepatternworks,weneedtotakealookatthesefractions.

Youneedtorememberthis:

Tempo=speedofarhythmbasedonbeatsperminute.

q=120Thismeansthatthe¼notehasadurationofapproximately120beatsperminute,abouttwo¼notespersecond.Inalotofour12-barprogressionsinthiscourse,Ihavenotreallyspecifiedatempo–playitassloworasfastasyouwant.Makesurenottopracticeyourmistakesbyplayingtoofaroutofyourreach–itisbettertoplayslowerandmoreaccuratelythanfasterandsloppy.Youenduppracticingyourmistakesifyougettoosloppy.

Where’sthefire???

Timesignaturesassignthebeatfractionforabarofmusicorbarsofmusic.

Wewillbeworkingwith inthiscourse–itisourmostcommontimesignature.

Ifweareintimesignature,ittakes4x1/4beatsornotestocompleteonebarormeasureofourmusicalsystem.

FornowIhavebeenusingsticknotationforstrumrhythmsandhavealsousedalittlebitoftablatureforsomeofourrhythmriffs.Thesymbolsusedfortab,standardtraditional


notation,andrhythmsticknotationareverysimilar.Solearnsomemoreaboutsticknotationforrhythmanditappliestootherstylesofwrittenmusic.

Acommonformofsticknotationiswhatyouseeforthestrumpatterninour“A7”12-barbluesprogressiononpages32and33.SofarIdiscussed1/4and1/8notestrumcombinations,butnowIwouldliketointroducethe1/16notetoourrhythmfractioningsystem.

q=1/4note=1fullbeatin$timesignature

n=2x1/8notes=onequarternote

y=4x1/16notes=2x1/8or1x1/4note

Noticehowthe1/4notesymboliswrittenwithonestemonly,noconnectingbeamsfromnotetonote.The1/8notesarerepresentedbyasinglejoininglineorbeamtoconnecttwotogether.The1/16noteusesadoublebeamorlinejoiningits1/16notegroups.


q=1/4note/strum=

n=1/8note/strum=

y=1/16note/strum=

Youalsohaveanoptionforsingle1/8or1/16noteswhenthebeatorrhythmisbrokenupintodifferentfractions.Youwillrunacrossthisaswegetintomoreadvancedstrums.Youcouldsee2x1/8noteswrittenlikethis:

noree =

Eitherasinglebeamorasingleflagonthenotestemrepresentthe1/8notetimeduration.

1/16notescanbewrittenusingadoubleflagordoublebeam:

y=doublebeamed4x1/16=

ssss=doubleflagged4x1/16=

Thesenotescanbewritteninalldifferentstyles,butthesesymbolsarestandardreferencetofractioninginmusic.

Inthesticknotationbreakdownonpage58,youwillnotice:

1/4=2x1/8or4x1/162x1/8=1/4or4x1/161/8=2x1/16

Simplecommonsensemathematics.Thisishowmanyofourmostusedstrumpatternsarecreated:usingthesefractionsindifferentcombos.Ourshufflestrumisagoodexampleofcombiningthesefractions,andifyouwanttoplayblues,youneedthis!!

AsIhavementionedbefore,the“shuffle”rhythmistermedthedotted1/8rhythm.Forallmusicnotation,ifyouplaceadotinfrontofthenoteheadortotherightofyournotehead,


itaddshalfthevalueofthenotethatitisplacedinfrontoforbehindinamusictimeduration–rememberwereadfromlefttoright.

Sothenoteisheldorsoundedoutforhalfthevalueofthatnotelongerthantheoriginalduration.

Example:

j=1/4+1/8=dotted1/4note

i=1/8+1/16=dotted1/8note

Wearegoingtousethedotted1/8noteforthisrhythm–itisaveryfamousandusedgroove/rhythmicfeel.

Ifweuseatimesignature,eachbarhastohaveamusicaltimeequivalentof4fullbeatstothebar.Nomatterwhatcombinationofour1/4,1/8,and1/16notegroupsweuse,theymustaddupmathematicallytoourtimesignatureforeachbar.

Inweneed4x1/4notetimedurationmusicallyoranycombinationof1/4,1/8,or1/16thataddupto4x1/4.Youreallyneedtobeclearonthissoyoucanmoveaheadmusically.

Sothedotted1/8notegroupforonebeatconsistsofadotted1/8noteanda1/16noteforthelast1/16noteofeachfull1/4beatinatimesignaturebar.Thistranslatesintowhatweknowastheshufflebeat/rhythm.

Playitlikeyousayit!!Learntocountoutloud,especiallyifyoustrugglewithyourtiming.Usethecounttogetabasicfeelandthenyoucangomorebyintuitivefeelthanhavingtocounteverybarout.

Askanygooddrummerandtheywilltellyouthatcountingoutloudhelpsyou“lockin”totherhythmicgroove,andithelpsyoucatchonfasterifyouareworkingoutanewrhythm,oramoredifficultrhythmicfigure.Itworksfordrummers,anditwillworkforyou.


Armedwiththisinformation,hereiswhatthesticknotationsymbolslooklikeforonefullbeatof timesignature:

Ineachnotegroup,wehaveenoughfractionpulsestoequalonefullbeatin$timesignature.

Hereisanotherwaytobreakdowntheshufflebeatfractioningandthisgivesusthevowelstocounttheshuffleout:

foreitheroftheserhythmicfractionings

Mathematicallyweusethefirstandlastrhythmicnotesinoursixteenthgroupforonefullbeat.Wehitourfirstnote/strumonthefirst1/16ofthebeatandholdituntilthelast1/16noteforourlaststrum/noteineachbeat.

Basicallywehaveone1/8noteplusa1/16notedurationforthefirstnoteandaveryshort1/16notedurationforourlastnote.Thiscreatesanoddtimefeelofonelongernoteandthenoneshortnoteandthenwerepeatagain.Theshortnoteofthebeatisthelast1/16notebeatbeforethestartofthenextbeat.

Thiscanconfuseabeginnerintothinkingthatthelast1/16noteisthestartofthenextbeatbutitisnot–itisjustbeforethefirstnoteofthefollowingbeat.

Dependingonthetempo/speedofthemusicwearetryingtoplay,thiscanbedifficulttoplaycorrectly.


Nowwearegoingtoaddtheshufflefeeltotheprogression.

Thisisthebasicpickingsequenceneededtogettherhythmicfeeloftheshuffle.Thelast1/16noteofbeats#1and#2areaquickupstroke,whichsetsyouupforthenextbeat’sdownstroke.

Thisisthesamebarofrhythmintab.Thisisthe“E”changerhythmriff.Noticethattherhythmsymbolsaresimilartothesticknotationsymbols.

Nowweapplythattoallourchangesforthe12-barprogressionandwearegoodtogo.Followingthis,wehavethe“HookerBlues”12-barprogressionusingtheshufflerhythmforthefirsttwobeatsofeachbar.

Donotforgettostrikeonlythetwostringsneededforanyofthechanges.Thisisnotlikeastrumpatternwhereyouneedmorearmandhandmovementtostrikeallthestringsneededinaparticularchord.Withthepowerchords,youareonlystrikingtwostringsatatime.Thismeanslessrightarmmovementandmorerighthandandwristmovement.It’slessofastrummingmovement,andmoreofapickingmotionlikeyouwouldapplytoagroupofsinglenotes.


TheHookerBlueswithShuffle

Learntolistencarefullytohowyourchangessound–makethemclearandaccurate.Thetempoof“TheHookerBlues”12-barisuptoyou,speedisnotimportant,butsteadyrhythmis.Donotsacrificecleanchordchangesandgoodrhythmictimingbyplayingtoofast.

Thisprogressionisinthekeyof“E”pentatonicminor–thiswillbenefityoulaterinthiscourse!!

Useatimepiecetopracticewithsuchasametronome,looperpedal,drumloops,drummachine,orpre-recordedtracks.

