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Blues Rhythm Guitar
If you hand me a guitar, Ill play the blues. Thats the place I automatically go.
- EC, interview 2001
Rhythm cant be overrated!
You may wonder how it is possible that Blues musicians which never played together bef ore can enter the
stage and start playing and jamming together without any rehearsals. Is this a secret magic? No! Once you
know the basic structure of a Blues song, you can play with it also, playing the rhythm guitar or adding
some f ine solos.
Please note: The old audio f iles used here as example were recorded directly f rom my guitar into the line-
in of a sound card (see home recording). I played slow, so that you can f ollow with no problems. Nowadays
they would sound better, but I think its better they sound like those f rom the beginner I was when
recording, .
About Blues f orms
Nothing But the Blues : The Music and the Musicians
List price: $32.11
Due to the Af rican roots the rhythm was f irst. The songs used only a f ew, of ten
only one chord all over the song. Later the inf luences of the western music
(western doesnt stand f or country here but f or the western hemisphere) introduced
chord changes, but they where dif f erent to the existing musical f orms. Something
new was born, and af ter several changes and various f orms (and some of them are
still used) the 12 bar Blues (look at the URL) became the most popular blues f orm.
12 bar Blues means that the song is divided into 12 bars (or measures) with a given
chord sequence. When playing, you repeat this f orm over and over f or every verse until the
song ends. There are also 8 bar (i.e. Key to the Highway f rom Layla), 16 bar and even 24 bar
Blues (all f orms can be divided by f our!), but the most f requent f orm is still the 12 bar Blues. All these Blues
have again dif f erent substructures (i.e. chord changes), so f inally we get over hundred dif f erent ways to
play a Blues (more details are added directly to the specif ic songs). Sometimes theres no strict f orm at all.
For a basic 12 bar Blues, you need at least three dif f erent chords, f or example in the key of E these are
E(7)-A7-B7. Youll also f ind the expression I, IV and V or tonic, subdominant and dominant f or this chords
(see basics f or the theoretical background). In most dominant major Blues (theres also a minor Blues), they
are all played as seventh (7th) chords, sometimes except the tonic. Thats the reason why its written E(7).
This is a bit hard f or those who have a theoretical music background, because it cant be explained that
way playing major seventh chords over minor pentatonic scales (see later) shouldnt work, but sounds
great. So dont think too much about it just play
Heres a 12 bar Blues example in the key of E:
E7 E7 E7 E7
A7 A7 E7 E7
B7 A7 E7 B7
(Count it: 12 bars!)
(Count it: 12 bars!)
Another more detailed view showing bars and beats looks like:
1 2 3 4
| E7 / / / | E7 / / / | E7 / / / | E7 / / / |
5 6 7 8
| A7 / / / | A7 / / / | E7 / / / | E7 / / / |
9 10 11 12
| B7 / / / | A7 / / / | E7 / / / | / B7 / / |
Chords:
This chord progression usually doesnt change during the whole song. Usually in Blues there
are many exceptions!
The same in the key of A:
A7 A7 A7 A7
D7 D7 A7 A7
E7 D7 A7 E7
or in general (I, IV and V f or tonic, subdominant and dominant):
1 2 3 4
| I7 / / / | I7 / / / | I7 / / / | I7 / / / |
5 6 7 8
| IV7 / / / | IV7 / / / | I7 / / / | I7 / / / |
9 10 11 12
| V7 / / / | IV7 / / / | I7 / / / | / V7 / / |
and using graphics:
A common variation of this is called quick change,
inserting the IV chord in the 2nd measure, and looks
f or the E scale like:
E7 A7 E7 E7
A7 A7 E7 E7
B7 A7 E7 B7
If you play a minor Blues its almost the same except the I and IV chords are play as minor chords and
theref ore are noted i and iv (see basics)
Em Am Em Em
Am Am Em Em
B7 Am Em B7
Chords are:
4/4, 12/8 what does this mean?
You may have already read about a 4/4 or 12/8 beat somewhere. What do the numbers stand
f or? Thats quite simple:
the upper number tells you how many beats you have in a bar
the lower number tells you the note value (duration) of a note
Most Blues are played in 4/4 time (or beat), that means you have f our (4) quarter notes (1/4
notes) per bar. Slow Blues is of ten played in 12/8 time, that means twelve (12) quavers (or
eighth notes, 1/8) per bar.
