QP The 21st Century PROMETHOD © aU GUITAR Rural) Urban, and Modern Styles - 7 Dae PECL @ More than 130 music examples in the styles of blues greats De SO te Cee’ Ray a recording Ds Ca DraCONTENTS/CD TRACKING UNIT 1: THE BLUES SHUFFLE Example 2: The Full Chord Shuffle Example 3: The Classic Shuffle Pore 0 212 UNIT 2: THE SOUND OF BLUES LEAD GUITAR. 13 Example 4: Hammer-On Examples. Example 5: Pull-Off Examples . Example 6! Slide Examples . Example 7; Bending Examples Example 8: Vibrato Examples 16 7 .18 22 26 UNIT 3: FIRST STEPS TO CREATING A BLUES SOLO Example 9: Locating the Notes in E7 Ae Example 10: Combining the Root and 3rd of E7. Example 11: Locating the Sth of EZ Example 12: Combining the Root, ard and Sth . Example 13A: Locating the b7 of E7. : Examples] 3B-k: Combining the Root, 3:d, Sth, and b7 The lV. Chord ; Example 14; Locating the Notes in A7. ae Example 18: Combining the Root, 3rd, Sth, and $7. . MeV. Cholla) Syme, Example 16: Locating the Notes in 87 Example 17: ideas for Soloing Over the B7 Chord Building a Simple Solo With Chord Tones... Example 18: Ramblin’ : Adding the 6th to the |, lv, and v horas. Example 19: | Can See the Train Afar. Creating Tension and Release . . 4 Adding the 4th fo the |, IV, and V Chords . Example 20: Go by the Four........ Example 21: Blues Riffs That Use the ath The Blues 5th _ Example 22: Riffs That Use the Blues Sth Example 23: Make Mine With the Blues... . Adding the 9th to the I IV, and V Chords. . Example 24: Liffin’ Me Up. & UNIT 4: THE BLUES-ROCK CONNECTION. . Integrating the Blues-Rock Scale . . Example 25: Young Drifter, Old Road. . Example 26: Doggin’ My Tall 5 More Patterns for the Blues-Rock Scale. . 28 29 29 30... STs 31. 33 23, 35. 36 36 on 37 38 139 40 4) 42 43 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 2, Ee) ORs oc mudTe ay 10 oi 12 13 14 14 15 16 7 18 a 22 23 24 2a) 26 oaCONTENTS/CD TRACKING Crd Moving the Blues to Different Keys Locating the Chord Tones in the Key of A Example 27: Steppin’ Out Example 28: Walkin’ on the "C” Example 29: Jumpin’ at the Double Stop UNIT 5: CREATING EXTENDED FINGERINGS .. 62 63 64 65 Common Extended Fingerings for the Blues-Rock Scale Creating Extended Fingerings: The Sweet Major Sound Example 30: Lazy River Biues Crectingtercied Fingerings: The Blues Major Sound, Creating Extended Fingerings for Minor Blues Example 31: A Minor Connection Example 32; When People Look Down . UNIT 6: BREAKING OUT OF COMMON PATTERNS. The Mixolydian Biues Sound UNIT 7: INTRODUCTIONS. . Example 33: Melodic Style Intro, Key of E Example 34: Descending Dominant Chord Intro, Key of F Example 36: Riff Intro, Key of G .. Example 36: Melodic Intro, Key of Br Example 37: Rhythmic Chords, Key of A Example 38; Turnaround:-Style Intro, Key of E. .. Example 39: Tumaround:Style Intro, Key of G ... Example 40; Diminished Arpeggio Intro, Key of G .. Example 41: Passing Chord Intro, Key of Bb . Example 42: Gospel-Style Intro, Key of C. .. Example 43: Jazz-Style Intro, Key of A Example 44: Riff Based Intro, Key of Bb, . Example 46: Quick-Change Intro, Key of C UNIT 8: ENDINGS. Example 46: Traditional Ending, Key of C Example 47: The Break Ending, Key of C ao ss Example 48: Break Encing With Quarter Note Triplets, Key of C Example 49: Melodic Riff Ending, Key of C . Example 60: Chromatic Chord Movement, Key of F 54 55 . 56. 57 58 59 65 69 -70 a 76 78 79 719 . 80 - 80 - 80. 8s 81. 81. BR, 82. 82. 83. ooh . 84 85 85 85 85 86 erg 28 29 30 31 32 33 aay 48 49 50 51CONTENTS/CD TRACKING Example 61: Quarter-Note Triplet Ending, Key of S Example 62; Cha Cha Cha Ending, Key of C Minor. Example 53; The “A Train’ Ending, Key of F Example 64: Riff-Style Ending, Key of G Example 65: Chromatic Slide-Up, Key of E Example 6: Turnaround-Style Ending, Key of E Example 67: Turnaround-Style Ending, Key of G Example 68: Turnaround-Style Ending, Key of Bb UNIT 9: MODERN BLUES TRICKS: THE WHOLE-TONE SOUND Example 59: Saints and Sinners. . The Diminished Sound Example 60: Cantaloupe Shuffle Example 61: The Chromatic Run-Up » The Chord Rake: Example 62; Major Rakes Example 63; Minor Rakes Example 64; Dominant Rakes. Example 65; Combining the Rake With Other Techniques UNIT 10: USING THE 6TH INTERVAL TO EMBELLISH perl THE DOMINANT 7TH CHORD.. The Shapes of the 6th Interval on the Ist Gnd 2nd Strings. Example 66: Comping Through a Blues Using 6th, Intervals Example 67; Moving 6ths on the Ist and 3rd Strings, Coronary + 8, 86 87 87 87. 88 88 88. 89 91 92 96 7 98 8 9 9 100. 102 102. 103. . Using the 6th to Embellish the 7tn Chord on the 2nd and 4th Strings. . 104 The Shapes of the éth Interval on the 2nd and 4th Stings Example 68: Working With 6ths on the 2nd and 4th Strings Example 69: More Work With éths on the 2nd and 4th Strings. UNIT 11: THE FUNK/BLUES SOUND ........ Example 70: The Funk/Blues. . . Example 71: The Memphis Connection . . Example 72: Unfinished Business ............ 105, 106, 106 - 107 107 108. - 109 es SSIFELSR 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 oo 70 7 72CONTENTS/CD TRACKING CP UNIT 12: BLUES FORMS AND CHORD PROGRESSIONS Example 73: The Standard 12-Bar Form . Example 74; The Quick-Change Blues Form Example 75: Turnaround Changes Example 76: Major 6 Biues Exomp6 77: Variation on the Mojor 6 Blues Example 78: Another Variation on the Major 6 Blues Example 79: Major 6 With a Quick Change Example 80; Another Variation fi Example 81: Substituting for the V Chord... Example 82: Rhythm & Blues UNIT 13: MINOR KEY BLUES PROGRESSION. Example 83: Minon Key Blues Example 84: Variation 1 Example 86: Merging! Minot and Dominant Blues Example 86: B., King-Siyle Minor Blues . Example 87; Peter Green-Style Minor Blues Eight-Bar Blues Example 88) Eight Bar Blues Koy fo the Hichway syle) Example 89 Example 90. . UNIT 14: TURNAROUNDS ... Examples 91-95: lurnarounas In E Examples 96-100: Turnarounds in E. . Examples 101-104: Turnarounds in E . Examples 105-109: Turnarounds in E.. . Examples 110-114; Turnarounds in A ..... Examples 115-119: Turnarounds In A. Examples 120-123; Turnarounds in A. Examples 124-127: Turnarounds in A. Examples 128-131: Turnarounds in A. . .110 110. 110. Ww ml 112, 112 13 113 114. 114, pala) 11s, 118. 116. 116 7 7 apie 8. 118 9 ug, 120, 121 122 123 124. 120. 126, 127 nrg 78 76 is 76 Te 78 79 - 80 -81 82 83 84 65 86 87 88 89 90 a 92, 93 94 95 96 7 98Introduction Along with jazz and gospel music, blues is a style uniquely American. The source of the blues lies in the African-American heritage and can ultimately be traced back to Africa. But blues music transcends race and color since its essence is the expression of universal feelings shared by all people. All people fee! pain, sorrow, joy, and happiness, and this is the currency of the blues. ‘A good blues musician is not usually a highly trained technician. On the contrary, some of the best blues musi- cians are self-taught artists who have honed their skills in the roachouses, barrel houses, bars, saloons, juke joints, back porches, rent parties, and meeting halls throughout the country. You don't need extraordinary chops to play inspiring blues, but you do need a deep commitment to expressing some real feelings. The blues is about putting as much heart and soul into something as simple as playing one note. It's not about how fast you can play or how quickly you can get up and down the fingerboard. In the end it's about mining the depths of the human soul and translating the human condition into music. ‘There's a deep-seated myth in the guitar world that anyone can play the blues. This couldn't be further from the truth, All you have to do is listen to any of the great blues artists to know how far from true such a state- ment is, As with any great art form, it takes years of practice, soul-searching, experimentation, and refinement to be able to tap into the essence of this style. This book contains many important concepts and techniques used by blues musicians. You'll learn different blues chords, lead techniques, and the common blues forms. if you complete the lessons in here, you'll be able to sit in with other blues musicians and hold your own. The style of blues covered in this book is based on artists such T-Bone Walker, B.B. King, Freddie King, Albert King, Duke Robillard, and Eric Clapton; i's blues meant to be played in a band with a rhythm section. Its loosely based on what's called the Chicago style. Go slowly and keep your ears open. Memorize the many songs and jam on them with your friends. 'm a believer in pictures when it comes to learning on the guitar, so I've presented the concepts in each lesson in a variety of forms using audio examples, guitar fingerboard charts, notation, and tablature,——— This method is not based solely on learning a group of scale pattems. You only have to listen to the great blues men to know that their ideas are not strictly rooted in scale patterns. The idea of a blues scale implies a set of notes that will make you sound bluesy. However, the sounds used by blues musicians goes beyond what you could easily classify as a scale—using notes between the frets to achieve a sound that is fluid and person- ally expressive. Unless you expand your thinking and listening beyond the idea of a “blues” scale, you will end Up ina rut that is often difficult to get out of. At some point in your education, you must pay attention to the sounds implied by the harmony. This approach will really connect you with the chords and provide you with the variety and contrast you will need to play interesting blues. Many blues songs are scattered throughout this book. Each song provides insight into a different element of the blues. They are all played by me on the accompanying CD. Work through all of these songs. Most are easy to play, and through these songs, you will absorb the essence of the method. Many of the songs in this book in jam-along versions, as well as other jam blues tracks, are available on the supplemental Blues Sessions jam CDs available through my website, www.donlatarski,com, There are about 20 other songs that were originally intended to be included to be part of this book. As the book progressed, it became evident that not all of them could be included. You will find these songs on the website: ‘wonw.donlatarski.com. To order any of the supplemental Blues Sessions jam CDs, correspond with and listen to the music of Don Latarski, or leam about his other Warner Bros. Publications and downloadable lessons, visit ‘wniw.donlatarski.com. | extend my deepest gratitude to Aaron Stang (my editor), who worked very hard to clarify my music and ideas throughout this book. | know it was a challenge. I'm forever in his debt. You now have in your hands the key to unlocking the blues. Enjoy the journey. —Don LatarskiUNIT 1: The Blues Shuffle Which divides each beat into two equal parts, the shuffle rhythm has a lopsided feel. The shutfie is based on a triplet division of the beat. A triplet is three notes played in the space of one beat. The umber 3 is placed above a group of notes to indicate a triplet. T: most common rhythmic feelin the blues is called the shuffle. Uniike the typical rock 'n' roll song, rock 'n’ roll shuttle TT] 1 peat TT = nat To count these triplets, you simply divide each tap of your foot into three equal parts. The first note of each group of triplets will be when your foot hits the floor. one bar of music eo er et =a Pie ne | tap foot Even though each beat is divided into three equal parts, you don't actually hit all three. In the shuffle, you hit on the first and third parts. The first two parts are tied together with a little U-shaped symbol called a tie. A tio is like adding the value of two notes together to form one longer note. stand 2nd notes tied together to—> form a longer note Tho shuffle is a rhythmic way of interpreting a song, just as bossa nova, samba, swing, rap, and hip-hop imply a certain feel, The straight eighth note can be interpreted as a triplet feel in blues: The straight eighth-note notation can be interpreted as a triplet feel in blues Am In most cases in this book, anything notated as straight eighth notes (Iwo notes per beat) will be played with the uneven triplet feel. If no rhythms are indicated, you should play the chords with this shuffle rhythm. CD. Track 3 is a good example of the shuffle fool.