Thiswasinspiredbytheprogressionusedin“BigHeadTodandtheMonsters”withJohnLeeHooker“BoomBoom”studiorecordingofthesoloorinstrumentalpartsofthesong.Theyplaythechangesveryfastanditwouldtakesometimeandpracticetogetittothatspeed.


ApplyingChordsToTheHookerBluesYoucouldalsoaccompanythisprogressionwithsomedominant7thchordsasasecondarypartorawaytoalternateandputchordsandpowerchordstogethertocreateinterestingrhythmvariations.

Weneedthreechordsfor“E”blues:E7,A7,andB7(I–IV–V).TheE7,A7,andB7canbeplayedfollowingthe“HookerBlues”progression(foundonpage63).Youcouldstartbyplayingthroughthewholeprogressionwitha3-strokestrumforeachbar.HerearethethreebasicchordsforthekeyofEblues.

EASY EASY DIFFICULT

TrytheE7andtheA7first–theyareeasiertofinger.TheB7usesallfourfingersofthelefthandandwillbethedifficultone.


Theseareyourbasicchangesforthechordsthatworkwellwiththe“HookerBlues”progression(foundonpage63).YouwillnoticethatIplayedthedotted1/8notesgroupforthefirstbeatofeachbaronly.NoticethatIhaveabracketforthe1/16andtwo1/4rests,pointingoutthatthereisamutetheretocreatetherhythmicfeelandtogiveyoutimetomakeyourchanges.IusemyrightpalmedgetokillthestringsfromringingalmostimmediatelyafterIstrumit.Checkthevidoutformoredetails.

Atthispointyoueitherwaitouttherestsifyou’rejustgettingusedtothechordchanges,oraddbassnotes,powerchords,orfullchordsandplaytheGandAchangesforthelasttwobeatsinthebar.Thiscanapplytoallthreeprimarychangesinthisprogression.

RestExplanationAlongwithnotedurationsymbols,wehaverestsymbolsforsilentdurationsinamusicalrhythm.Thesesymbolsrelatesimilarlytooursystemfornotedurations.

q=Q=1/4rest

e=E=1/8rest

s=S=1/16rest

Noticehowthe1/8resthasoneflagandthe1/16resthastwo,whereasthequarterisjustasquigglylinewithnoarmsorflags.


Herewehavetheprogressionusingfullchordsforthemainrootchangesandthenthetwosinglenotesfollowtherhythmriffbarorphrase.Thiscompletesthephrase,butismoredifficultthanthefirstexample.

NoticewhattheE7,A7,andB7chordslooklikeontab.Wearestillusingthesametimingfractioningsymbols,justappliedtotab.Youcouldalsoplaypowerchordswithyouropenchordsandreplacethesinglebassnotesonbeats3and4forpowerchords.Usingpowerchords,the“B”changeorVchangeisthemostdifficult.Whatisitwiththat“B”changeanyways???


Herewearewiththepowerchords:

Nowifyou’rereallybrave,youcouldtrythisprogressionusingallfullchordforms.ForeachofthethreeI–IV–Vchanges,E7,A7,andB7,weneedtwosecondarychanges,bothmajorchords.HerearethechordsneededforyourI–IV–Vchangesusingfullchordsinsteadofbassnotes:

E7=rootchange–G+andA+arethesecondarychangesusedinsidethe“I”change.


A7=rootchangeIV

B7=rootchangeV


PutItTogether

Youhavetobereallygoodatchordstogetthis,butitcansoundawesomeanditwillraiseyourplayinglevelifyoulearntodothis.Remember,youdonothavetoplayitfast–takeyourtimeandgettheprogressiondown.Thisisgreatpracticeandshouldbefuntoo!!

PS–therearelotsofotherfamoussongsthatusethistrick.Checkout“GreenOnions”byBooker“T”andtheMG’s.


TheIceCreamManRecordedoriginallybyJohnBrimin1953,thisisaverystandardbluesboogiewoogieriffusing12-barchangesinthekeyof“Epentatonicminor.Theintervalsusedaretheperfectfifthandmajorsixth(P5and+6)(P5/+6)whichIcoveredearlieronpage26usingthekeyof“A”pentatonicminorforthat12-barexample.

Nowwearegoingtoapplythisideatothekeyof“E”bluesor“E”pentatonicminor.Thethreeprimarychangesforthekeyof“E”are:

E=I A=IV B=V

AndnowweapplythistotheP5/+6boogiewoogiepattern,usingtheEP5/+6andAP5/+6openpatternswelearnedforthekeyof“A”.Rememberthekeyof“A”:

A=I D=IV E=V

Thekeyof“E”hastwocommonnotesintheI–IV–Vharmoniescomparedtothekeyof“A”I–IV–Vharmonies.Thismeansyoualreadyknowtwooutofthethreebasicchangesweneed:theEP5/+6andAP5/+6.Yes,thiskeyisalittlemoredifficultthanthekeyof“A”becauseweneeda“B”changeforthekeyof“E”.YouwilldiscoverthatwecanonlyaccesstheBP5/+6boogiewoogiepatternasaclosedpatternontheguitarfingerboard.Thiswillbethebarraisedtochallengeyoualongwithalittlemoretechnicallydifficultclosingriff.

NoticethatIwrotethisoutusingdotted1/8notefeelorshufflebeatifyoulike.Itisnotastraight1/8feel–wenowhaveonelongnoteonthedownstrokeandoneshortupstrokeplacedjustbeforethenextbeat’sfirstnote.Isuggestasteadydownupalternatepicking


movement,makingsurethefirstnoteofeachbeatinthebaristhepickdownstrokeandtheshortnoteistheupstrokeofyourpick.

Remembertostrikeonlythestringsneededforeachrhythmpatternchange,keepingthenotesaboutequalinvolumeonthedownorupstrokes.Useyourrighthandpalmtomutestringsthatareringingout.

Whileyouareworkingonthe“E”and“A”P5/+6changes,weneedonemorechange:thedreadedBP5/+6.OnceyougetthisBP5/+6change,youwillbeabletoplaymanymoreP5/+6patternsalloverthefretboardofyourguitarusingroot6androot5options.ThisBP5/+6patternismovableandworksonintervalcombinationsusingthe6thand5thstrings,5thand4thstrings,andeventhe4thand3rdstringstooifyoulike.

Asareminder,weareusingtwoopenstringrootchanges,the“E”changewhichhasitsrootonthe6thstringopen,andthe“A”whichusestheopen5thstringasitsrootnote.

LearntousethetoolsIhavegivenyousofarwithadashofcommonsenseandyouwillgofarwithyourplayingpursuits.

Allright!!WeknowthatBP5/+6isbasedofftheperfect5thorpowerchordpatternthatweusedtoraiseandlowerandcreateourchangesforour“BoomBoom”12-barprogressiononpage63.

Solet’slookatthepowerchordBP5–therearetwofretboardpositionsthatwecanuseforthischangeontheguitar.


IchosetousetheBP5(5)becauseit’sclosetotheothertwoopenchanges.Ifyoulikethough,Icanshowyouawaytoplaytheroot6version.Iwillmentionitattheendofthisstudy.

Ifyouhavenotnoticed,theP5/+6openchangesfoundintheprogressiononpage27,weaddedthe+6intervaltoourperfect5thpowerchordintervalusingtheopenstringrootchanges.The+6harmonywasfingeredtwofretshigherthantheperfect5thharmony.

Thisdistancestillapplies,sonowwecanfindthe+6intervalharmonyfortheBP5/+6rhythmpatternusingthesamemeasurementasweusedtocreatetheopenA,D,andEchangeswiththemajor6th.


Noticethatatwofretdistancehigheristhemajor6thharmonyofeitherroot6orroot5choices;major6thwillalwaysbetwofrets/onetonehigherthanthefifthharmony.

Iusemyfirst,third,andfourthfingerstoreachthesenotesforanyoftheclosedP5/+6patterns,butyoucouldalsotrythesecondfingerinsteadofthethirdfinger.Weallhavedifferenthandsandabilities,sofindwhatworksforyouandusethat.

