twelve bar blues
Time to have some fun! This is called a twelve-bar blues progression in the Key of A. This progression is incredibly common in many types of contemporary music, including rock, country, folk, and most notably in blues. It's simple to play, it sound's cool, and it's a lot of fun. I think that the tablature I've provided below is pretty self-explanatory, but since I'm such a nice guy I'll provide a few pointers.
| 1. Play this pattern with downstrokes exclusively. This tends to give it a more propulsive feel. Also be aware that the end is not the end. A song of this type will typically loop this pattern for a long time. To hear how this is done check out the Blues in A example from Jam Tracks! |
| 2. Use your first finger for all notes on the 2nd fret, and your 3rd finger for those on the 4th fret. |
| 3. Try to play along with the example I've provided. Once you've got that down, try to play along with a drummer, drum machine, or metronome. |
| 4. Listen to blues music! I'd recommend anything by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy, B.B. KIng, and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown for starters. Just copy and paste any of these names into the Amazon box above and you'll have a ton to choose from! |
| 5. Make some friends, because the next few lessons are going to focus on how to solo over this progression. When that happens you'll need someone to play it for you! |
That's about all, so go for it! Have fun and e-mail me with any questions, thoughts, concerns, or pithy comments. Have a great day!
"there are two kinds of music: blues and zippaty-doo-daa"-townes van zandt