Lyrics
Nobody Knows Where the Blues Come f rom: Lyrics and History (American Made Music)
List price: $106.18
In the early stage of Blues music there were no guitar solos or even instrumentals, it was a
vocal music. The guitar was used to to accompany the singer, who usually told a story
about the bad lif e of the Af rican-American people, of ten about himself .
Looking at the lyrics of some Blues standards you see the typical call-and-response
(not: question and response!) structure, divided in three sections of f our bars each (the
precursor of the Blues was even more simple, just a line repeated three times):
- 1st statement (4 bars)
- repeat statement (4 bars)
- conclusion (4 bars)
or simply A-A-B.
Most Blues lyrics are in an autobiographical style, about the bad lif e of the Af rican-American
population in America at the beginning 20th century. They are stories about trouble with women or work like
no money, no drinks, no job, of ten containing more or less hidden metaphors and ambiguities, some of
them are aggressive against women or contain hidden sexual innuendos. But bef ore judging over it,
consider the living conditions of the Af rican-American people at that time. Lif e wasnt easy those days.
Equality of rights simply didnt exist. The census f rom 1920 resulted in a total U.S. population of
105,710,620, and a Black population of 10,463,131 (9.9%) [source]. But in the Delta over 90% of all people
were Black. Although slavery had been abolished according to the 13th amendment of the U.S. Constitution,
ratif ied in 1865, most Af rican-American people still struggled in grinding poverty as agricultural, domestic
and menial laborers. Many were sharecroppers like bef ore. Founded in 1867 the Ku Klux Klan became a
power in the South and beyond, employed lynching, cross burnings and other f orms of terrorism, violence
and intimidation. The Jim Crow era saw the cruelest wave of racial hatred. Between 1890 and 1940,
millions of Af rican Americans were disenf ranchised, killed, brutalized, even discouraged f rom learning. They
really did suf f er, nowadays its beyond belief how these things could happen. But the Blues tells the story
about.
You can even go deeper into the lyrics and do some linguistic research. The meter of ten used within blues
lyrics is iambic trochaic, which is is marked by an unstressed point f ollowed by a stressed point proceeded
by two unstressed points and ensuing that would be another stressed point. And theres even more to
discover. Even Blues purist John Mayall made some mistakes when composing Blues, Saw Mill Gulch Road
has some strange metrics (acc. to A. M. Dauer).
Some Blues lyric examples:
Pay day is comin, and I got those pay day Blues;
(I said) Pay day is comin, and I got those pay day Blues;
Ive got so mayn women, that I dont know what to do.
or
They call it stormy Monday, yes but Tuesdays just as bad;
They call it stormy Monday, yes but Tuesdays just as bad;
Wednesdays even worse; Thursdays awf ul sad.
or
I got rambling, I got rambling all on my mind;
I got rambling, I got rambling all on my mind;
I hates to leave my baby, but she treats me so unkind.
As always, there are variations possible. Take the Canned Heat Blues:
I woked up, up this morning, with canned heat on my mind;
Woked up this morning, canned heat was on my mind;
Woke up this morning, with canned heat, Lord, on my mind
uses the A-A-A structure to emphasize the call statement things, while later:
I woke up, up this morning, crying, canned heat round my bed;
Run here, somebody, take these canned heat blues;
Run here, somebody, and take these canned heat blues
uses A-B-B to make the response more important. You see that the Blues can be everything f rom simple to
complex. There are rules, but one of them is youre allowed to brake the rules.
Intros
Eric Clapton Complete Clapton (Guitar Recorded Versions)
List price: $20.82
To call attention to the audience that you start to play, a Blues song typically starts
with an intro like (in E)
I----4-----3-----2-------0-------2---I
I--------------------------------0---I
I-/4---4-3---3-2---2-0h1---------2---I
I--------------------------------1---I
I--------------------------0-1-2-----I
I------------------------------------I
Download mp3
I------0-3b-0----------------------2---I
I--0-3--------3-0------------------0---I
I-----------------2br-p0-----------2---I
I------------------------2---------1---I
I----------------------------0-1-2-----I
I--------------------------------------I
Download mp3
Or using a Robert Johnson style intro and turnaround (key E, walking down with the bass line while keeping
a high root note E, then picking B7):
I--12-----12-----12-------------5-5---5--I
I-------------------------------4-4---4--I
I-------------------------------4-4---4--I
I--12-12--11-11--10--10--9----4-----4----I
I----------------------------------------I
I----------------------------------------I
Download mp3
A turnaround is of ten played as the last bar (V) of a blues progression.