Therealsecrettogettingtheclosedpatterniswhereyourthumbsits.ExperimentwithyourthumbpositiontofindoutwhereyourfingershavetheeasiesttimegettingthenotesneededforyourBP5/+6rhythmriff.Icantellyouthatformostofyou,ifyourthumbiscenteredbehindtheneckoftheguitar,approximatelycenteredwithyouractualfingersthatareonthefretboard,isthebestapproachforanyparticularpattern.Andmythumbdoesnotusuallysitflatbehindtheneck,especiallyifIneedalittleextrareachtogetacertaincombinationofnotes.


HereiswhatitlookslikeforonebarofBP5/+6(5)inshufflerhythmtab:

Nowallwehavetodoisputourthreechangesforthekeyof“E”:E,A,andBintoourbasic12-barwhichcanbefoundonpage56’s12-barexampleinthekeyof“E”pentatonicminor.


HereIsTheDeduction1.Thekeyof“E”threeprimarychangesare:

E=I A=IV B=V

2.Takealookattheprogressionandusethenumbersystemtoplacewherethechangesarewithoutusingtheactualletternames,justthenumerals:

3.Threegroupsoffourbarsisaneasywaytoremembera12-barprogression

4.Breakitdownintobars

5.Thefirstgroupoffourbarsusesthe“I”change

6.ThesecondgroupoffourbarsusestheIVchangeforthefirsttwobars,andgoesbacktotheIchangeforthelasttwobars

7.ThefinalfourbargroupconsistsofonebaroftheVchange,onebaroftheIVchange,andtwobarsoftheIchange


Here’swhatyouget:

8.Inthelasttwobars,thereisatraditionalnoterun,descendinginpitchtocreateaclosingriff.Fornowjustplaythelasttwobarsusingthe“E”change,andwe’lladdtheclosingriffafterwegetthethreebasicchangesdowninourbasic12-baronthefollowingchart.


HereWeAre!!

Foryourinformation,thisprogressionsoundsgoodatalmostanytempofromslowtofast.Takeyourtimeandgettheshufflerhythmdownniceandsteady–it’sgotto“rock”andit’sgotto“roll”or“swing”ifyoulike.

VanHalendidaversionofthissongandthetempoorspeedisalotfasterthanthemid-tempothatJohnBrim’sversionuses.Checkthatouttoo,butthereisnorush.Getthechangesdownfirstandthenwewilladdtheclosingriffsinthelasttwobarstocompleteourstudyandraisethelearning“bar”somemore.

TherearealotoffamousbluesprogressionsthatuseastandardI–IV–V12-barformatandthenaddalittlebitofatwistattheendofthe12-bar,usuallyinthelastbarortwobasedonthe“I”change.ThisiswhathappensintheJohnBrimversion.

IfyoulistentotheoriginalJohnBrimrecording,thereisanintrotothesongbeforethevocalsstart.Thevocalsarethecuetowherethe12-barrepeatingprogressionstarts,andthisisusedthroughoutthesong.Wherethevoicestartsgivesyouareferencepointthatiseasiertohearthantryingtostartfromtheintro,whichcanbedifficultsincethecountinforthebandisnotaudibleinthefinishedproductoftheJohnBrimoriginalrecording.

Justgetthe12-bardownfirstandyouwillunderstanditmuchbetter.


ScalesUsedin“IceCreamMan”WeneedtotakealookatwhatIcalltheturnaroundorclosingriff–thisisasingle/doubleorevenchordchangemovementtogivetheearthehintoftheendofthe12-barandareturntothebeginning.Wealsousetheturnaroundtohelptakeustotheendofthesong.Allriffs/solos/singlenotemelodies/chordprogressionsarebuiltfromthenotesoutofourscale.Agoodguitarsoloisdirectlyrelatedtoascaleandthenotesthatarefoundinaparticularkey.Ascaleisthenotesofaparticularkeyplayedinorderfromlowtohighandhightolow,ascendinganddescending.Asolotakesthenotesoutofascaleandcanbeusedtoimproviseasolomelodybyarrangingthenotesindifferentorders.Ofcourse,somenotecombinationsworkbetterthanothersandthisispartofthelesson.Inorderformetoteachyouthe2-barclosing/turnaroundriff,youneedtoknowascaletogetyourfingerstunedup.Wewillcallitshredfingercalisthenics–afingerworkouttowakeyourfingermusclesup.Herearesomepointersforscalepractice:

1. Makeyournotesclearandintuneforeachnoteinyourscale.

2. Lineyoufingersuptothecorrectfretsforthescaleyouneedtoplay.

3. Useyourfingertips.Idon’talwaysusemyfingertips,butifyouwanttodevelopyourplayingability,useyourfingertipstobuildtechnique,especiallywhenpracticingorlearninganewscale.

4. Usesomeformofatimepiecetodevelopyourtiming:metronome,drummachine,drumlooper,prerecordeddrumtracksorbackgroundtracks.Tapyourfoottoo–beawareofyourtiming.

5. Learntoplayscalenoteswitheventimeincrementsbetweeneachnoteandusealternatepicking,ascendinganddescending.

6. Whetheryouwanttoimproveyourchordchangesandyourfingerdexterityorripoutaheavybluessolo,therightscalepracticewillbenefityouasamusicianandaplayer.

7. Ifthescaledoesnotsoundgood,thenyou’redoingsomethingwrong.Checkyourtuningandfingerposition.


8. Learntoplaythescaleatdifferentspeedsanddifferentnotearrangements.

9. Allnotesinaparticularscalebelonginthesamemusicalfamilyofharmoniesandworktogetherinanyorder.

10. Becreativewithyourscaleandexperimentwithit–findnotecombinationsinthescalethatyoulikethesoundof.

Thisisthe“E”pentatonicminorscaleopenpositionintab:

Thisisaminorbasedscale.Pentatonic=5notescale,6thnoteistheoctave/repeat.

Makesureyoulineupyourfingeringwiththelefthandfingernumbersfoundatthebottomofthetabnotemarkings.

Thepentatonicminorscaleisalsotermedthe“bluesscale”–itisreallythefive-noteminorscale.Thisscaleisnotlimitedtojusttheblues–itisaverymusicallyuniversalscalesogettoknowit.

=Lefthandfingers


“E”PentatonicMinorScalePattern

Ihaveonemoreextensiontoaddtothisscale.Theextensionmovesupthefretboardforthesecondandfirststrings,givingyouadifferentpatternandpositiontoplaythenotesofthe“E”pentatonicminorscale.

Thisiscalleda2-positionscaleandisaverypopularchoiceforscalepatternsin“E”pentatonicminor.Bothscalepatternscanbeoverlappedtocreatemoredifferentandinterestingnotecombinations.Youhavetwolefthandfingeringpossibilities,soIwilltabandgraphbothoptionsforyou.

IusedifferentfingeringsdependingonwhatIdidbeforeandafterinasongorriff.Somenotecombinationsareeasierinadifferentfingeringpositionasfarasefficientlyreachingthenotesneededinaparticularmusicalsituation.

Thisfirstexampleismyfirstchoiceforfingeringanditincludestheuseofthepinkyonthelefthand.Alotofplayersavoidthefourthfingerorpinkybecauseitissoweak,butitwon’tgetbetterunlessyouexerciseitandwakeupyourfingermuscles.Your4thfingercanbearealbenefitsodonotshyawayfromit.


Inthisexampleofmyfingering,Idonotusethepinky.Iusethefirstandthirdfingersonthelefthandforthepositionchangeonthe2ndand1ststrings.

Inthisfingeringoption,Ihaveaslightlydifferentfingeringapproachascendinganddescending,justforpracticalefficientmovement.Youneedtogettheseessentialscalesdowntogetyourselfpreppedforyourfirstclosingriffforthe“IceCreamMan”progression.