—_— The Full Chord Shuffle To play the blues, you must frst become familiar with the sound and form of the standard biues shuttle, This simple example does just that. The most common key that blues guitarists work in is E. Using the lowest note on the guitar produces the fattest sound you can make. Some guitarists take this idea a litle further, reasoning that the guitar will sound even ‘ater ifthe instrument is detuned by one half step, turning the lowest string into an Eb note. Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix are two blues players who used this trick. The chords used in this example are standard forms. In blues, the chords are usually dominant 7ths. They are notated with a letter, which signifies the chord root; the number 7 is placed next to this root. (Musicians don't usually call them dominant 7th chords, They are usually just called 7th chords.) The blues form is most often 12 bars long. (Bar is another name for measure.) There are blues songs that use 8, 9, 16-, 24-, and 32-bar forms, but they are not as common as the 12-bar form. Other forms are certainly possible as well. ‘The standard blues progression uses only three different chords. Notice how long each chord is played. The first chord is held for four measures (16 beats). Memorize these chord forms since they are important in devel- ‘oping the lead work that will come soon. Four different chord forms are introduced in the following song. Notice the difference between the E7 in meas- tres 1-3 and the one introduced in measure 4. Example 1His 37) Example 2: Full Chord Shuffle w-Fd ze 10ss The Classic Shuffle Since most blues songs use only a handful of chord changes, the challenge is to make something interesting with the progression. ‘One way of doing this is to break up a chord into smaller parts. In this example there are no full chords as in the first example. Instead this example uses chord fragments to achieve the harmony. The overall sound is that of an embellished 7th chord. When we hear any series of notes played either as single notes or as pairs (intervals), our brain tries to find a connection. If we hear notes that form a pleasing relationship with one another, then a larger sound (chord) is produced. Our ears and brain perform a little musical adcition and we respond to these compatible sounds as if someone were actually playing the chord. The main point is that individual notes can be used to create chordal ‘sounds. This is a wonderful phenomenon that blues musicians can use to great effect. This example is probably the most common way of “chording’ to a blues shuffle, It is the first example of using intervals to achieve the harmony. Many variations are possible on this progression. There is one pretty big stretch you need to work out when playing the B7 chord. Make sure you're at the 2nd fret with your first finger when going for this change. This stretch can be pretty daunting, so an alternative is to simply go to the B7 chord learned in the previous example and play it with a similar shuffle rhythm. Listen to this example on the CD to get a feel for how it should sound. ES 6 AT ex Ox 4 Tri BS xx oh "2 Example 3: The Classic ShutfleUNIT 2: THE SOUND OF BLUES LEAD GUITAR variety of techniques can make something sound bluesy. Certainly the bending of notes is one of the most important, as is the way you play something—known as feel. Slides, pull-offs, hammer-ons, snapped notes and vibrato are other important techniques. Without a good grasp of these techniques, you would find it difficult to make authentic sounding blues. The next series of pages contains a variety of examples to get you started in developing these techniques. Once you become familiar with how to make something sound bluesy, you'll have a better understanding of how the masters achieve that unique and often elusive quality found in this style. The Hammer-On ‘Ahammer-on is one technique often used to add interest to a musical line. This technique involves two differ- ent pitches. There is an approach tone and a destination tone. The approach tone is the first note hit, It is lower in pitch than the destination tone and is on the same string as the destination tone. You start with one finger on the approach tone (typically the index finger) and then move to the destination tone by slamming (or hammer- ing) down your middle, ring, or litle finger onto the destination tone. The destination tone is usually located ‘one, tio, or three frets above the approach tone. So, the hammer-on is an upward slur. (A slur oocurs when only the first note is struck or articulated.) Hammer-on using an open string as the approach tone: approach destination \. Hammer-on using a fretted note as the approach ton: approach destination tone tone y 1314 The Pull-Off The pull-of is the opposite of the hammer-on. There is stil an approach tone and a destination tone, but now the approach tone is higher in pitch than the destination tone. You start by placing your index finger on the des- tination tone; your ring finger or little finger should be on the approach tone. Play the approach tone and then pull the string toward the floor, plucking the string in the process. This is the pull as in pul-off. The pull-off sounds the destination tone. You are causing the string to sound again by performing the pulloff, Pull-off with an open string as the destination tone: approach destination tone tone ye Pull-off with a fretted note as the destination tone: approach destination Tone tone Np Combining Pull-Offs and Hammer-Ons When you combine a pull-off with a hammer-on, you don't use your picking hand at all. You just pull-off, which Causes the string to sound, and then follow this with a hammer-on, which also causes the string to sound, This ‘combination of two different techniques is usually done fairly quickly. In this example, only the first note is picked. oeThe Slide ‘The slide is very similar to a hammer-on and pull-off except you use only one finger to execute the move. Like the hammer-on and pull-off, the slide usually takes place on one string, although itis possible to slide groups of notes. You start on the approach tone and immediately after plucking i, slide the finger holding down the ‘approach tone up the fingerboard, all the while keeping pressure on that string so you never lose the sound of the pitch going up. You stop the slide on the destination tone. So, the slide is a slur played with one finger in which you can hear the approach tone sliding up, or down, into the destination tone. ‘An upward slide will sound very similar to a hammer-on, and a downward slide will approximate the sound of a pul-oft, The primary difference with slides being that you can easily slide five or more frets—a very difficult thing to achieve with a hammer-on or pul-off technique, Upward-slide Downward-slide 1 1 15(S7 Example 4; Hammer-On Examples an 4B718 roy Ss [1 Example 6: Slide Examples (Ascending slides) ! Play as equal eighths rz ec (Descending slides) 6 oF 4 Play as equal cighthsBending notes allows you to create notes between the frets. These “in-between” notes are important to the blues since they create tension, and style and heighten the emotional impact of your music. When you bend a note, you stretch one or more strings so that the pitch goes up. You can bend a little or a lot ‘The halt step is a good place to start—you bend a note up so it sounds the note on the next fret. This is easier than the whole-step bend because you don't have to stretch the string very much, ‘You will often want to hold a note in the stretched position and apply vibrato to it. This requires a fair amount of strength and it’s for this reason I recommend that the fretting hand thumb come up and around the 6th string. This is the same hand position used for vibrato. ‘The most common finger used to bend notes is the ring finger (third finger). The middle finger (second finger) is also used. These two fingers are both strong and can be supported easily by the wrist. The index finger (first finger) and the pinky (fourth finger) are the most dificult with which to bend. When bending a string, you have the option of either pushing the string up toward the celling or pulling it down toward the floor. Most people push the string up toward the ceiling. This isn’t possible with the 6th string since you will push it right off the fingerboard! With this string, pull toward the floor. Half-step bend (pull the string toward the floor): Halt-step bend (pull the string toward the floor or push it uj 19Half-step bend (push the string toward the ceiling); Whole-step bend (pull the string toward the floor): Whole-step bend (push the string toward ceiling): When practicing these bends, hit the destination note first so you get the pitch in your ear; that way when you bend up to the destination note, you will hear when to stop the bend. In the beginning it's easy to overshoot your mark and end up bending above or below your destination tone. 20Reverse Bends I's also common to bend a note up (pre-bend), hit the string and then release. This is called a reverse bend. In this case, you pre-bend the note and after plucking release the bend—allowing the string to return to the desti- ration tone. Half-step reverse bend (pull the string toward the floor): Whole-step reverse bend (push the string toward the ceiling): Whole-step reverse bend (push the string toward the ceiling): ings 21om 4 Example 7: Bending Examples Quarter-step bends 7A wow J Half-step bends 7D he, TEee ‘Whole-step bends 1 Pre-bends 23Vibrato Vibrato is the technique of applying a small amount of pitch bend to a note. The point of using vibrato is to add a little tension, sustain, and animation to a note or group of notes. If you don't apply vibrato to a note after hit- ting it, the energy and interest of your line can diminish. When you're soloing, you're trying to keep things inter- esting, When you come to rest on @ note, you need to apply vibrato to keep the flow of the line happening. Vibrato is an adaptation of a vocal technique. Just sing a little bit without vibrato and listen to how lifeless it sounds. ‘There are many ways to achieve vibrato. Perhaps one of the most identifiable guitar vibratos belongs to B.B. King. His rapid wrist movement produces a quick and intense sound. Contrast this vibrato sound with that used by Eric Clapton when he was with John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers. His vibrato was very vocallike and used a slow speed with a deeper pitch variation. This style complemented his legato and sustaining approach. Vibrato has two important characteristics: speed and depth. Speed refers to how quickly the note is bent up and released. Depth refers to how much the pitch varies above and below the destination note. Sometimes depth is also called width. if someone has a wide vibrato, it means they are pushing the string up quite a bit above the destination tone before letting it come back down to the starting pitch. B.B. King removes his entire hand (minus the finger holding the note) from the fingerboard and shakes his \wrist radically to achieve his trademark sound. This technique requires much practice since you don't have support while shaking the hand. The technique | recommend provides more support while still allowing for any choice of speed and depth, First, lock your vibrato hand by allowing the sides of your fingers to touch each other. Allow the thumb on this fretting hand to wrap up around the 6th string. This gives you the support and pivot point helpful in controlling the wrist. Now turn the wrist up toward the ceiling. As you do this you should be pushing the string up. Once you have bent the note up a litle, release the muscles and the string will return to