Its a kind of transition back to the tonic (I), where the next verse starts.
You can f ind several turnarounds if you go through the albums discussed here.
Many turnarounds are similar to the intro.
A bit longer (also in E)
I----9---8--7-7-7h9p7-6--0------0----0---------2-2--I
I----8---7--6---------5------------------0-----0-0--I
I-/9---9-8--7---------6------------------------2-2--I
I----------------------------------------------1-1--I
I------------------------5-5--5-4-4--3-3-2---2------I
I---------------------------------------------------I
Download mp3
At the end of the 12 bar chord progression (commonly the last 2 bars), bef ore starting the next verse, a
turnaround is played and opens f or the next verse to come. A simple turnaround f or example can be tried
with the chord progression
E E7 A Am E B7:
Download mp3
To summarize the song structure: Intro 1st verse turnaround 2nd verse (or solo) turnaround etc.
ending.
Some basic chords
o: open string
x: dont pick or mute string
4: 4th f ret (any number)
More chords at the chord generator.
Starting rhythm guitar
With this Blues scheme you can play rhythm guitar to the most Blues standards. You can play
chords or rif f s, but you need the right shuffle f eeling. It sounds like your heartbeat (as long as
its normal):
babumm babumm babumm etc.
There are dif f erent types of shuf f le rhythms. The two most common f orms are the Chicago
shuffle, with the bass drum on the second and f ourth beat like 1-2-3-4 and the Texas shuffle
(double shuf f le) emphasizing the f irst and third beat like 1-2-3-4. Examples f or the Chicago
shuf f le are Key To The Highway or Sweet Home Chicago and f or the Texas shuf f le Reconsider
Baby, Crossroads (Cream version) or Everyday I Have The Blues. If you ask a drummer be
prepared f or a long discussion. If any.
Another of ten used of Blues rhythm is the Slow Blues. The name is pretty self explanatory,
examples are Double Trouble or The Sky Is Crying. Some players tend to f ill the space in these
songs with ultra speed licks, but thats a bad habit. Sometimes a f ast run works great, but
running through the f retboard to f ill the gaps no, never.
Sometimes other rhythms are used f or Blues rock (play the rif f s f aster without the shuf f le f eel
and youll get Chuck Berry style), but the 12 bar f orm remains the same.
Beginners can start with just the open bass strings: f or example with Ramblin On My Mind
f rom the Blues Breakers album. Its in E and you can play it with just the open strings:
E7: the bass E string (I)
A7: the bass A string (IV)
B7: the B string (V) (OK, doesnt sound cool, but works)
If you have a Blues in A, use A string (I), D string (IV) and E string (V). Pretty simple!
You may also use the chords above, but playing just chords is a little bit boring af ter a while, so
try some rif f s (a rif f is a sequence of repeated chords or notes). These rif f s can be played with
your thumb or with a pick. They sound better when you mute the strings a little bit (using the
palm of or hand or your f ingers), dont let them ring out.
For a good timing you can also generate MIDI backing tracks online using the Jamtrack
generator.
This is a basic rif f in E (remember the sequence!), playing notes f rom the E and E6 chords. This
gives a better sound than just the notes f rom one chord.
E/E6
I-------------------I I-------------------I
I-------------------I I-------------------I
I-------------------I or I-------------------I
I-------------------I I-------------------I
I--2-2-4-4-2-2-4-4--I I--2-2-4-2-2-2-4-2--I
I--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0--I I--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0--I
A/A6
I-------------------I
I-------------------I
I-------------------I
I--2-2-4-4-2-2-4-4--I
I--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0--I
I-------------------I
B/B6
I-------------------I
I-------------------I
I-------------------I
I--4-4-6-6-4-4-6-6--I
I--2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2--I
I-------------------I
Download mp3
Use your pinky to get the 6!