Usethesescalestowarmupwithaspartofyourpracticeroutineeveryday.Themoretimeyouspendonyourscales,thebetteryouwillgetasaplayeroverall.Scalesareyoursecretweapon.


2-BarClosingRiff(IceCreamMan)Nowtheclosingriffhasachromaticpassingnotewhichisoutsideofthescale.Inbluesthishappensalottoaddsometensionorcolour.

Inthisparticularsituation,thechromaticpassingnotehelpsbringsustothelastfewnotestoendthesong.Ourclosingriffcoversthelasttwobarsofour12-barprogressionandithelpsusturnaroundandgobacktothestart.Itisamusicalcueforthebandandtheplayers.

Therearethreedifferentoptionstoaddmorecharactertoyourclose:

Example#1–theeasiest

Example#2–alittlemoredifficult

Example#3

=lefthandfingering

=lefthandfingering

=lefthandfingering


Okay,onceyoulearntoplayatleastoneofthethreeexamplesofourlast2-barclosingriff,youcanfititintothe11thand12thbarsandomittheEP5/+6forthelasttwobars.

Example#1isfairlystraightforward.

Example#2youhavetolearntoletthe“B”stringringoutoveryour4th,3rd,and2ndfret3rdstringnotesinfirstbarofthetwobars.

Example#3istrickybecauseyouuseboth“B”(secondstring)and“E”(firststring)asdrones.Thetrickwithanydroneistoletthedronenotesringout.Don’tmutethemout,butletthemringoutfreelyoveryoursinglenoterunonthe3rdstring,4th3rdand2ndfrets.Youwillnoticeinexample#3’sfirstbarthatbeats2,3,and4aregroupedin3-noteclusters.Thesearethreeevenlytimednotesforeachbeat.Thisiscalledatriplet(3-group)rhythm.Thetripletisaverypopularrhythmforslowerblues.

q = n = y = o

q= o = t

Tripletlinesupwellmathematicallyandrhythmicallywith1/4beatsordotted1/8beats,butnotwith1/8noteor1/16notestraightfeel.Thedotted1/8timingworkswellwithbothstraighttimefractioningsuchas1/8noteor1/16note,andtriplettiming,whichistheoddgrouporun-eventiminggroup.

MoreonthisafterIdoonemore12-baroptiontoaddtoyourcompletionofthe“IceCreamMan”progression.Attheendofthis,IwillhavealittlearrangementfortheoriginalrecordingofJohnBrimsoyoucanputthisalltogetherandcompletethis.


G+A+G+

“IceCreamMan”12-BarWithStopsWehaveoneversethathasstopsinitwithacoolcheaterchordtrickgroupbasedofftheIchangeforthefirstfourbarsonly.Thereisabitofatimingquirkherebecausethepushusingthischordgroupstartsalittlebeforetheonebeatofthenextbar.

Let’stakealookatthethreechordsweneed.

TheG+triadisusedinbetweentheA+andE+chordsbecausetheyarequickchanges–butit’scool!!

Thetricktogettingtherighttimingforthechordpushesistostartonthe“ahh”beatofthethirdbeatinthelastbarof12-bar,justbeforethestartofthatversewherewehavethechordpushesandstop.Bar#11and#12withexample#2asmiddlegroundsoyouseewherethefirstchordpushstarts.

Thisisthebeginningofthenext12-barcyclewiththepushesandstopsforthefirstfourbars.

Example#1and#3workaswellforthisidea.


TakealookatthetabchartandnoticehowIwrotethe12thbaroftheversejustbeforewedoourversewiththestops,toshowyouwherethepushesactuallycomein,justbeforewestartourpushestothefirststop–that’stheG+,A+,G+changesjustbeforethefirstbarofthenextcycle,whichisverse#3.

SostartyourG+,A+,G+pushattheendofthe12thbarverse#2,andthatbringsyoutotheE+(6)chordandyourfirstofthreestopsontheE+(6)chord.ThefourthpushofG+,A+,G+takesyoubacktotheE+(6)whereitbuildsuptotakeyoutothenextchange.

ThenextchangetakesyoutothetwobarsofAP5/+6(bars#5and#6)outofourbasicverseprogression,whichtakesusbacktoEP5/+6forbars#7and#8.Thisleavesuswiththefinal4-bargrouptofinishthe12-barversewiththestops(verse#3).

WeplayonebaroftheVchordwhichisBP5/+6(closed)andonebaroftheIVchordwhichisAP5/+6andthentakeoneofourthreeexamplesofour2-barturnaroundvariationstocompleteverse#3.Afterthatyouplaystraightthroughforthreemorebasicverses,withyour2-barturnaroundonthelasttwobarsofeach12-bar.


Hereishowthe12-barstopswork.Justrememberwhenyoudotheendoftheversebeforethe12-barversewiththestops.Yourchordthatpushestothefirststopactuallystartsonthe“ahh”ofthethirdbeatofthebarbeforetheendofthe12-barverse#2.


Hereisthearrangementordersoyoucanputthistogether.

ArrangementVerse#1 - basic12-barversewith2-barturnaroundofyourchoice

Verse#2 - sameasverse#1rightuptothe“ahh”ofthe3-beatcountonthelastbar.ThisiswhereourG+,A+,G+pushesaredroppedin.Checkoutthelastbarinourchartonpage87.

Verse#3 - versewithchordpushesandstops

Verse#4 - sameasverse#1andiswherethesolohasthespotlight

Verse#5 - sameasverse#4

Verse#6 - sameasverse#5

Thisiswhereattheveryendofverse#6onthelasttwobarsaftertheturnaroundweend.Ihavetheendingtabbedouthereforyou,usingexample#3,tripletgroupings.Thisishowyoucounttriplets:

Thebracketswiththe“3”inbetweenunderneaththetripletgroupsindicatethatallthreenotesareofequalmusicaltimevalue.Sowhateveryourspeedortempoofthemusic,youhavetoplayeachofthetripletnotegroupsequallyinthetimespanofthetempoofthemusicyouareplaying.

Youneedthreesyllablestocounttriplet,so:

One–trip–let,two–trip–let,three–trip–let,four–trip–let

Eachsyllablerepresentingoneofthethreenotesineachtripletbeatgroup.Thereyouhaveit!Nowyoucanactuallyplaythecompleteprogression.


Herearethelastfourbarsofthelast12-barcycleverse#6:

Powerchordending

Thereisoneothersmallissueandthatishowthe“IceCreamMan”starts.Therearedifferentversionsofthestart.Oneversioniswhereyoujustcountthebandinandplayoneverseastheintroinstrumentalbeforethevocalsstart.ThatisasfarasI’mgoingtogoonthisexample.Nowweneedtolearnariffortwoandlearntoincorporateitintoachordprogression.Ihopeyouhavebeenincorporatingyourscalesintoyourpracticetimebecausethisiswhereit’sreallygoingtohelp.


CallandAnswerIt’stimetoapplythetwo“E”pentatonicminorscalesfromearlieroninthiscourse.Wearegoingtodiscoverhowreallyimportantscalesaretothemusicyouwanttolearnandplay.

Agoodexampleofcallandanswercanbefoundinthe“BoomBoom”studiorecordingofBigHeadTodandtheMonsterswithJohnLeeHooker.Thereisalittle10-secondcallandanswersection,examplefoundfromapproximately48-59secondsinthatversion.

Thiswasmyinspirationtocreateausefulandfunwaytodevelopyoursinglenoteriffsandyourtiming.

Thisisnotacopyofwhathappensinthe“BoomBoom”version,butyoushouldbeabletounderstandwheretheideacamefrom.

The“IceCreamMan”stopversesalsohaveapushinitthatissimilarbecauseitusesthesamechords,butthetimingisdifferent.

Togetthecallandanswerpartatthemusicalspeed/tempoof“BoomBoom”wouldbequitedifficult,sowewillsimplifyitandslowitdown.Sothefirststepistolearnhowthepushes(chordchanges)fitintimewiseinthe2-barphrase.