its normal resting position. (Don't remove your hand from the string, just release the bend.) Practice this technique with each finger of the fretting hand, Bending and Applying Vibrato Its also common to bend a note up either a haltstep or a wholestep or farther, and apply vibrato. To do this you need to use the thumb-over-fingerboard technique mentioned in the previous section. The use of the thumb will provide all the support you need to control the pushing and releasing that occurs when you're bending a pitch Up and applying vibrato. When you use this technique, your ear is able to determine the correct pitch by how much you bend above and release below the destination note. If you bend above the note more than you release, the note will sound sharp. If you release more than you bend, the note will sound flat. One interesting technique used by a number of guitarists is to bend notes intentionally sharp. This makes their notes stand out from the rest of the band. Albert Collins was very good at this.eC Your note will sound in tune if you apply an equal amount of pitch variation above and below the destination note. aid anna WEEN sO CC) sed Sere aer esi In this next example notice how this bend has too little bend above the note. The perceived destination note will sound flat and out of tune. (The note this bend would produce is represented by the dashed line.) 1 ett cree O_O) Blech) actual destination pitch A048 In this example notice how this bend has too much bend above the note. The perceived destination note will sound sharp and out of tune. (The note this bend would produce is represented by the dashed line.) waa sinter pene ff.) 9-9) 25Example 8: Shallow vibrato Wide vibrato 8A 8B 8c 8D aE 8F ‘Combining the slide and vibrato Hammer-ons and vibrato 8G 8H aI ad 8k aL bo oe Pull-offs and vibrato Half-step bends with vibrato am 8N 80 aP 8D aR + + — ae (Bend the note up the equivalent of 1 fret.) Whole-step bends with vibrato 8s 8T ja au (Bend the note up the equivalent of frets) 26UNIT 3: FIRST STEPS TO CREATING A BLUES SOLO thing that interacts and builds upon these elements. There are many ways to do this. The approach taken in ‘You will not be stuck in the pentatonic or blues scale rut. ‘You will have the ability to tap into the essence of the harmony at any time. ‘You will have the ability to create solos that contain contrast. The place to begin to leam this approach is with the chords found in the standard 12-bar blues. In this form, there are only three different chords. They are all dominant 7th chords. A blues in the key of E will contain an E7, A7, and B7. Each of these chords will be leatned in the 1st position along with their respective arpeggio pattems. (An arpeggio Is a set of notes that contains only the notes found in a particular chord.) ‘The chord that represents the key of the song is called the | chord (read this as the “one chord’). It is referred to by a Roman numeral as are the other two chords: the IV and V chords. ‘The standard 12 bar-blues form: ED Al, ‘The notes that are used to build chords are found in the major scale derived from the chord root. For example, if you want to construct any type of E chord, you must look to the notes in the E-major scale. Second, all chords contain a unique formula comprised of a series of numbers. These numbers indicate which notes from the scale are to be included in the chord. Last, some chords contain notes that are not found in their respective major scale. In order to build these chords, one or more of the notes from their respective major scales must be modified by raising or lowering the pitch one half step. ‘The E dominant 7th chord (E7) consists of the 1st, 3rd, Sth, and flatted 7th scale degrees from the E major scale, In blues, it's common to think of the rd (Gt in the case of E7) as a pitch that exists somewhere between a bard and a major 3rd (G and Gt). This is called the “blues 3rd” and is located approximately a quarter step above the minor Sra, The blues Sth is also a very expressive tone, This note lies in an area between the natural 4th and Sth tones of 57,the scale. The lowered 7th, usually just called a “flat 7,” is also a great tone for blues. You may also bend into it from a haif or whole step below or use the hammer or slide approach. THIS TONE EXISTS BETWEEN THE NATUR- AL 6TH AND 7TH TONES. ‘These three notes are collectively referred to as “blue tones.” The following examples illustrate how, with just the arpeggio and the blue tones, you can build convincing blues ideas. Listen carefully to the rhythm of these riffs and try to copy them. Using bends, hammer-ons, pull offs, vioato, and slides will really make this handful of notes sound very bluesy. It's important to make each note count. You have to pour the emotion into these notes to get the right effect. fa Ha 10 Example 9: Locating the Notes in E7 ‘The Chord Root 9A 9c 9D The 3rd SE oF 28- ‘The Blues 31 9G ” oH y Example 10: 108 eae aa Example 11; Locating the 5th of E7 11a, 1B E - z 32A 128 126 wy 120 12ED. 8 Y (87) Example 13: Combining the Root, 3rd, Sth, and b7th of E7 Locating the $7 notes 13A from E7 arpeggio 138 By 13¢ 13D 13E 13F at136 13K 3 3 3The Iv Chord Just ike the previous E7, the IV chord is also a dominant 7th. It is also made up of the 1st, Srd, Sth, and b7th tones. However, these tones are derived from the A major scale not the E major scale. The shape of the A7 chord used here is the one geographically closest to the previous E7. It is a different shape. Leaming the loca~ tion of the root, 3rd, Sth, and }7th for this chord will enable you to target these notes when this chord occurs in the song. You'll soon discover this is a very powerful musical tool. the complete AT chord root (1) chord 3rd. chord 5th, chord 7th rpeggio Go ea ‘A good strategy for getting contrast in your solo is to target chord tones: in this case, one of the notes in the IV chord. Notice that the Sth of the IV chord (the E note) is the only note actually shared in common with the E7 chord (the | chord) Now play the examples that go along with this chord. Again, listen carefully to how the notes are played: the vibrato, bends, slides, pul-offs, hammer-ons, and timing used. oo. zs [571 Example 14: Locating the Notes in A7 The Chord Root The ard 148 148 The Blues 3rd Combining the Root and 3rd 14c ara 140 3314 “ Locating the 5th of A7 Combining the Root, 3rd, and 5th 146 14H b my “ow 14J we Locating the 47 14Koo 157) Example 15: Combining the Root, 3rd, 5th, and b7th of A7 15A AT 158 Al 156 AT 15H AT a36 The V Chord ‘The next and last chord in the common 12-bar blues form is the V chord. In the key of E this is a 87 chord. Like the A7, this particular chord form was chosen because itis in the same area of the fingerboard as the E7. This is also @ dominant chord that contains the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and flatted 7th tones from the B major scale. the complete chord oot(t) chord rd chord Sin —chord 7th —_arpeggo 9 2 ‘The V chord doesn't last very long in the standard 12-bar blues. It is usually played for only two measures and they are not next to each other. The first time it occurs is in measure 9. The second time is in measure 12 in a part of the song called the turnaround. Because this chord is played for @ short amount of time, i's important to target one or two notes in i. This chord contains one note also found in the E7 chord: a B note. ‘Try the following examples to get the hang of locating the chord tones in the V chord. ‘oo | EZ! Example 16: Locating the Notes in B7 ‘The Root The 3rd 160 BI The 5th The 7th 16c B? 16D BTo} 487] Example 17: Ideas for Soloing Over the B7 Chord 1A sf 178 BT 17 BT a ries ae eae? B7 17e ease 1F B7 Building a Simple Solo With Chord Tones ‘The best way to learn music is to make it. I's time to see just how these various chord tones can be put together to make an interesting solo. |The examples that follow are based on the vocal style of biues. This style is at the heart of the blues tradition. singer wil create a short melodic and rhythmic phrase and then change it slightly to fit the chord changes as | they occur. You could think of this technique as theme and variation. | The rhythmic aspect of what you play is as important as the notes. It may be more important because the rhythms contain the fee! of the music, Listen very carefully to how the notes are played. Notice how laid-back and relaxed the feel is. This laid-back fee! is at the heart of the blues sound. By laying back behind the beat, your notes will stand out from the rest of the rhythm section. You'll be carving out a litle space for your lead by Creating rhythmic tension.38 By now you know how important the bending, sliding, pull-off, hammoer-on, and vibrato techniques are to this style. Without these techniques, i's almost impossible to sound very bluesy. Practice this simple yet effective piece until you have it memorized. Once you get the idea of this type of solo- ing into your ears and fingers, you'll be able to create your own themes and variations. RAMBLIN’ 43] Example 18 ET Al E7— Adding the 6th to the |, IV, and V Chords So far, you've played the primary chord tones of 1, 3, 5, and $7. With slides and bends many different emotions are possible even from this small number of notes. It's also common to play notes that aren't actually in the chord, but when played complement and expand on the sound of the chord. These extra notes fall into two cat- egories: consonant (pleasant sounding) or dissonant (notes that cause tension). The dominant 7th chord can accept a wide variety of consonant and dissonant notes. One of the most consonant and useful notes is the 6th degree of the scale, The color of this note is upbeat and might even be described as happy. This note is often heard in the music of B.8. King, Freddie King, and T- Bone Welker. (If you haven't heard of these three guys, then you need to get some of their music right away and take a long hard listen.) This note is very common in the upbeat, jazzy style of biues called jump. In the key of E the 6th note is Ct. Each chord in the 12-bar blues has its own 6th note, and it's possible to add the 6th of each of these chords when they occur. ‘Auunique characteristic of the 6th note of the key of E is that itis a tone that sounds good over the A7 and B7 chords too. In other words, it's a consonant, compatible tone. When it occurs over the A7 chord, it isn't heard a the 6th. It becomes the rd of the chord. When played over the B7, itis the 9th of the chord. The point of this explanation is to let you know that the 6th is a tone that works well over all three of the chords in a typical blues progression and that you can't really make @ mistake when you hit it at any point in the song! I Chord Iv Chord chord roots the 1, 3, 5, ‘andéihs and eth ni 7 chord roots the 1, 3, 5, 57 3S A6 ‘andéths and eth hotes v Chord chord roots the 1,3, 5,57 ‘andéihs” and éth notes1 CAN SEE THE TRAIN AFAR Example 19 ae BT E6 NC.