This last rif f can be used on dif f erent string f or scales which dont have
open bass strings.
Just shif t it to the right position on the f retboard and play!
Variations:
The f ollowing rif f uses the notes of a E/E6/E7 chord progression, which is also used in rock music:
E/E6/E7
I-------------------I
I-------------------I
I-------------------I
I-------------------I
I--2-2-4-4-5-5-4-4--I
I--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0--I
Download mp3
A/A6/A7
I-------------------I
I-------------------I
I-------------------I
I--2-2-4-4-5-5-4-4--I
I--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0--I
I-------------------I
B/B6 (B7 hard to play - try anyway...)
I-------------------I
I-------------------I
I-------------------I
I--4-4-6-6-4-4-6-6--I
I--2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2--I
I-------------------I
Before you accuse me Blues in E (E7/A7/B7):
E A
I---------------------I--------------------I---------------------I--------------------I
I---------------------I--------------------I---------------------I--------------------I
I---------------------I--------------------I----------------0----I--------------------I
I----------------0----I--------------------I--2-2-4-4-2-2-4---4--I--2-2-4-4-2-2-2/5-0-I
I--2-2-4-4-2-2-4---4--I--2-2-4-4-2-2-2/5-0-I--0-0-0-0-0-0-0---0--I--0-0-0-0-0-0-------I
I--0-0-0-0-0-0-0---0--I--0-0-0-0-0-0-------I---------------------I--------------------I
Another variation in E (E7/A7/B7)
E A
I--------------------I--------------------I--------------------I--------------------I
I--------------------I--------------------I--------------------I--------------------I
I--------------------I--------------------I--------------------I--------------------I
I--------------------I--------------------I--2-2-4-4-2-2-----2-I--2-2-4-4-2-2-----2-I
I-2-2-4-4-2-2-----2--I--2-2-4-4-2-2-----2-I--0-0-0-0-0-0-3/4---I--0-0-0-0-0-0-3/4---I
I-0-0-0-0-0-0-3/4----I--0-0-0-0-0-0-3/4---I--------------------I--------------------I
Download mp3
Another rif f in A: (as played by EC and the Yardbirds, Got To Hurry)
A
I-------------------I
I-------------------I
I-------------------I
I-----7-7-5-5-------I
I-------------7-7---I
I-5-5---------------I
D7
I-------------------I
I-------------------I
I-----7-7-5-5-------I
I-------------7-7---I
I-5-5---------------I
I-------------------I
(Yes, its easy to change: just one string higher!)
E7
I-------------------I
I-------------------I
I-----9-9-7-7-------I
I-------------9-9---I
I-7-7---------------I
I-------------------I
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Alternative position f or E7:
E7
I-------------------I
I-------------------I
I-------------------I
I-----2-2-0-0-------I
I-------------2-2---I
I-0-0---------------I
What song what chords what scale?
Yeah, you want to play now but which songs are in E, which in A? Heres a collection of Blues standards
played by EC on his most popular Blues records, most of them are described in detail on this site:
E scale (Chords E7, A7, B7)
Unplugged: Bef ore You Accuse Me
Unplugged: Hey, Hey
Unplugged: Malted Milk
From The Cradle: Blues Bef ore Sunrise
From The Cradle: How Long Blues
From The Cradle: Blues Leave Me Alone
From The Cradle: Sinners Prayer
From The Cradle: It Hurts Me Too
From The Cradle: Drif tin
Blues Breakers f eat. EC: Ramblin On My Mind
A scale (Chords A7, D7, E7)
From The Cradle: Hoochie Coochie Man
From The Cradle: Five long Years
From The Cradle: Goin Away Baby
From The Cradle: Groaning The Blues
It a good job to f ind out the scale of other songs. You know the Blues scheme, just try it out! If you f ound
something wrong, let me know
A backing track in dif f erent keys
Below youll f ind a standard 12 bar Blues shuf f le (100 bpm) in dif f erent keys. You can download and use it
as you like no copyright. Download all backing tracks (zipped) here.
Key of A:
Download mp3
Key of B:
Download mp3
Key of C:
Download mp3
Key of E:
Download mp3
Key of G:
Download mp3