Herearethechordpushesyouneedtogetdownfirst:

Learntorepeatthis2-barcycleuntilyougetrealcomfortablewiththetimedistanceofthebreak,wheretherestsareinbetweenthepushes.It’sreallynotsomethingIcountout,butusethecounttogetyoustarted.Workonthiswhileyoulearnyourfirstriff.

Ifyougetthechordpushintherightplace,youcandroptheriffinbetweenwheretherestsareinthe2-barphrase.ThechordpushendswithE+(6)chordonthefirstbeatofthefirstbarofthenext2-barphrase.Itisrightafterthat,youstartyourrifftoanswerthecallofthechordpush(callandanswer).


Hereisyourfirstriffdrawnfromthe2-position“E”minorpentatonicscale.Gettheriffdownseparatelyfromthechordpushes,thenwewillputthemtogether.

Riff#1

Thisisa1-barphraseriffandwecanfitthisintothebreakafterourchordpushesinthe2-barcycle.Thetimingisalittledifferenttoplacetheriffinthe2-barphrase,butstartwiththisfirst.

Noneedtoplayitfast–getyournotesclearandintimefirst.Thisideacansoundgoodatanymusicaltempo/speedyoucanhandle.

Nowputtheriffintothe2-barphrase:

Thisiswhereyour1-barrifffitsintothe2-barphrase,rightafteryourE+(6)onthefirstbarfirstbeat.Onceyouloopthis2-barphrase,itwillfeelliketheE+(6)isthelastchordofthepushes,andittechnicallyis,buttolineitupintimetheE+(6)landsonthefirstbeatofthefirstbaraftereverychordgrouppush.

Loopthiscallandanswer2-barphrasetogettherhythmicfeelofwherethepushesandtherifffitintothe2-barphrase.Therearemanyothertimingvariationsusingchordpushesandarifftocreateacallandanswer2-barphrase.

Onceyougetthehangofit,experimentandplayitthewayitfeelsandsoundsrighttoyou.


Riff#2

Thetimingonthisriffhastostartonthelast1/16noteofthefirstbeatorthe“ahh”ofthefirstbeat.StriketheE+(6)chordandbeforeyouevengetyourfingersofftheE+(6)chord,youstriketheopen“E”firststringforyourfirstnoteintheriff.

Whenyougettotheendoftheriffonthefirstbeatofthesecondbar,thatbringsyoubacktothechordpushesandontothenextriffpocket.Thepocketisthespotintherhythmthatleavesroomfortherifftofitinto.

Okayputittogether:

Afteryougetthisdown,thenlearntoalternatebetweenriff#1andriff#2.Thepushes,thenariff,thepushes,thenanotherriff,etc.Onceyougetthefeel,youshouldbeabletocomeupwithafewofyourowntoaddtothis.

Youshouldbeabletoseehowbothriff#1and#2comeoutofthenotesthatarefoundinthetwo“E”pentatonicminorscales.Let’stakealookatafewmoreriffideastousewiththistheme.

Ifsomeofthisseemsdifficult,pickoneoftheriffsfromonetofivethatistheeasiestforyoutograspandlearnthatfirst.


Riff#3

*H=Hammer

Hammeringanotemeansyourfingertiphastocomedownaccuratelyandhardtoringthenoteoutwithoutapickstroke.

Again,practicethisrifffirst,thenaddthepushesandloopittogetthefeelofit.

Puttingriff#3intoperspectiveinthe2-barphrase:

Nowthatyouhavethehangofthehammer-ontechnique,let’scapitalizeonit!

Riff#4

H


Okay,putittogether:

Hereisonemoreforfun!

Riff#5

Rememberthetripletisthreeevennotesforthedurationofonebeat!!Theslashlineinfrontofthe4thfret3rdstringrepresentsaslideuptothenote.Youstartyourslideupjustbeforethebeatoftheactualnoteyou’reslidingupto:pick–slide–ring.

Slideatleastfromonefretlowersoyoucanheartheslideeffectcominguptothatnote.Letthetwonotegroupsthataretripletinbeats#2and#3ringoutovereachother.Don’tmutethemout–thiswillgiveyouthefulleffect.


“G”PentatonicMinorScaleWearegoingtolearnascalepatternthatcanbemovedtoanyfretboardpositionontheguitar,eachoneinadifferentkey.

Ifyoukeepthepatternidenticalinfretdistances,technicallyyouareplayingthecorrectscalenotesinanyonefretposition,justhigherorlower.Thisiscalled“Transposing”.

PentatonicMinor

Minor =sad,dark,softer

Pentatonic=fivenotescale,6thnotewillbeoctave

Takealookatthefollowing“G”pentatonicminorscalediagrams–onefornotesandoneforfingering.

The“G”tonicisfoundonthe6thstring3rdfret.


Thetoniccanbeusedasaneasyreference–keynote–whenraisingorloweringthescalepattern.Youshouldknowatleastthenotesonyour6thand5thstringsatthispoint.

Youfollowthesamerulesthatapplytoallmusicmeasurement,tonesandsemitones,count,andletternamecount.

Onceyougetontothe“G”pentatonicminorscale,wewillgetyoutomovearoundwiththescalepattern.

Youreallyneedtouseyourpinkywiththisscale.Thepinkyisweak,butifyoudonotworkit,itwillalwaysbeweak.Youwillmissoutoncertainnotecombinationswhereyouneedtheuseofallfourlefthandfingers.That’snotsayingthatifyouonlyhadtwogoodfingersonyourlefthandthatyoucouldnotplaythatscale.Ofcourseyoucould,andtherearemanyplayers–famousandnotsofamous–thathavedonethesame.Butifyouhavefourfingersonyourlefthand,trainthem,workthemout,andusethatpinky!

Hereis“G”pentatonicminortabbedoutwithfingeringusingthepinky:

Alternatepickingatalltimes.Alternatepickingisyourgreatestassetforyourrighthand.Practicewithsomekindoftimepiece:metronome,drumloops,drummachine,backgroundtracksorjamtracks.

Onceyou’vegotthe“G”pentatonicminorscale,youcanmovethescaleanywhereonthefretboard,justkeepthesamefingerpatternandfretdistanceforthefretboardpositionyoumoveto.Let’smovethe“G”pentatonicminortothekeyof“A”pentatonicforaneasyexample.

“A”pentatonicminorisaverypopularkeytoknowsincemanyveryfamoussongsarebasedinthekeyof“A”minor.

Thedistancefromthe“G”to“A”notesonaguitaris2-frets,becauseG–A=1tonedistance,and1tone=2frets.

Ourtonicnotefor“G”pentatonicminorisonthe6thstring3rdfret.Ifweraisethe“G”noteonetonehigher,wegetthe6thstring,5thfret“A”.


Nowstartyourscalepatternfromthe“A”notewhichisyourtoniconthe5thfret6thstring;samepattern,andifplayedcorrectly,allnotesinthatpatternwillbelongtothekeyof“A”pentatonicminoror“A”minor!Theyareallinthesamenotefamily,andshouldsoundgoodtogether.

Nowtocreatethe“C”pentatonicminorscale,wegotothe8thfretforthe“C”tonicandstartourscalepatternhere.


“A”pentatonicminorascendinganddescending–tabbed:

“C”pentatonicminorascendinganddescending–tabbed:

Wearegoingtoputthescaletouse.Wearegoingtolearnasinglenotebasslinethatusestheloweroctavepentatonicminorscalenotes.Thisisasinglenoterhythmriffthatyouneedtoknow.Therearemanyvariationsofthisrifftobefoundintheblues.I’mtakingmyinspirationfromtheJohnnyLangversionof“GoodMorningLittleSchoolGirl”.Thebasslineisagreatrhythmriffontheguitar,whichisoneoctavehigherthanthebassline.

I’mgoingtoapplythisbassrifftoourthreeprimarychangesin“G”pentatonicminor,anotherpopularkeyfortheblues.