(B7) eis ele ees Vi ere * The 6th is indicated by a rectangle around the TAB number.ee Creating Tension and Release One way to add interest (momentary tension) to your solo is to play a “wrong” note that quickly moves into a ‘chord tone. When you play a “wrong” tone that is one half step below (this is the distance of one fret) a chord tone, itis called a lower neighbor. Similarly, when you play a “wrong” note that is one half step above a chord tone, itis called an upper neighbor. (You can play @ neighbor tone using slides, hammer-ons, and pull-offs.) The reasons for using neighbor tones are: 1) you got added tension, which makes your music more interesting, and, 2) many new rhythmic possibilities become available. Its hard to determine exactly when the right and wrong times are to use a neighbor tone. Your ear has to be your guide. Obviously, you want most of your solo to be made up of chord tones with a sprinkling of blues tones and other dissonant, passing notes. I's important to understand that neighbor tones are played only briefly. An upper or lower neighbor tone usually gets resolved into the nearest chord tone. Think of the primary chord tones as beginning and ending places when you create a riff or other soloing idea ‘The neighbor tones add tension and should be used as approach tones. When you're approaching a chord tone, play either an upper or lower neighbor first. The neighbor tones are a simple and effective way of making your solo much more interesting since they give the impression of going outside the sound of the chord, if only for just a moment, And they require no reposi- tioning of your fingers. A simple one-fret shift up or down the fingerboard gets the job done. ET arpeggio 7 arpeggio | with fower with upper E7 E7 arpeggio neighbor tones neighbor fones e ° O08 ©= neighbor tone By combining slides, bends, hammer-ons, pull-offs, vibrato, chord tones, blue notes, and neighbor tones, an Unlimited number of pitch and rhythmic possibilities exist. This approach, focusing primarily on chord tones with ‘added tension tones, will produce a sound that is less restrictive than a scale-based approach. a‘Adding the 4th to the |, IV, and V Chords (One of the upper neighbor tones that is often heard in blues music is the 4th. Although it's not a primary chord tone, itis frequently used as a tension note over the | chord. The 4th usually gets resolved to the 3rd, an important chord tone. Go to the 4th when you want a little tension or contrast to the normal chord tone ‘approach. It's also good to go to this note when you want to imply or hint at a shift to the sound of the IV chord. ‘One common blues riff uses the 4th, #4th, 4th, 3rd, and root: i 3 The 4th will sound very good when played over the IV chord since i's the root note of that chord. When played over the V chord, it relates to the chord by being its 67, a very bluesy sound. Ii Chord Iv Chord chord roots the 1, 3, §,b7 chord roots the 1, 3, 5,57 and 4ihs and 4th holes tes ‘and 4ths” and 4th hotes Dal gekk {9 | Pie Vv Chord chord roots the 1,3, 5,b7 BT and4ths and 4th hotes gives Bes 1olo [eal Tle Le rigGO BY THE FOUR Example 20 The 4th is indicated by a rectangle around the TAB number. AT 22°] Example 21: Blues riffs that use the 4th 21a Eg,2c E7 The Blues 5th There is a sound that is pure blues and it lies between the 4th and the Sth scale degrees. This is where you'll find the true grit of the blues. Like the blues rd (that area between the bard and natural 3rd), the blues th always speaks the blues sound, Your personality and personal taste should dictate how you interpret the blues 5th—you may choose to play it as a perfectly in-tune b5, or you may choose to bend to those quarter-tone pitches between the 4th and 56th, or the bSth and Sth, producing a much harsher sound and interpretation. These are the personal (often sub-con- scious) choices that give your playing a unique sound, Since the pitch of the blues Sth is ambiguous and vague, you can use it often. (The blues Sth can be used over all the chords found in blues since it doesn't contain pitch information that conflicts with major, minor, or domi- nant chords.) Many players explore this region by starting a bend from the 4th. From there you can vary your bend to explore the sounds between the 4th and the Sth. You can call this area the #4th or bSth. Just be aware that its a region of sound possibilities, not one specific pitch. chord roots the 1,3, 5, 57 E7 ‘andssihs and s8th notesER Example 22: Riffs that use the Blues 5th 220, ced by a rectangle around the TAB number, “The blues Sth is indie: 228 22046 a MAKE MINE WITH THE BLUES 24 | Example 23 E7 J=) Adding the 9th to the I, IV, and V Chords When you add the 9th to the basic sound of the dominant 7th chord, you begin to sound jazzy. This sound is very useful if you're going for the Louis Jordan “Jump” blues vibe. T-Bone Walker used the sound of the Sth to great effect in his distinctive blues guitar style. The 9th in an E7 chord is an Ft. What's interesting about this is that this same note fits very nicely with the IV chord and the V chord (its the 6th of the IV chord and the Sth of the V chord). Remember how compatible the 6th note was with all the chords in the blues progression? If you add the Sth to the IV chord (A7), you will be playing a B note. This pitch sounds great with both the E7 and B7 chords because it is a chord tone in both. If you add the Sth to the B7 chord (Ci), you will be playing a ‘one that is also very compatible with the E7 (the 6th) and A7 (the 3rd) chords. So its hard to sound bad when you play the 9th of the |, IV, or V chords. I Chord Iv Chord chord roots the 1, 3, 5, 67 ‘and 9tns and 9th notes fa] chord roots ‘and Sths. There are many ways to bring the sound of the Sth into your solo, but it helps if you have the sound of the Sth chord in your ears and fingers. Try the following standard grips for this chord. (Note that some of the chords, don't contain a chord root.) Use the shaded note as an assumed root. This note shows you where the chord root would be if you could play it, co oo arLIFTIN’ ME UP E7 48UNIT 4: THE BLUES-ROCK CONNECTION he sound heard ‘round the world turns out to be a minor form of the blues sound. It's the sound that has: Tee rock'n'roll. Most people call it the blues scale. It is similar to much of what you've already been playing but with an important change. The blues sounds you've been making so far incorporate the blues Grd along with the natural chord-tone 3rd. The form of the blues associated with more of a rock sound does not use the blues rd. It uses a minor Grd, and this makes a huge difference in the overall feel. This note creates a “darker” nastier sound. The dominant 7th chord is a very accommodating chord, and it can easily make room for this darker sound. Now check out the E7 chord and the corresponding notes in the E blues-rock scale. Notice that the 1,53, 4, 55, 5,47 are the notes that make up this darker sound. E7 E blues scale 2 More than any other scale, this blues-rock scale has been the reason why so many players find themselves in aut, When you find yourself playing the same ideas over and over, unable to break through to the next level, you're in a rut. Basing your solos exclusively on scale patterns will almost certainly lead to this type of situation. From the previous lessons you now know how to get inside a dominant 7th chord and create many different shadings and emotions. When you combine this approach with some of the sounds in the blues-rock scale, you can build a solo that really goes somewhere. Go to the blues-rock scale when you want that deep-down, arity blues sound. If you use it as a contrasting sound to the other sounds you've learned, will serve you well and be a useful part of your vocabulary. When a scale approach is used, most people stay with just one scale over all three chords. As the chords change, some of the notes in the scale create more tension than others against the chords. This type of ‘approach Is very common among guitarists and is the source of the myth that all guitarists can play the blues. Itis a very narrow and limiting approach to this rich and varied style of music. In the right context, the blues scale approach can be extremely effective.Integrating the Blues-Rock Sound ‘The first four measures of a typical blues progression uses the | chord. The fourth measure is a great place to increase tension in your solo. if you use the blues 3rd in the first three measures to define the major sound of the chord, you can go to the blues-rock sound in measure 4 to greatly increase the tension and anticipate the move into the IV chord. You can continue to play this scale over the IV chord since most of the notes in it sound great over this chord. When the I chord comes back in measure 7, go back to the major sound with the blues 3rd, It's possible to play the blues-rock scale over the V chord, but | suggest targeting one or more chord tones in this chord to try to capture a piece of the chord. The tumaround section (measures 11 and 12) is yet another good place to use the blues-rock sound. ‘These are only suggestions and starting places. There are many ways to play through the chords in a progres- ‘sion like this. Try experimenting with what you've leamed so far. ‘Scale Suggestions for a 12-Bar Blues: Eo Ag i. a rmiajor blues sound ——— blues/rock seale ——_____________, [build tension here hes oe a a gees SPR 3d Ag E9 at ‘major blues sound —— pick a chord tone _bluesrock scale Check out the series of examples that follow and try to hear the difference between the major sound and the blues-rock sound. Developing the ability to transition smoothly from a major sound to a blues-rock sound is an important aspect of becoming a true bluesman and realizing your own style. Artists like Eric Clapton (especially in the work he did with John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, Cream, and Blind Faith), Albert King, 8.8. King, and Freddie King are all masters at being able to weave easily between the major sound and the blues-rock sound. This is blues at its bestEe YOUNG DRIFTER, OLD ROAD Example 25 biues/rock AT bluesirock, AT 57 B7 blues/rock Play if repeating 51oo DOGGIN’ MY TAIL a Example 26 Em Em AT BY BTMore Patterns for the Blues-Rock Scale ‘The blues-rock sound can be played in many locations up and down the fingerboard. Here are five patterns that can be used with this scale. Note the location of the solid dot, which shows the root note of the scale. This is the note you use when aligning these pattems on the fingerboard. A dominant 7th chord is also shown next to each pattern to help you see the chord and scale relationship. E Blues Scale in all Positions: E7 20008 7 u ate fr ET. 2] @ [si Lit) feMoving the Blues to Different Keys Although the key of E is without a doubt the most common key in which blues guitarists works in, you'll have to work outside of this key many times. The only real difference between working in the key of E (1st position), ‘which is where all of the examples have been so far, and working up the neck is that you may not be able to Use the open strings, The notes that were played as open strings will now typically be played with the index fin- ger. Here is what the 1st-position E7 chord looks like when transposed (moved up) the neck to the key of A (Sth Position). To maintain the same chord sound, you have to use a first-inger barre. I Chord (key of E) I Chord (key of A) AT ‘The IV chord in the key of A is D7. Here is how the IV looked in the key of E and how it would look in the key of A, up in the sth position. IV Chord (key of E) IV Chord (key of A) AT Hore is how the V chord (E7) looks when moved up to the key of A in Sth position. V Chord (key of E) V Chord (key of A)——— Locating the Chord Tones in the Key of A ‘Now you have to make the adjustments that position playing requires—relying much less on the use of open strings. Following are the I, IV, and V chord arpeggios you learned earlier for the key of E (E7, A7, and B7) transposed to the key of A. For the key of , these arpeggios were in the 1st position, for the key of A, they are in the 8th position, 1.Chord (key of A) _Arpeggio AT S| ess. IV Chord (key of A)_Arpeggio D7 Osfr, Str. V Chord (key of A) _Arpeggio ET ET Str. 2) @| str.56 Example 27 A6 STEPPIN’ OUT BoWALKIN’ ON THE “C” Example 28 C6 FT blues/rock, cs a7 b, b, 87JUMPIN’ AT THE DOUBLE STOP Example 28 co He- UNIT 5: CREATING EXTENDED FINGERINGS when starting on a riff or when executing a hammer-on, pull-off, run, or bend. This finger is best suited to this task since it can be supported by the first and second fingers. Because of this, certain pathways Con the fingerboard have become well established. Notice how these extended arpeggio fingerings for the A7 and D7 chords favor the third finger. (The scale degrees for these arpeggios are what the numbers refer to beside each string.) M st blues players use fingerings that are comfortable. A strong tendency is to favor the third finger AT 19517 2K St 1 tof. 12 ‘scale degrees 3,5 bat 35 on 3,5 b7,4 D7 13507 ait ft ath 108 i scale degrees vs baa 35 b7.4 3,5 C7 Arpeggio tore, Ifthe two patterns are combined they look like this. These two arrangements of notes on the fingerboard are nearly the same. The first pattern has root notes on the 2nd, 4th, and 6th strings. The second pattern places the root note on the ‘st, 3rd, and Sth strings. With these two pattems, you can span the entire fingerboard, as shown in the third diagram above.By bringing in the other blues notes such as the 13, 6th, Sth, }Sth, and 4th, a larger patter is formed. Here are the two previous pattems with the addition of the biues Srd (3). I've used a triangle to represent this note since it's frequently used as a tension tone that moves up to the nat- Ural Srd, which is a chord tone. Also, remember that the blues 3rd is somewhat ambiguous and open to inter- pretation—leaving it as the minor Srd works well for blues-rock applications, but bending it up slightly produces a very identifiable sound associated with traditional biues players. AT wiblues 3rd fe st We 10 a D7 wiblues 3rd ste st co 106 a. Here are the same two patterns with the addition of the 6th, a tone that works perfectly over the I, IV, and V chords, AT wiéth sie Sie 1h 10 a ‘D7 wisth at Ste me to. Laor — Here are the same two pattems with the addition of the Sth, a tone that also works over the |, IV, and V chord. AT width ES sf Me 10. 12 D7 wisth at she Me 106, 1a Here are the same two patterns with the addition of the blues 5th (+5). This tone is represented by a triangle like the blues 3rd since the blues Sth isn't a tone you usually hang out on. It's @ tension tone that either goes up to the chordal th or embellishes the 4th. AT wiblues 5th ate ste te 108 a, D7 wiblues 5th fe st ua 106, 12— This is the last note to add. I's the 4th, It is used over the | chord to suggest movement to the IV chord or as a tension tone that moves down to the natural 3rd or up to the blues Sth. It's not a great note to hang on when you're on the | chord, but it works great over the IV and V chords because it's a primary chord tone within these two chords, AT wifblues 4th 106. 12f str st He D7 wiblues 4th ate ste ua to. fe q This completes the list of notes typically used over the blues. it's a total of nine notes and if laid out on the gui- tar fingerboard, would look pretty messy. The important thing to remember is that in the blues, you're usually embellishing the dominant 7th chord tones: 1-3-5-47. All of the “extra” notes are like seasoning for this basic chord sound. Common Extended Fingerings for the Blues-Rock Scale Here are the two most common extended fingerings for the blues-rock scale. Like the other extended finger- ings, these patterns are based on convenient hand and finger movements. Notice the suggested fingerings. ‘The scale degrees for this six-note scale are: 1-13~4-45-6-47. Blues/Rock in A mt 108 1k. gore allves| 13. 4.15.5 Z4 $3) 4,15, 5 74 63) 4, 65, 5 Wr at Ste Blues/Rock in D scale degrees Bl 3 4,65, 5 br, 53, 4, 65, 5 B74 4,55, 5 3h st te to, 12, Blues/Rock in G J Ifthe two patterns are combined they look like this._ Creating Extended Fingerings: The Sweet Major Sound (One group of notes sounds very sweet and pure over major chords, such as those often heard in country and. gospel-style blues. In these styles, the | chord is frequently a major 6th chord. This group of notes is called the major pentatonic scale. It consists of the ‘st, 2nd, Srd, Sth, and 6th note from a major scale. Every note sounds great over the major triad, major 6th and major 6/9 chords. By itself, it's not very bluesy. It becomes bluesy when you add the blues 3rd (3). G Maj. Pent. scale degrees ak Ste Me 106. ia C Maj. Pent. ate str at 196. 12h scale degrees 12,3 6 2,3 6 sa 6 A Maj. Pent. If the two patterns are combined they look lke this, These two arrangements of notes on the fingerboard are nearly the same. The first patter has the root notes on the 2nd, 4th, and 6th string. The second pattern places the roots on the 1st, 3rd and Sth strings.[37 Example 30 LAZY RIVER BLUES 56 Any 3 Play this if going Ee ios 9 a taehto beanaloe— *End here.OO” — Creating Extended Fingerings: The Blues Major Sound By adding the blues Srd to the pure major sound, a six-note collection of notes is formed. The addition of the blues 3rd transforms the sound of the pure major into a sound that is very happy and upbeat yet stil has a hint of the low-down grit that comes with the blues. The triangle represents the blues 3rd; don't hang out on this note, use it to slide into the natural 3rd. G Blues Maj a ste mi 10 12 C Blues Maj, Creating Extended Fingerings for Minor Blues ‘Most blues tunes focus on the tones in the dominant 7th chord, In minor key blues, the primary chord tones are slightly diffrent. Instead of focusing on the 1st, Grd, Sth, and b7th, the focus is on the tones in the minor 7th chord: 1, 3, 5, and b7. (Notice that there is only one change to this group of notes—the 13 replaces the natural 31d.) To this group of four notes, five additional color tones can be added. All of these extra tones with the exception of the #5 have already been introduced, and are really meant to embellish the basic sound of the minor 7th chord, The other tones are the 6th, 9th, 11th (same as the 4th), 55 (the blues Sth), and #5. This ends up being a total of nine different notes. Am? Arpeggio scale degrees fe Ste me to 126 Dm7 Arpeggio 3 Ea te 10% 12h Cm7 Arpeggio ee 108 If the two patterns are combined they look like this. These two arrangements of notes on the fingerboard are nearly the same. The first pattern has the root notes | onthe 2nd, 4th, and 6th strings. The second pattern places the roots on the 1st, Srd and Sth string. With these two pattems, most of the fingerboard is covered. 65— ee! Here are the same two patterns with the addition of the 6th. The 6th will lend a mysterious sound to the minor | chord. It will not work over the minor IV chord. It does work, however, over the V chord (Which in minor blues is usually a dominant 7th chord) and will sound as the Sth. Am7 wieth ate se te 10 ae Dm7 wieth af Sie a 10 nak Here are the same two minor 7th arpeggio patterns, with the addition of the 9th, a tone that works perfectly over the |, IV, and V in the minor key. Over the | and IV chords, this note will sound jazzy; over the V, its impact will be neutral since it’s one of the primary chord tones. Am7 wisth af, ste 1 or, 128 Dm? wiath at st Me 10 12k—_——— Here are the same two pattems with the addition of the 11th, which is the same as the 4th, This tone is not usually held for long over the | chord in a minor blues since it wants to move to the 3. It Is the root note of the IV chord and the $7 of the V chord. Am? w/ttth at Ste He to, Dm7 w/t tth oe st 1 og. 2 Here are the same two pattems with the addition of the blues 5th ($5). This tone is represented by a triangle. Like the blues 3rd, the blues Sth isn’t a tone you usually hang out on, I's a tension tone that either goes up to the 5th or down to the 4th. Am7 wisth te ste te 10% 12fe Dm7 wisth 2 si 1 ‘of. 12,68 This is the last note to add, It's the #5th. When you use it over the minor I chord it will pull toward the natural 5th. For this reason, it's not a great note to hang on when you're on the | chord, but it works well over the IV and V chords, Am7 wifsth fe Sf fe 10 a Dm7 with ate ste te tore nat, This completes the list of notes typically used over the minor blues. I's a total of nine notes, and if we laid them all out on the fingerboard, it would look pretty crowded. The important thing to remember is that in the ‘minor blues, you're usually embellishing the minor 7th chord tones: 1, }3, 5, and +7 of each chord in the pro- ‘gression just as was done with the dominant 7th chords. All of the “extra” notes are used to create tension, ‘olor, and contrast rrA MINOR CONNECTION Example 31 Slow shuffle AmWHEN PEOPLE LOOK DOWN Example 32 Slow shuffle Em B7q9) Am Em 70UNIT 6: BREAKING OUT OF COMMON PATTERNS (The Mixolydian Mode) ‘ou've probably noticed that the patterns based on convenient fingerings leave some of the fingerboard Yon price to pay for convenience. These easy fingerings can often lead you into a rut. One way to move beyond these two-finger pattems is to learn how to play new combinations of notes that use more than just the first and third fingers. (One scale, when combined in musical ways, produces some nice licks and runs. This soale is called the Mixolydian mode. (A mode is another name for a collection of notes and for all practical purposes functions as a scale,) have waited until near the end of this book to Introduce this scale since | don't believe it is the best way to go about playing blues. As I've stated before, scale-based blues usually falls far short of the mark. Guitarists love to play scales and rip up and down the neck, and with the Mixolydian scale, you can quite easily do just that. Every note in the Mixolyaian scale sounds great over a dominant 7, dominant 9, major 6, and dominant 13 chords. It works over other chords as well, but since this is a blues book, I've limited the chords to those most ‘commonly heard in the blues. ‘You know by now that the dominant 7 chord contains a root, 3rd, th and $7th. The Mixolydian scale also con- tains these notes with several more: 9th, 11th, and 13th (the same as the 6th). Notes of the dominant 7th chord: 1, 8, 5, 57 (Chord tones included in the Mixolyaian scale: 1, 3, 5, 47, 9, 11, 18, Notice that the 9th has the same sound as the 2nd note in a scale, the 11th the same as the 4th, and the 13th the same as the 6th. Ifwe respell the scale using 2, 4, 6 instead of 9, 11, 13, we get: The Mixolydian scale: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 57 You'll also notice that this scale doesn't have our important blues Srd or the blues th, These are two very important notes that make something sound bluesy. It is possible to add these notes to the Mixolydian patterns. By doing so, the Mixolydian scale becomes better suited to the blues (giving us a nine-note "blues scale” with Which to work), Here are the pattems for G Mixolydian shown in five different fingerings that span the entire fingerboard. pattern 1 pattern 2 pattern 3 pattern 4 pattern 5 -_— ifr DO Sif Le o> [TT] Siem 10. se| suggest relating the dominant 7th chord to each Mixolydian pattern. If you do, you'll be more likely to use these pattems to capture and embellish the sound of these chords. You can then begin relating the arpeggios for the dominant 7th chord to each of these larger scale pattems. By connecting the chord, arpeggio, and scale, you are building from a simple structure, the chord, to a larger structure, the arpeggio, to the full Mixolydian scale. You can even go beyond the scale by adding in the blues 3rd and blues Sth. This will create ‘a hybrid pattem | call blue Mixolydian. Here again are the five patterns for the Mixolydian with their appropriate arpeggios and chords. chord arpeggio pattern 1 G7 G7 sf 7 (Oe ~ Ly chord arpeggio pattern 2 a G7 2 = } | ste ea sf im —+ —— chord arpeggio GI G7 a i |Gchord arpeggio pattern 4 GT rot 1 _ arpeggio pattern 5 G7 You can use the Mixolydian sound to solo over dominant 7, dominant 9, dominant 13 and major 6 chords. However, you have to use the Mixolydian scale based on the root of each of the chords in the progression. if your progression is in the key of A, then use the A Mixolydian for the I chord, D Mixolydian for the IV, and E Mixolydian for the V. 2 pr a2 A Mixolydian D Mixolydian beste iaa3-4) 1 eeeMel 2 3 4 cielo 4 ieee 91 Zena, AL. EL, Eq A Mixolydia E Mixolydian —, D Mixolydian—, A Mixolydia Hore are the different fingerings for all of the Mixolydian patterns you could use to play over this progression. ‘They're aligned according to position on the fingerboard. In other words, if you play the A Mixolydian in Sth position, then the D Mixolydian in the same position will require a different fingering pattem. The same is true if you use the E Mixolydian in Sth position.AT 2nd position 4 pattern 5 pattern 1 D7. 