TheI–IV–V:

ThisisthedistancefromI-IV

C=IVinthekeyof“G”

IVtoV=1tone (CtoD=1tone)IV=CandV=D

I–IV–Vinthekeyof“G”:G,C,D


Ifweareinthekeyof“G”pentatonicminor,usingascaleriffwewoulduse:

Gpentatonicminor=ICpentatonicminor=IVDpentatonicminor=V

Youneedtogetfamiliarwiththesethreescalepositions:G,C,andDpentatonicminorscalestoprepareyourfingersforthe“riff”.

Forthisparticularprogression,youcouldaddasecondguitarrhythmfollowingthemainbassriffchangesusingthethreeprimarychangesindominant7thchords.

Youcouldchangeupthe12-barcyclesbyalternatingbetweenrhythmriffsandchordchangesifyoulike.The7thchordorblueschordistechnicallytermeddominant7th.Workonyourscaleandlearnthechordsfortheprogression,thenwewillputittogether.


“G”Blues(Dominant7th)in12-BarHerearethethreeprimarychordsneededfor“G”pentatonicminor:

G7=IC7=IVD7=V

YoualreadyhavetheD7chord.WeneedaG7andaC7chordtocompleteourthreeprimarychangesfor“G”pentatonicminor.Youwillfind“G7”similartotheG+openchordsfromearlieron.

The“C7”chordissimilartothe“C”majorfromearlieron.

I’mgoingtoleaveyouwiththesechords.LearntoplaytheG7,C7,andD7chordstogether.Putthemintoabasic12-barifyoulike.

Thisisyourbasic12-bar.


Thisisthemostcommon

ThisismychoiceforG+

AndnowwehaveG7(“G”dominant7th)

Thebasicform MyfavslashchordC+/G–theletternameaftertheslashreferstoalowernotefoundinthechordthatisnottherootbutarelatedharmony

Nowyouneedtousethatpinky!!


Rememberforthekeyof“G”pentatonicminor,yourchangesare:

I=G7IV=C7V=D7

Let’sgiveyouacoolslowbluesstrumtomotivateyoutoplaythesechords,introducingthetripletstrum.Togetthestrumdown,chooseachordandworkthestrumout.IchoseC7forthisexample:

*Triplet=3equalstrumsperbeat

Learnthisatdifferenttempos.Slowbluesworkswellwiththis.

Nowapplytheonebarstrumphrasetoeachbarinour12-barcycle.

Howaboutacooltraditionalendingjusttocompletethis12-barreallynicely?Wewillusethelastbarandcreateatraditionalbluesturnaroundinsteadofjuststrummingthechordinthelastbar.


ThemostcommonbluesturnaroundusesthechromaticrunfromtheIV–Vinwhateverkeyyouareplayingin.

Chromatic=notesinsemitonestep,onefrethigheratatime.Youneedatleastthreenotesasemitoneapartfromeachotherinsuccessiontobeachromaticrun.

Inthekeyof“G”,ourIV–VareCandD.thereisonenoteinbetweenthesetwonotes,andweuseittopassthroughfromtheCtoD,andthisisthefoundationofthisturnaround.Youcouldplaythesethreenotesusingsinglenotes,powerchords,orfullchordsdependingonwhatyouneed.

Wewilllearnthesinglenotebassline,whichisthebesttostartwith.

Watchyourfingeringonthebasslinetogetasmoothchangefromthechordtothebassnotes.

Nowdropthisturnaroundbarintothelastbarofyour12-barprogressioneverytimeyoucomearoundagain.


TheRhythmRiffWearegoingtotakethenotesoutofthe“G”pentatonicminorscaletoplaya2-barphraserhythmriff.InspiredbythebasslineusedintheJohnnyLangversionof“GoodMorningLittleSchoolGirl”.Thisriffisthesamepatternforallthreeprimarychangesinthe12-bar,solearnthe“G”positionrifffirst.

Watchyourfingeringonthelefthandandyourpickingpatternwithyourrighthand.Startslowlyandlooptheriff,repeatingituntilyoucannailit.ThenIwillshowyouthe“C”and“D”changesweneed,tocompleteourI–IV–V12-barprogression.

Ifyouhavethe“G”riffdown,thenallyouhavetodoismovetheriffoverinitsentiretybyonestring.Sostartthesamepatternfromthe5thstring3rdfretandyouhavethe“C”changerhythmriff.

The“C”changerhythmriff:

It’sthesameriff,thesamefingeringandpicking,justmovedoveronestringhigher.

Nowtogetthe“D”changerhythmriff,raisethe“C”patterntwofrets.RememberthatCtoDisonetone=twofrets.Soplayexactlythesameriffasthe“C”,justtwofretshigherandyouhavethe“D”changeriff.

Hereisthe“D”change:


Allright!Nowwehavethechangesforour12-barprogression…well,sortof…it’sreallya24-barprogressionderivedfromthe12-bar.

Byusingthe2-barriffonceforeachbarof12-bar,youdoubleuponthebarsbuttheactualchangesstillfollowthesamearrangementasyourbasic12-barpattern.

Takethefirstfourbarsofourbasic12-baranddoubleittoeightbars.

Ichord = 8bars = 2barrhythmriff4xIVchord = 4bars = 2barrhythmriff2xIchord = 4bars = 2barrhythmriff2xVchord = 2bars = 2barrhythmriff1xIVchord = 2bars = 2barrhythmriff1xIchord = 4bars = 2barrhythmriff2x

Ifyoucomparelikethisyouwillseehoweasyitistograbontothe24-barideabecauseofthechordarrangementrelatedtothe12-bararrangement.

Ifyouknowyourbasic12-barprogression,youshouldbeabletousethemusicalrelationshipbetween12-barand24-barprogression,tobeclearontheprogression,andtoknowitwell.


The24-barRhythmRiffProgression


ChordPushIhaveasimplepartIwanttoaddtothis24-barprogressionusingthethreeprimarychordchangesfor“G”blues:G7,C7,andD7.

Thisisagreatsecondguitarpartforajamsession–it’seasyanditwillhelpyoudevelopabettersenseofrhythmandtiming.

Basicallywearegoingtousearootnotebassandthenastrumforeachcycleofthe2-barrhythmriff:onechordstrumforeverytwobarscounted.Letthechordringoutaslongasyoucanoverthe2-barduration.Learntocountthe2-barphraseoutloudtohelplockintothe“feel”oftherhythm.Theoriginalinspiration,“GoodMorningLittleSchoolGirl”wasplayedatamoderatelyfasttempointhekeyof“D”blues.

Usethebassnotestohelpbuyyoutimesoyoucanplaceyourfingersdownandbereadyforbeat#2whereyoustrumthewholechordandletitringoutfortherestofthetwobars.Thiscanhelpyoudevelopgoodtimingforyourchordchanges,especiallyifyouareweakinthoseareas.Onebassnoterelatedtothechordrootforbeatoneandthenthefullchordstrum–letthechordringouttotheendofthe2-barphraseneededtocompletetheprogression.

Noticewhichstringtherootnoteappearsonforyourthreebasicchanges:

G7=6thstring3rdfretrootC7=5thstring3rdfretrootD7=4thstringopenroot


Herewego!

Makesurethatasyoupluckeachbassnote–youarelayingdowntherestofyourfingersforthefullchordonthenextbeat.Thiswayyouhaveamoreseamlesstransitionfromchordtochord.Assimpleasthismayseem,itcanreallyaddalotofpresencetothischordprogression.Icallita“Phat”sound(fat)–it’sbiggerandtakesmoremusicalsonicspace.


BonusProgressionForyouhardworking,dedicatedstudents,Ihaveaverycoolblueschordprogressionthatisnot12-barrelatedatall,butitstillleanstowardstheblues.InspiredbyEricClapton’s“BellBottomBlues”,thisparticularchordprogressioncanbefoundandisusedinmanyveryfamoussongs–eitheraspartofthesong,orinsomecasesforthecompleteprogression.