2nd position TEy 7th position 2 te E7 ‘12th position a [slog "fe ET 10th position 15 E i a ie ei 4 # 5 1 —T— 5 g ee 3 3 a8 Rafe ag = &t £ e = = * e g & 2 2 8 28 38 3 a Bi é 5 576 The Mixolydian Blues Sound When you add in the blues 3rd and the biues Sth to the Mixolydian sound, you have a whopping nine-note col lection of notes. The addition of these two notes transforms the neutral sound of the Mixolydian into a truer blues sound. The Blues Mixolydian Scale: 1, 2,49, 9, 4,65,5,6,17 V=hs O=15 pattern 1 pattern 2 pattern 3 atten 4 pattern 5 12f, Sr. 7. If you've gone through this book from the beginning, you are able to handle all of these various pitches since they were all previously introduced in the context of embellishing the basic dominant 7th chord. ‘Anote about the idea of “key” in the blues: ‘One of the dangers in the approach I'm advocating is that you can potentially have too many notes to choose from when building a lead. If you continually switch from scale to scale or arpeggio to arpeggio as the chords Unfold, you run the risk of losing the important connection to the key of the song. In a blues song, the key is established through repetition (how long the chord lasts) and through the bass note movement from one chord to another. Since the | chord lasts longer than any of the other chords, there is a natural tendency to play notes that maintain the sound of the | chord even when the chord may have shifted to the IV or V. This is the approach used by many players and can often result in some very predictable sounding, monotonous scale- based lead playing. It's up to you to determine, through experimentation, just how many of the tones from the IV chord you wish to use in your lead work when this chord is sounding. The same is true of the V chord. This experimentation will in part determine your unique approach to the blues.78 UNIT 7: INTRODUCTIONS count off a song and immediately start singing, In blues, this intro material is often derived from the last two measures of the song, This will usually include a turnaround, which is the last two measures of a song, You could use any number of turnarounds to get a tune jump-started. M any songs use introductory music to set up the feel and style of the song, It just feels kind of funny to Here is a very typical introduction (key of A): Another typical intro is the vamp. A vamp is a short section of music that repeats. In a vamp there are only a ‘ew if any chord changes. You could think of it as a loop. Usually the lead instrument solos over the vamp, and on a cue the song form actually begins. A typical scenario might be a seven-measure vamp followed by one measure of the V chord in measure 8. This would set up the song nicely and provide a litle twist to the usual tumaround-style intro, Here's how this might look: Al, Lead instrument soloing over the first eight measures. bested OU SEM Peed Gat see 2 3 eee dy get song form begins here ‘ E769) Al, dears a areas trras Se aeig gated Otay 524s tamed A surprise style of introduction would be one in which you set up the harmony to make the listener think the song was in a key different from the "real" key. Here the band vamps on the V chord for four measures and then comes in on the A7 chord, which is the real key of the song. song form begins here + Eo Al Rbeniss 102 3A, Ps ee at 2c Mer Seedeeet td 1 ges. 4—_— Atwo-measure slow blues introduction might go like t song form begins here +. ph Aa, Eaug 49 zis oe AS bait 236 2 hoe 4 ne ee ee a a Another common introduction is one where the band plays through the form of the song one time before the vocal enters. A lead instrument will usually solo during this introduction, or the hom section may have some interesting lines to play. 2 [=] Example 33: Melodic-Style Intro, Key of E (Style of “Key to Love” by John Mayall) oo 35] Example 34: Descending Dominant Chord Intro, Key of F T-Bone Walker used the dominant Sth chord to set up many intros. (Style of “I Dare You, Baby’ by Little Charlie and the Nighteats.) F9 Eby pw co 2 Te be repeat 2 times 79Example 35: Riff Intro, Key of G G6 BY D9 (2 times) 3 0: 37] Example 36: Melodic Intro, Key of Bb 3 Faug Example 37: Rhythmic Chords, Key of Ajurnaround-Style Intro, Key of G ch Do Hae Example 40: Diminished Arpeggio Intro, Key of G Ets) Bs bs be, by by (This diminished arpeggio is ‘implying an E769) chord.) 31Example 41: Passing Chord Intro, Key of Bb Bb EM BS «EM Edim7 BH Gi) F9 oo} 43] Example 42: Gospel-Style Intro, Key of C Cc AT D9 G7 C7 AT an GT NE Example 43: Jazz-Style Intro, Key of A AT Fem? Fo Eo ay 7 BT 59 82oo: 45.) Example 44: Riff-Based Intro, Key of Bb In this example the guitar plays the riff alone for two measures. The rest of the band enters for the next two times through this one-bar riff and then it's on to measure 5. The thing to note about this introduction is that there are no extra measures added to the beginning of the song. This introduction and the one that follows are good examples of arranged intros. By (times) oo 4") Example 45: Quick-Change Intro, Key of © Like the previous introduction, this one occurs within the form of the song. No additional measures are added to the beginning of the song. In measure 1, the | chord is suggested. In measure 2, the IV chord is played. Measure 3 returns to the | chord sound while measure 4 suggests the | chord with added tension, cr Pickup notes Bend the lower note up I whole step.84 UNIT 8: ENDINGS Turnaround style ‘The typical ending uses a tumaround just like you'd normally use over the last two measures of a song. Instead of going to the V chord, however, the song ends on the | chord. Once this happens, i's obvious that ‘the song is over. I's common to use a different rhythm on the ending, too, such as transitioning from the shut- {le feel to a straight-eighth note feel. Vamp style ‘The vamp ending is one where a small section of musical material is repeated over and over. This vamp can be as simple as a single chord or riff. The vamp ending is perfect for bringing the band down so you can intro- duce the band members to the audience letting the audience know you're about to go on break, or simply cre- ating a dynamic (quiet) moment of tension. It also works great for fading out. The usual chord to vamp on is the | chord. Break style The break ending has the band hitting a short accent on beat 1 of measure 11. A lead instrument plays a lick ‘and the band comes back in measure 12 to put the finishing touches on the song. The break ending is one that Uses the stuttering sound of the broken quarter-note triplet rhythm. itis also very common to embellish the last ‘chord by adding the 6th, 9th, or even the 15 to the chord. ‘A variation on the break ending is one where the time is suspended during the instrumental or vocal fill and the final hit of the song is cued by the person doing the fill. (Ona cue the band hits ‘The time is suspended while the last chord ofthe song. singer or instrumentalist (The drummer wil usually does some flashy work. et very active on this last hit) 9 po Ag Ad fie fe pte ep / fon cue_big finish eit Boose hg ee time stops Rhythm-shift style ‘Another very effective ending occurs when the rhythmic feel of the song is changed. The most common change is from a shuttle rhythm—with its triplet feel to a straight eighth-note feel. This kind of change is difficult to notate on paper. I's a matter of interpretation and feel. Listen to the example and you'll get it— Endings: All examples start on measure 9 ©: se 37 Example 46: Traditional Ending, Key of C G7 FT G7; FT G7 oc? cs ° a a 2 0: 457) Example 47: The Break Ending, Key of C G7 F7 i? B9 C9 s * Lead Fil ‘ «0 D rL, bh) Example 48: Break Ending with Quarter-Note Triplets, Key of C G7 FT C7 po ps co o o ay ee Example 49: Melodic Riff Ending, Key of E 7 B99 on,S11 Example 50: Chromatic Chord Movement, Key of F Fo Eg Eo Dg Db E9 ¥F9 a Example 51: Quarter-Note Triplet Ending, Key of G Aa AW GO oo. 38] Example 52: Cha Cha Cha Ending, Key of © Minor ‘This type of ending works great over a rhumba blues. Gr Fm cm “cha cha cha” ° eo) aeExample 53: The “A Train” Ending, Key of F co BS FT F13 o oy ww. (2 Example 54: Riff-Style Ending, Key of G D9 G6 Gs @ or 35.) Example 55: Chromatic Slide-Up, Key of E This ending works great with a straight-eighth note feel. FO E9 By AT @ ° 87EOE Example 56; Turnaround-Style Ending, Key of E BT ay ET Ei EO o 0» 0 S87] Example 57: Turnaround-Style Ending, Key of G co Bo F7 F13 o eo) ay cy ae Example 58: Turnaround-Style Ending, Key of Bb F7 Gy FT BW AG BM ayUNIT 9: MODERN BLUES TRICKS: THE WHOLE-TONE SOUND ‘to use more tension. One place where tension works really well in the 12-bar biues form is in measure ‘4, This is the perfect place to prepare for the change to the IV chord. The tension created in measure 4 ets resolved in measure 5 when the progression moves to the IV chord, B lues guitarists are always looking for new ways to play interesting solos. One way to spice up a solo is ‘One sound blues players use has Its origin in jazz. I's called the whole-tone scale. The whole-tone scale has six notes: 1, 2, 8, 44, #5, and 47. In the key of A this would be: A, B, Ct, Di, E# and G. The #4 and #5 tones are the ones that cause the tension. This scale also causes tension because all the notes are equally spaced They are all two frets apart; the distance of one whole-step. This spacing makes the scale sound somewhat chaotic since it leaves the scale without a strong tonal center. This scale, or the stripped-down augmented arpeggio (1-3-#5), also works very well in measure 4. The chords most often played with this scale and arpeggio are the augmented triad and the dominant 7(#5) chord (also known as the augmented 7 chord). Here are some common moveable forms of the augmented triad and aug? chord: Aaug — Aaug Aaug i Hi TH Aaug7 Aaug7 Aaug7 Aaug? = Daug? Dag? st. fue eran pst. ia se fo. ‘The augmented 7th chord can be notated in a variety of ways. Here are the most common using Aas the root: A7(H5), A7(4+5), Aaug?, A7aug5. The other unusual aspect of these chords is that you can move them up and down the fingerboard every four frets without changing any of the fingerings! Check out the fingerboard here, which shows how you can take the Faug7 chord and play it at the 1st, th, 9th, and 13th frets, Notice that the same exact chord fingering repeats every four frets (a major 3rd): af st Me tore fe Like the augmented chord, the pattern for the whole-tone scale is moveable. Here is the pattern for the whole- tone scale:G whole-tone scale: elcigiI Notice the repeating nature of the G whole-tone scale. It repeats every two frets. (See Pattern 1 and Pattem 2.) ie sie He tof tafe, 3 q patam i paiter®paliar 7 pallern 3 Slipping the augment 7th chord into measure 4 allows the soloist to play whole-tone riffs, arpeggios, or scales and really sets up the movement to the IV chord in measure 5. G9 Gaug? co ee ee ae ea ee eae ea ee “The aug? chord works well as a turnaround chord in bar 12. ‘An easy way to get started using the whole-tone sound is to simply pick any note or fragment of an augmented chord form and move it up or down the fingerboard, skipping every other fret. This will give you the essence of ‘the whole-tone sound. Remember you usually don't get to hang out on this sound for long, so you want to cap- ture the essence of it quickly. This will become very obvious when you work through the following example.SAINTS & SINNERS D7 G7 D7 ‘60_| Example 59 3 ‘whole tone 1[Another way to add tension to measure 4 is to use a diminished 7 chord. Unlike the augmented 7th chord, when using a diminished chord in measure 4, you must use one whose root is one half step above the root of the chord itis replacing, So, f the chord you wish to replace is an A7, then you must use a Bb diminished 7th. Ad, Brat ‘7 D9 lor The diminished chord exists as a three-note version called a diminished triad and the more common four-note ‘diminished 7th chord, These chords have two unusual features that make them very easy to use. 1) Any note in the chord can be considered the root 2) The chord form clones itself every three frets. This means that there's always a diminished 7th chord close by, and once you settle on the form you wish to use, you can slide it up or down the fingerboard every three frets. ‘The diminished triad is notated like this: Cdim, Bidim, E dim. The 7th version of the diminished chord is written in a couple of ways: Cdim7 of Co7. Here are some common forms for the diminished triad and diminished 7 chords: Adin Agim Adin Agim i rt Adim7 Agim? Adim7 Mt Tt Keep in mind that any of these Adim chords could also be named by any of the notes in the chord. They could also be called Fidim7 or Ghdim7, Cdim?, Dédim7 or Ebdim7.Bo Gaim7 is played in five different places. All of these chords are exact clones. They all contain the same notes: 38 ste me. 10 Iofe Gdim7 arpeggio Cdim? arpeggio Gaim? arpeggio ) This pattern This pattern This pattern begins with the begins with the begins with the bass note on the bass note on the bass note on the 6th string. Sth string. 4th string. Diminished Arpeagios A great way to capture the sound of a diminished chord, or any other chord for that matter, is by focusing on the notes in the chord. Much of the work in this book has been about targeting chord tones. The quickest way to tap into any chord is through arpeggiation: playing the notes of the chord individually. Here's a very common form of the diminished arpeggio thet uses one simple fingering. You can play this pat- ter with the first and fourth fingers. Play two notes on each string. Notice the extra litle skip that occurs between the third and second strings. ‘This is the G, Bb, D}, and Edim7 arpeggio: sft ste 1 10: 2. © Ore @ S = = rc—— Now that you can capture the sound of the diminished 7 through arpeggiation, i's time to complete the dimin- ished scale. This is done by adding an approach tone to each of the chord tones. Each approach tone is @ lower neighbor of one of the chord tones, Here's the arpeggio form beginning with a 6th string bass note and the lower neighbor tones indicated with triangles. You wouldn't typically hang out on one of these approach tones, Use them to get into the actual chord tone, I've used the triangle to mark these approach tones as a ‘means of indicating that they need to resolve. Gdim7 arpeggio Cdim7 arpeggio Gdim7 arpeggio wapproach tones added — w/approach tones added —_w/approach tones added LYIy| ° 2 This pattern This pattern This pattern begins with the begins with the begins with the bass note on the bass note on the bass note on the Like the diminished chord, the pattern for the diminished scale is moveable. Here is the pattem for the dimin- ished scale: Notice the repeating nature of this G diminished scale. It repeats every three frets. (See Patter 1 and Pattern 2,): pattern 2 patie t patio t You can also use the approach tone idea with any of the diminished chords. Simply play the chord one fret below the actual chord (shown in circles) and slide into this destination chord. The approach tones are again shown as triangles. af sf oo 10 12 @C3 When playing a diminished chord, arpeggio, or scale over measure 4, you must remember to play the chord, arpeggio or scale buit on the diminished chord whose root is one half step above the root of the dominant 7th chord you are replacing. This just means that if you wish to replace a D7 chord with a diminished 7th, you must play a Didim7 chord, arpeggio, or scale. ‘An easy way to get started using the diminished sound is simply to pick one of the chord forms (or any frag- ment of a chord form) and move it up or down the fingerboard every three frets (a minor rd) with each slide. This will give you the essence of the diminished sound. Another great place where the diminished sound can be used in a standard 12-bar blues is in measure 6. Ba. Do Didim7 ut ie se. You will often hear the diminished chord in measure 6 in a slow blues. You must also use a diminished chord ‘one half step above the root of the IV chord. If you choose to use the diminished chord, arpeggio, or scale in both measures 4 and 6, you'll be dangerously close to overusing this unique sound. Use it sparingly and it'll serve you well. I's spice, not the main ingredient.CANTALOUPE SHUFFLE Example 60 E9 BI Ao E9 diminished scale sequence al E9 Cdim7 Chm BT Notice the use of the Cdim7 chord in the tumaround, measure 11(One very powertul technique that really adds drama and excitement to a blues song is the chromatic run-up, a series of chords that transition from the | chord to the IV chord. This happens during measure 4 in a standard 412-bar blues. Before getting into the chords, i's important to understand the rhythm used in the run-up. When three notes are played in the space of one beat, it's called an eighth-note triplet. In a measure with four beats, it would take 12 of these notes to fill the measure. J d I ‘| a= a os a beats: 1 With eighth-note triplets each beat is divided into three segments. The run-up uses a different kind of tuplet subdivision. (A tuplet is any odd number of notes that occurs within the time of one or more beats.) The run-up Uses quarter-note triplets. A quarter-note triplet divides two beats into three equal parts, In a full measure, it takes six quarter-note triplets to fill the bar. ie ae aoe lal J il Us a beats a Sas eae = 1 When you play quarter-note triplets, the first note of each triplat falls on beats 1 and 3. If you line up eighth-note triplets with quarter-note triplets, you can see that each quarter-note triplet lasts for the same amount of time as two eighth-note triplets. In the end, the best way fo get the feel for quarter-note triplets isto just listen to them and feel it. aquarernotes——+ i 4 4 ——— qmccrmecron—> J J J did ft eengeaeteae m m m m I beats: S| Example 61 G9. 9, ana ban eal 2 a aie 2) 4aieeie Oo Spee Sd as) 4 te a 4 Go G® a9 Blo Bo Co. When you get to measure 4, you have to rest (don't play) on the first quarter-note triplet. This is because you only have five chords to use to chromatically lead up to the IV chord in measure 5, Notice that you play the same chord form from G9 up to C9 in the run-up.98 The Chord Rake ‘Another technique frequently used by blues guitarists is called the rake. i's aptly named because you rake, or drag, your finger or pick across the strings to produce a staggered and broken percussive effect. This tech- nique creates an intensity all its own, if used in moderation. Overuse it and it becomes a cliché. This is true of all ofthe tricks. A rake is the technique of picking three or more strings in rapid succession and releasing pressure from all of the notes immediately after picking them—except the last note picked. This last note is the destination note. This note will be sustained, bent, vibrated, or any combination of these techniques. In some cases dampened (muted) strings will be used as the raked sound leading up to the destination note. Most of the time, a chord shape Is involved in the rake. If you are a fingerpicker, then your rake will be done by using individual fingers to pluck each string quickly. This is a rapid-style finger roll. The effect is similar to that of the piok rake. Many famous artists such as 8.8. King and Stevie Ray Vaughan, use the rake. 0] es C35] Example 62: Major Rake Here are some of the common chord shapes used to perform the rake. The destination note is the circle. The lead-up notes are squares, and the chord root is solid black. The arrow indicates the direction of the rake. 62a 628 620 A Si. str.Example 63: Minor Rake 63A Am 638 Am fr, @3C_Am ;- 63D 4,100 ob: Id Example 65: Combining the Rake With Other Techniques You can also create variations on the rake by including hammer-ons and slides. Here are some rakes with hammer-ons at the end of the rake. A slide could also be used in place of the hammer-on. 658 65B 65C AT D7 Am th Hammer-on Hammer-on Hammer-on Let the second St the second Yt the second =} note on the note on the note on the LL 2nd string. | | 2nd string. ‘ist string. HT ss aoe 651 iF E AT ce ie Hammer-on Slide down Hammer-on Mist. the second. | /@|L|Sf ~ with the ‘e/GN\st. the second note onthe Hf finger +4 note on the “stetring. | |. ‘on the 2nd string. ath string. 1] —s eaeUNIT 10: USING THE GTH INTERVAL TO EMBELLISH THE DOMNANT 7TH CHORD any blues players use a particular type of interval sound called a 6th. This sound has many uses: as fills between chords, such as when playing rhythm guitar; as substitutions for larger chord forms; and ‘as part of a solo. On the 1st and 3rd strings, there are only wo shapes needed to cover the entire fingerboard. See Shape 1 (a minor 6th) and Shape 2 (a major 6th) below. ‘A good way to leam these shapes Is to relate them to chord forms with which you may already be familiar. Hit the chord and play the shape contained within the chord form. Then play the interval shape just up from the ‘chord. Now play the shape just below the chord, You have now surrounded the chord form with a shape above and below it. Do the same with the other chord form for the dominant chord. (See the example on the next page.) When playing these shapes you'll be sounding notes that are all very compatible with the basic dominant 7th sound. If you play all of the shapes, youll be hearing some combination of 1, 3, 6,57, 9, 11, and 13, > Mee note fingerings C7 sounds ‘This would produce the sound of a C13 when played over a C bass note. Tq 9] > This would produce the sound of a - C7 when played over a C bass note. This would produce the sound of a 919 cownen played over aC bass note. This would produce the sound of a C9 when played over a C bass note. This would produce the sound of a C major when played over aC bass note. This would produce the sound of a C9 suspended when played over a C bass note. ‘This would produce the sound of a C major when played over a C bass note. 101———— a — ‘The Shapes of the 6th Interval on the 1st and 3rd Strings. The basic dominant 9 chord (Sth-string root) is a good starting place to begin leaming the location of the 6th ‘shapes. Relating the shapes to a chord form familiar to you makes the leaming process easier since you are relating new information to old comfortable information. | call this type of leaming “linking” or “bridging.” Take a look at the 9th chord shape below and note the location of the 6th shape within it. Now look at the 6th shapes below this chord and above this chord. Relate these shapes to the chord. Do the same for the G7 barre chord at the 8th fret C7 sounds ., This is the shape immediately _/” below the C3 chord. _... The shaded notes are the 6th shape found within the C9 chord. This is the shape immediately above the C9 chord. “ss, This is the shape immediately below the C7 barre chord. ss, The shaded notes are the 6th shape 7 found within the C7 barre chord. This is the shape immediately above the C7 barre chord. si This is the second shape immediately US lala "above the C7 barre chord. 0 ESF Example 66: Comping Through a Blues Using 6th Interval Cl ARI G7 FT c7 on ye s & 0 8) (6, 6 el F ae e le 2 2 1025801 Example 67: Moving 6ths on the 1st and 3rd Strings a FT bebe 103—— 104 Using the 6th to Embellish the Dominant 7 Chord on the 2nd and 4th Strings The sound of the 6th can be played on a variety of different string groups. Another great sounding string combi- nation is the 2nd and 4th strings. There are only two different shapes needed to cover the entire fingerboard. ‘See Shape 1 (minor 6th) and Shape 2 (major 6th) below. When playing these shapes, you'll be sounding notes that are all very comp: sound. If you play all of the shapes you'll be hearing some com shape 1 i note fingerings CT sounds: le with the basic dominant 7th bination of 1, 3, 5,57, 9, 11, and 13. Me ‘This would produce the sound of a ate Hsi9] Do G13 when pl ole CIE) ! 