Checkthesesongsoutlaterafteryoulearntheprogressionandseeifyoucanhearwheretheyareinthesongs.Theyhavedifferentrhythmsandstyles,butstillusingthebasicgeneralchordprogressionideawithslightvariations.

Hereisyourstudylistoflisteningsongsforlateron:

• GardenParty–RickyNelsen(capoedatthe2ndfret)

• BenHarper–Angel(in#timesignature,samekey,keyofC+)

• MudontheTires–BradPaisley

• RunawayTrain–SoulAsylum

• OctopusesGarden–TheBeatles(capoed4thfret,keyofE+)

Let’sgettotheprogressionanditschanges.Weneedtotakealookatthebasicchordprogressionstructurewhichisusedintheverse.Thisistheprogressionthatisfoundinmanyotherwellknownsongs:

Soweneedtolearnafewmorechordstoputthistogether.MostofthechordsarestraightforwardwiththeexceptiontoAm/GandtheF+barchord–thebarchordbeingabighurdleforanybodywhowantstoimproveontheirguitarplayingskills.Withjustslightchangestothebarchordfingerpattern,youcancreatemanynewchordsforyourchordvocabulary.


Thischordyoushouldalreadyknowbynow

Thisshouldbefamiliar–byomittingthe6thstringofourbasicE7openchord,ourbassnotebecomesa“B”noteonthe5thstring.ItisstillanE7,justwithalow“B”bass

Averycommonchord

Thisisanotherslashchord.Byusingyour4thfingeronthe6thstring3rdfret,itbecomesaveryeasychangefromAmtoAm/G

ThisF+isnotthebestsoundingchord,butitisusedforcertainmusicalsituationsanditistheeasiestF+toplay

Thischordisonestepawayfromthefullbarchord.Wehaveaddedanextralow“C”notetothe“F”+chordfoundonthe5thstring3rdfret


Thebarchordismovabletoanyfretpositionyoucanreachontheguitar.Attheendofthis,I’llgiveyoutwomoreessentialbarchordsyouneedtoknowthatyouwillnaildownifyoucangetthefullbar“F”major.

Onceyousortoutthechords,startplayingthemintheorderoftheprogression,onestrumperchord.Toreallygetthischordprogressionsoundinggood,weneedtoemphasizethebassnotesineachofthechordchangesbeforewestrumthefullchord.Ifyoutakeacarefullook,weareactuallycreatingadescendingbasslinewiththechordprogression.

StartingontheC+chord,hereishowitworks:

C+=playthe“C”bassnoterootonthe5thstring3rdfret

E7/B=playthe“B”bassnoteinsteadoftherootwhichwouldbean“E”open6thstring.ThisgivesyouthenextnotelowerfromtheC+chordrootnote

Full6-stringbarchord.Youneedtoknowthischord.Itopensthedoortomanyotherchordpossibilities.Therootnoteisfoundonthe6thstring.

ThischordistheF+chordpatternmoveduptwofretshigher.FtoG=onetoneortwofrets

AndthisisalsoanotherchoiceyoucouldusefortheG+changeifyoulike.ThisisthesamechordastheG+(6),justdifferentvoicings.


Am=strikethe“A”open5thstringrootnoteforthischange.

Nowyouhaveabassnoteforeachchangesofarthatisdescendinginscalestartingfromthe“C”rootnote(C–B–A).

Nextdescendingnotethatweneedafterthe“A”willbea“G”.ThisiswhereandwhyweusetheAm/Gbass.Am/Gisusedtocreateanotherdescendingbassnoteinourchordprogression,sonowwehavefourdescendingbassnotesstartingfromthe

C+=“C”bassnoteE7/B=“B”bassnoteAm=“A”bassnoteAm/G=“G”bassnote

CtoBtoAtoG=descendingbassline,rightoutofthe“C”majorscale.Wehaveonemoredescendingbassnoteandthatisthe“F”,rootnoteofour“F”majorchange.Thisisagoodreasontolearntoplaythefull“F”majorbarchordbecauseifyoureallywantthisprogressiontosoundgoodyouneedthe“F”bassnoteonthe6thstringtocompletethebassruninthechordprogression

(C+) (E/B) (Am) (Am/G)(F+) =chordsCtoBtoAtoGtoF =singlebassnotes

Sowestrikethebassnotefirstforeachofthechordsweneedtocreatethedescendingbasslineoverourchordprogression.

Bassnotethenonesinglestrum–that’sthewaytostartwiththisprogression.Hereisthetabforthisfirststep:

Onceyougetthebasicideaofpluckingthebassnotefirstthenstrummingthechord,wecanaddalittlemoretomakeitsoundmorefullandinteresting.


UsingthefirstchordchangesofC+andE7/Bfortheexample,wecantakethisrhythmideatoeachoftheotherchangesintheprogression:

Sothisrhythmgroupusesthebassnotesfirstforeachchange,andthenone1/8notestrumand2x1/16notestrums.

Youreallyneedtolearnthisrhythmgroupsinceit’sfoundinmanypopularsongsinvariousstylesofmusic.RememberearlieronItaughtyousomebasicrhythmicfractionsusing1/4,1/8,and1/16ina example.Thismeansthat:1/4=onefullbeat2x1/8=1/4=onefullbeat4x1/16=1/4=onefullbeat

Thisishowourrhythmisfractionallydividedtocreatethispattern:

Thisisthereasonwhywecountthisrhythmicnotegroupusingthenumeralandthe“andahhh”forthelasttwo1/16notestrums.Playitlikeyousayit(1+a2+a3+a4+a).onelongerdurationstrum,twoshorterlengthstrumstocompleteafullbeatofarhythm.

Andnowweapplythistothefullchordprogression,onerhythmgroupatatime.

Eachrhythmgrouphasabassnotefora1/4notedurationandthenthestrumgroupusing1/8and2x1/16notes.Eachrhythmgrouprepresentstwobeatsoutofthebar.


VerseProgression

Tofinishourstudyofthechordprogression,weneedtolearnasequenceofchordsthatisalittleunusual,especiallyintheblues.It’smorecommoninjazz,thoughitisaninterestingchordsequencethatisappliedtoapre-chorus.Thismeansit’samusicalprogressionthatisdifferentfromtheverse,butbridgestheversetothechorustransition.

Andtheactualchorusisatwistoftimingusingthepre-choruschordprogressioninadifferentbardisplacement.

Afteryougetthis,youcanreallymoveforwardwithyourunderstandingandguitarplayingskills.

Youknowthischord Thisisnew Thisoneyoushouldknow

Thisistheorderofthechordsfromlefttoright–learntochangefromA+toAmaj7toA7andwhenyoucandothat,youare“Golden”.


Pre-ChorusProgression

Chorus

Allright,allweneedtodoisalittlebitofarrangement,usingtheverseprogressiononpg115andourchorusandpre-chorusprogressions.

Fortheverseprogressiononthelastbar,Ihaveabracketabovetheentirelastbar.Insidethebracketitreads“Firsttimeonlyforverse”.Startfromwherethelyricsstart–thisisthebeginningoftheverse.Theverseprogressionisplayedbyrepeatingtheprogressiononemoretimebutdroppingthelastbarthesecondtimeandstartingonthepre-chorusprogressionwherethelastbarhasbeendropped.

Theonlytimeyoudropthelastbaroftheverseprogressionistotransitiontothepre-chorusandthisishowit’sdone.Thepre-chorusstartswherethelastbarinyourverseprogressionisdropped.Thepre-chorusisa2-barphrase,repeatedtwiceforatotaloffourbars.Thechorusisplayedrightafterthe4-barpre-chorus.


It’sasimilarprogressiontothepre-chorus,justachangeinthetiming,plusthechorusendsbyusingF+toC+toG+pushtobringusbacktoanotherverseoreventhesolo,dependingonwhichversionyoulistento.

Getthebasicstructurefirstandthenyoucandecidewhichversionyoupreferforyourself.Mostofmystudiesarebasedonthe“DerekandtheDominoes”andEricClapton’sstudiorecordingversion.