2 Se 2 ] sit 1 a raf e ‘C major when played over a C bass note. This would produce the sound of C9 suspended when played over aC ni ‘This would produce the sound of a C major when played over a C bass note. roduce the sound of a layed over a C bass note, ‘This would produce the sound of a C7 when played over a C bass note. This would produce the sound of a C6 when played over aC bass note. This would produce the sound of a C9 when played over aC bass note.es The Shapes of the 6th Interval on the 2nd and 4th Strings The basic dominant 7th chord (Sth-string root) is a good starting place to begin leaming the location of the 6th shapes. Again, relating the shapes to a chord form that is familiar to you makes the leaming process easier since you are relating new information to old information. Take a look at the 7th chord shape below and note the location of the 6th shape within it. Now look at the two 6th shapes below this chord and the one above it. Relate these shapes to the chord. Do the same for the barre chord at the 8th fret. C7 sounds 1 E This is the 2nd shape ? below the C7 chord. This is the shape immediately below the C7 chord. The shaded notes are the 6th shape found within the C7 chord. This is the shape immediately below the C7 barre chord. The shaded notes are the 6th shape found within the G7 barre chord. This is the shape immediately above the C7 barre chord. > This is the 2nd shape immediately ? above the C7 barre chord. 105feo] 8 (68 Example 68: Working with 6ths on the 2nd and 4th Strings ob 70"! Example 69: More work with 6ths on the 2nd and 4th Strings cr F7 by besa 106UNIT 11: THE FUNK-BLUES SOUND ne of the wonderful aspects of guitar playing is that you can get many sounds from any given shape simply by sliding that shape up or down the fingerboard. In the funk/blues rhythm piece that follows, you'll be moving two different chord shapes. The | chord uses the Gmaj6 shape. When this shape is moved two frets down the fingerboard (away from the body of the guitar), the sound will shift to a dominant 8th. (This is assuming that the bass player stays on a G bass note.) ‘The IV chord shape also comes from a major 6th shape (root 5). When this shape is moved two frets down the fingerboard, the sound will shift to a dominant 9th, This same movement is used on the V chord. iV vi co co 6. De 8 sin. Example 70: The Funk-Blues Ge, G9 Vpeene ee eetcuiiiet ane tet fiz 1a see gered ates tsa 37a a a 1072 THE MEMPHIS CONNECTION (7) Example 74 G 6 G9 G6 G9 Ge G9 G6 G9 ce co ce oo G6 G9 Ge G9 Dé D9UNFINISHED BUSINESS 72] Example 72 ‘This unusual 20 measure blues combines intervals of Srd's and 4th's. These are also very effective sounds to use in the blues style. GT mare 108 UUUU UU UA AAA AAA AAAUNIT 12: STUES FORMS AND CHORD PROGRESSIONS al #| Example 73: The Standard 12-Bar Form ‘As you already know, the standard 12-bar blues form uses just three chords and follows the following form: ET. [eo] 78] Example 74: The Quick-Change Blues Form In the quick-change blues form, the IV chord is introduced in measure 2. This breaks up the first four measures and creates a bit more harmonic movement and interest than in the standard blues progression. Bt, AT El, Al ti i 1 a st 4 5 6 beats: 12 Soa) eer ae ioa a aed aes we esa 110or a 5 Example 75: Turnaround Changes In the tumaround changes, a quick progression of |, IV, I, V sets up the song to begin again. AT bated 2 3 SM 2 5 ee 3 A ag ads a a4 turnaround E1, ET BT a os") id [Ere Example 78: Major 6 Blues common to substitute the major 6th chord in place of a dominant 7th chord, especially on the | chord, fe Its eat 28a P12 See Qe sea a sed eee spe) 2) 304 turnaround AG EG 11112 ra [2E1 example 77: Variation on the Major 6 Blues Here's a progression that adds a litle harmonic movement by playing an E7 chord in measure 4. This is still the I chord witha litle tension added. To heighten the sense of movement to the IV chord, play this E7 in measure 4 loudly and with an eighth-note triplat strum. naman E6. E7, ‘AZ, 0 rd 7 Example 78: Another Variation on the Major 6 Blues Here's the same progression but with an E7(#9) in measure 4. This adds still more tension and is a chord heard often in contemporary blues. mmm E6, 2,49) Ad 56 BZ Al =ow TI Example 79: Major 6 with a quick Change Here's a quick-change progression with a new chord added in measure 6. This diminished 7 chord sets up the return to the | chord in measure 7. Note: Once you master the basic form of the diminished 7th chord, you can slide it up and down the finger- board. Simply move it by three frets either up or down. The black dot in each position indicates the location of the AF note, a Ste Me ror, 126 7 ee [205 Example 80: Another Variation ‘The dominant Sth chord is a wonderful substitution for the basic dominant 7. In this example it is being substi- tuled for the V chord. E6, A E1, AL Atgim7 aie # Deal ee Dee ed ering ieee ener ee Sanaa 113Example 81: Substituting for the V Chord Anige altemative to playing the IV chord in measure 10 is playing the dominant chord whose root is one halt step (the distance of one fret) higher than that of the V chord. Notice the change of sound in measure 10. Play ‘each chord in this measure for two beats. Also notice the introduction of the B7(#8) in measure 12. ED a7 Afgim? itd Example 82: Rhythm & Blues ‘Another twist on the 12-bar blues form is heard in this next progression. The style of blues associated with this type of progression is called rhythm and blues. You could very likely hear an artist like Ray Charles use this approach. Notice the descending slide of the dominant chord in measures 7 and 8 and the substitution of an 17 chord in place of the more typical IV chord (A7) that you'd expect to hear in measure 9. 56, 4, E6, ET as Alin? if it 114UNIT 13: MINOR KEY BLUES PROGRESSIONS B lues can be played in minor keys as well as the usual dominant-based progressions. The songs in minor keys are often slow and deeply emotional since the minor chord makes most people feel sad, ‘troubled, and generally downhearted. Let's face it, you don't use a minor chord when you want to cele- brate the fact that you just found a new love and she or he's the one you want to spend the rest of your life with! When you lose your baby, get your car repossessed, gamble away your savings, lose your job, get in a pad come out on the short end, or your best friend dies, then you write a blues in a minor key, ‘0 zs Example 83: Minor Key Blues There are many variations on the basic i, iv, V minor progression (remember, minor chords are indicated with lowercase Roman numerals). The one thing you can rely on in @ minor blues is that the i chord will be minor. in this frst example, all of the chords with the exception of the V chord are minor. Notice that this progression Uses the quick change in measure 2. Em am Em [oo 32] Example 84: Variation 1 In this next progression, the Em in measure 4 has been changed to a dominant E7 to increase the tension and Propel the chord movement to the Am, Note the use of the eighth-note triplet strum in this measure to increase the harmonic momentum into measure 5. inn i Ey a7 an 115jroo iz Example 85: Merging Minor and Dominant Blues ‘This progression isa combination of the minor biues and the more commonly heard dominant blues. The i chord stays minor, which really establishes the song as a minor blues, but all of the other chords are dominant. APPPPPEREPED) Em E7, AT. i | beat 92 2304 2a oD. rd ESS! Example 86: B.B. King-Style Minor Blues This progression is similar to the one used in the song “The Thrill Is Gone.” B.B. King made this song into the most famous of all minor blues. What makes this progression different from most minor blues is the substitution of the bVI in place of the V chord in measure 9. The V chord shows up in measure 10, which is where you'd ‘expect to find the iv chord, There is no turnaround used at the end. Also, the rhythm used in the original ver- sion of this song is slightly funky. The original is in B minor, so here's how you might play it in this key. Bm Alternate form for the FHT ‘Alternate forms {or the Bm Les] 116o} [377] Example 87: Peter Green-Style Minor Blues Another famous minor blues progression is “Black Magic Woman,” which was originally written by Peter Green for the original Fleetwood Mac (yes, it was a blues band before Stevie Nioks) but made famous by Carlos Santana. It's stil a 12-bar form but rearranges the chords in a slightly different order and adds the bVI chord as Well. This version is in D minor. (Watch the location of the chords as they move around the fingerboard.) Al, Dm te es Dm eee ee | ee Alternate form for the Gra Alternate forms for the Din Eight-Bar Blues Progressions ‘Most blues are played using the standard 12 bar form, some blues songs deviate from this pattern. A good exam- ple is found in the Big Bill Broonzy song “Key to the Highway.” In addition to being only eight measures long, the song has the distinction of being quite different in its arrangement of the |, IV, and V chords. One of the most famous recorded versions of this song can be heard on the Eric Clapton/Derek and the Dominoes CD Layla. (oo 38 Example 88: Eight-Bar Blues Use a basic shuttle feel when playing this. AZ. BZ Beatisih's a a aie ible es ide ge sage dod a tumaround AL. E7 Q7 AZ E7, re Ee A 17o} ie Example 89 ‘Another variation on the elght-bar blues uses a few more chords than the last song. Notice the use of the minor iv chord in measure 4. (ES Am oo 303] Example 90 This variation on the eight-bar blues uses a series of chords that is really a type of turnaround. This little tun around within the form takes place over measures 5 and 6. 6, ET. Al. turnaround E71, 118UNIT 14: TURNAROUNDS Blues Turnarounds in E Any tumaround can be played ascending and descending, except the ones based on the melodic style. Most of the tumarounds on these pages are based on arpeggiation of a chord—playing the chord tones in a rhythm that fits with the song. This style is the most common in blues tumarounds. Practice these in both ascending and descending versions to get the maximum usage out of them. Also, feel free to alter the order in which the notes are played. The rhythms can also be altered. 5] Lge| Example 91 T E7 BT —i— Example 92 Example 93 3 3 i 3 Example 94 es ee 119BO Example 95 5.7 So Example 96 ET B7 Example 97 E7 co BS Example9¢ £7 co Bo 120Example 100 57 BT Example 101 ET 3 co Bo Example 102 E73 3 3 3 co BO Example 103 5. eens 121Example 104 ET AT E7 BI oD: GF Example 105 3 ET 3 Edim7 AME E BT Example 106 ET Am = Bhdim E7 Baug 3 Example 107 ET 3 3 3. ci C7 BT 5 Example 108 a E 122Example 109 £ c7 By B7 ET Blues Turnarounds in A Unlike the turnarounds in the key of E, where you could use open strings, the ones on the next pages are all moveable and in most cases do not use open strings. These tumarounds are going to be more useful than those played in the key of E simply because they can easily be moved to different locations on the fingerboard without having to re-finger or otherwise alter them, Example 110 AT ET 3 Example 111 P AT E7 Example 112 n AT ET Example 113 Ebdim Dm A Fo BO AT 123Example 114 Ebdim G7 A Fo EO aq k EY Example 115 ee earl § ie aT Example 116 aT G7 A F9 ED Ar k 5 Example 117 AT £7 Example 118 F959 AT 124Example 119 ‘ Fo EO Ay — aon Example 121 AT Example 122 ae D7 Adim AT es E9 Example 123 AT Er BT 3 125fay BF example 124 AT D7 AT E7 Example 125 Dm Didim A7— Eaug AT 3 Example 126 FAT F7 B7 a7 3 Example 127 FIT FT ET AT 3 126Example 128 Az F7 EW ET Example 129 es) AT Example 130 AT Example 131 AT Clmibs) «D7 dim A FO Eo This is a jazz-style turnaround 127N0-7579-0899-x the 21st Century PRO METHOD AOMMNNIL IHU NTU Rural, Urban, and Modern Styles | @ te? cone reomrrion PHOTO UNG Blues Guitar: Rural, Urban, and Modern Styles is the most com- Ruraf\ Urban, and Modern Styler cee Ra Se oe te ORG a blues techniques; soloing over the I, IV, and V chords; and the \ differences between authentic blues soloing, blues-rock, funk, and jazz-oriented solos, Plus you'll learn classic blues phrases, intros, endings, and turnarounds. 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