Foryourintro,youplaytheverseprogressiononlyoncewiththeF+toC+toG+push,thendirectlytotheversewhichstartstheprogressionfromthebeginningforthecomplete2-cycleversewiththelastbardroppedthesecondtimearound.Thisiswherewedoour4-barpre-chorusprogression,andthenjointhattothechorusprogressionandthereyouhaveit!

TheintroisoneverseprogressioncyclewiththefirstF+toC+toG+pushandonlyhappensonceatthebeginningofthesong.Anytimeaverseisstarted,itwillfollowthe2-cycleverseprogressionwiththelastbardropped.

Intro =oneversecyclewiththelastbarpushusingF+toC+toG+

Verse =complete2-cycleverseprogressionwiththelastbardroppedthesecondtimethrough

Pre-chorus =a2-barphraserepeatedtwotimesforatotaloffourbars

Chorus =acompletechorusprogressionwithF+toC+toG+pushtoendthelastbar

Nowrepeatforthesecondversewithouttheintroprogressionwiththepre-chorusandchorusfollowing.Wantthesolo?Repeatagainwithouttheintro–(verse–pre-chorus)–(chorus).Anotherverseafterthesolo??Youknowwhattodonow!Doitagain–verse,pre-chorus,chorus.

TheendofthesongrepeatsthechorusprogressionwithoutthelastbarwiththeF+toC+toG+push.MultipletimesitisrepeatedandthenfinallyattheendweusethepushesonemoretimeendingontheG+.

Therecouldbeanastytheorylessononwhyweendonthe“G+”chordwhenthesongorprogressionisinthekeyofC+orAm,butIguessIwillspareyouthistime.


BarChordHeavenToclosethiscourseIamleavingyouwithtwomorebarchordsthatareverysimilartotheF+barchordearlieron.

You’restillhavingtroublewiththefullbar??Herearesomepointers:

1. Centeryourthumbbehindtheneck,centeredwithyourfingerpositionontheguitarfretboard.Yourthumbdoesnothavetositperfectlyflat.

2. Youmusthaveaniceevenarchtoyourfingertipsforthefrettednotesinthechord.Thiskeepsyourfingersclearofstringsaboveorbelowthatyoucouldaccidentallymuteout,whichisnotgoodbecauseyouneedthosenotestocreatetheactualcordsound.Iftherearestringsmutedoutaccidentally,ittakesawayfromhowthechordshouldreallysound,sotryanduseyourfingertips!

3. Forthebartechnique,Iusetheedgeofmyfirstfingeronthelefthand–yesmoretheedgethantheflat.Irollmyfirstfingerbackalittle.SometimesitcanseemlikemyfirstfingerisontopofafretbecauseIdogetclosetothefretinfrontofmybarfinger,butrememberthatIamusingmoretheedgeofmyfingerthantheflat.

4. Makesureallnotesneededinachordsoundoutclearlyandringout.

Thispatterncanbemovedanywhereonthefretboardandaslongasyoukeepthesamefingering,itwillbea“minor”soundingchord.Thepitchcanbefoundonthe6thstring1stfingerbar–thisistherootnote.


Noticehowtheopen“Em”chordbecomesFmwithabaratthefirstfret.Ifyoubaratthethirdfret,whichistwofretshigheroronetonehigherthanFm,youhaveaGmchord.ThefifthfretbarwiththisfingerpatterngivesyouanAmbarchord–samenotesasthebasic5-stringopenchord,justinadifferentfingerpositionandadifferentarrangementofthesamenotes,wecancreateanAmchordharmonyanywhereontheguitarfretboardwhereyoucanfindthosethreeormorenotestocreatetheAmchordharmony.

Herethesameideaisusedfortheopen“E7”chord.Nowwehavebarreditandre-fingeredthechordsowehavethefirstfingerforthebar.Sothethirdfretbarisnowa“G7”chord.


Andthemajorroot6barchordisjustateacher’sreminderofhowthe“F”majorchordrelatestothissametheory.Youshouldgetthisbynow.Ifyoudon’t,Iamheretoremindyou.

Foreveryfretposition,wehaveanotherchord.Somecanhavetwonames–thisisthesamenotewithtwodifferentletternames.Foreachofourbarchords,wehavetwelvedifferentpitchesthattheycanbeusedfor;thisgivesusallthechordammunitionweneedtogetusontopofthischordthing.

Remember,youareabeginner,butnotfortoolongifyougetthiscoursedown.

Twelvedifferentpitchesfromthreedifferentmovablebarchordpatternsgivesusatotalof36barchordsthatwecanusetoaddtoourchordvocabulary.

Forexample,ifyouusethetheorytoolsI’vegivenyou,youshouldneverhaveaproblemfindinganotherbasic“B♭”chordagain.“B♭”isanelusivechordformanystudentsoftheguitar,butitreallyisnotthathardtofind.TakealookatmygraphwhereIjustmoveupthe6thstringusingnaturalnotesandfindthe“B”naturalnoteatthe7thfret6thstring.Now,onefretlower,6thstring6thfretis“B♭”.Theflatted“B”note.Playyourbaronthe6thfretandfingeryourchordasamajorpatternlike“F”majorchordandyounowhave“B♭”major.

Notesteps:


Thisappliestotheothertwochordpatternsknownasminorandseventh.

Noticethatthe6thstring6thfretnoteisaB♭butyoucouldalsolabelitanA♯.Sothischordactuallyhastwonames:eitherB♭majorchordorA♯majorchord;B♭minororA♯minor;B♭7orA♯7.

ThiswilldependonthekeyaparticularsongisinastowhetherwecallitB♭orA♯,mosttimesyouwillseeitlabelledasB♭(major,minor,seventhetc).


HereareafewmorechordsthatIhavefoundmybeginnerstudentshavedifficultywith:


Okay,let’sputthesechordstouse.Firstoff,a12-barprogressioninspiredby“BlackMagicWoman”whichisareallyheavybluessongwrittenbyPeterGreenofearlyFleetwoodMacfame.Santanamadeitreallyfamousandbothversionsareinthesamekeybuthavedifferentrhythmicfeels.I’mjustgoingtogiveyouareallyeasystraighttimestrumpatternfornowtogetyouontoit.

YouwillpickuponthisprogressionforeitherPeterGreenorSantanaifyougetthisdown.

Yes,thisisa12-bar.Iputthestopinonthefirstbeatofthelastbarlikealotofversesweredoneonthedifferentrecordedversionsofthissong.

Nowlet’sgobacktothebeginningofthebookandusethebarchordstoreplaceorsubstitutethebasicopenchordswefirststudied(onpage28).WeusedA7,D7,andE7openchordsina12-barbasedontheverseprogressionof“TheCream”versionoftheRobertJohnsonsong“CrossRoads”.Sogobacktopage32andreplacetheopenchordswiththefollowingbarchords.

(10thfretbar) (5thfretbar)

(10thfretbar) (3rdfretbar)

(10thfretbar) (5thfretbar) (10thfretbar) (10thfretbar)


IfthelimitationofyourguitarwillnotallowyoutoplaytheE7(6)barchord,barredatthe12thfret,thenjustplayitopen.Reallyyoucanmixthechordsanywayyoulike,aslongasyouplaytheappropriatechangesneededforthisprogression.


ThisisyouropenE7chord:

OkayI’mdonewithyou,butyouarenotdonewithme!

STARTAGAINANDGOOVERTHISCOURSEATLEASTTWOMORETIMES!!!!

Ithasbeenaprivilegeandapleasure!Mayyourguitarplayingjourneycontinuebeyondthistogettheverybestresultsyoucanandpleaseplayon,BrothersandSisters!

Sincerely,

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Electric Blues Guitar For Beginnersrn-electric-beginner-blues.s3.amazonaws.com/RiffNinja... · 2017-06-21 · Electric Blues For Beginners 4 Introduction Hi there, and welcome to