I'm now going to show you a chord progression that is probably the most 'Jammed To' chord sequence ever created. It's called the 12 bar blues. This chord sequence is and absolute 'must know' for ALL guitarists. It is the mainstay for all blues music.
Take a look at it in its basic form in the key of A.
OK, here it is :-)
Counting 4 beats to the bar as in 1,2,3,4/1,2,3,4/1,2,3,4 etc etc Play 4 bars of the chord A, then 2 bars of D, back to A for 2 bars then one bar of E, one bar of D a bar of A and finally a bar of E to finish off the sequence making 12 bars in total.
Simply keep repeating the sequence and get you friends to jam along with you in the key of A. It'll sound great trust me! If you listen closely to a blues number you will probably be able to pick it out as it is a very popular sequence.
I trust you are finding these mini guitar lessons enjoyable and as I have stated before in other free lessons don't panic if you find some of the things hard to understand and put into practice. My full audio video course contains absolutely everything you need to know, structured in a chronological order using secret methods that have taken me over two decades to perfect, it will take you from beginner through to great guitar player in the shortest possible time.
Now we've had a go at the 12 bar blues we will keep on the theme and introduce one of the many variations of a 12 bar blues.
For this example we'll work in the key of A (major). It incorporates the use of 7th chords which sound cool in this context.
The sequence goes like this I A I D I A I A7 I D I D I A I A I E7 I D7 I A7 I E7 I
I A I = 1 bar of A (major) - I D I = 1 bar of D (major) etc
A7 is played - 6th string not used, 5th string open, 4th string2nd fret, 3rd string open, 2nd string 2nd fret, 1st string open.
To play the D7 chord - the 5th and 6th strings are not used, the 4th string is played open, play the 3rd string on the 2nd fret and the 2nd string on the 1st fret. To complete the chord play the 1st string on the 2nd fret.
E7 is played - 6th string open, 5th string 2nd fret, 4th string open, 3rd string 1st fret, 2nd & 1st string open.
You can practise your soloing over this great little sequence and jam along to your hearts content.
Moving on from this is a nice little trick to make your 12 bar blues even more bluesy...
Taking the key of A again we will substitute the D chord shape and the E chord for a D9 (D9th) and E9 (E9th). The D9th chord we will be using is played like this:
The 6th string is not used, the 5th string played on the 5th fret (second finger). Play the 4th string on the 4th fret with your first finger and then play strings 3,2 and 1 at the 5th fret using your 3rd finger.
To play an E9 chord slide the shape up two frets so the 12 bar blues sequence is now played like this:-
lAlAlAlAlD9lD9lAlAlE9lD9lAlE9l
Use this 9th chord to create a real bluesy chord sequence.
Have fun.
Take a look at it in its basic form in the key of A.
OK, here it is :-)
Counting 4 beats to the bar as in 1,2,3,4/1,2,3,4/1,2,3,4 etc etc Play 4 bars of the chord A, then 2 bars of D, back to A for 2 bars then one bar of E, one bar of D a bar of A and finally a bar of E to finish off the sequence making 12 bars in total.
Simply keep repeating the sequence and get you friends to jam along with you in the key of A. It'll sound great trust me! If you listen closely to a blues number you will probably be able to pick it out as it is a very popular sequence.
I trust you are finding these mini guitar lessons enjoyable and as I have stated before in other free lessons don't panic if you find some of the things hard to understand and put into practice. My full audio video course contains absolutely everything you need to know, structured in a chronological order using secret methods that have taken me over two decades to perfect, it will take you from beginner through to great guitar player in the shortest possible time.
Now we've had a go at the 12 bar blues we will keep on the theme and introduce one of the many variations of a 12 bar blues.
For this example we'll work in the key of A (major). It incorporates the use of 7th chords which sound cool in this context.
The sequence goes like this I A I D I A I A7 I D I D I A I A I E7 I D7 I A7 I E7 I
I A I = 1 bar of A (major) - I D I = 1 bar of D (major) etc
A7 is played - 6th string not used, 5th string open, 4th string2nd fret, 3rd string open, 2nd string 2nd fret, 1st string open.
To play the D7 chord - the 5th and 6th strings are not used, the 4th string is played open, play the 3rd string on the 2nd fret and the 2nd string on the 1st fret. To complete the chord play the 1st string on the 2nd fret.
E7 is played - 6th string open, 5th string 2nd fret, 4th string open, 3rd string 1st fret, 2nd & 1st string open.
You can practise your soloing over this great little sequence and jam along to your hearts content.
Moving on from this is a nice little trick to make your 12 bar blues even more bluesy...
Taking the key of A again we will substitute the D chord shape and the E chord for a D9 (D9th) and E9 (E9th). The D9th chord we will be using is played like this:
The 6th string is not used, the 5th string played on the 5th fret (second finger). Play the 4th string on the 4th fret with your first finger and then play strings 3,2 and 1 at the 5th fret using your 3rd finger.
To play an E9 chord slide the shape up two frets so the 12 bar blues sequence is now played like this:-
lAlAlAlAlD9lD9lAlAlE9lD9lAlE9l
Use this 9th chord to create a real bluesy chord sequence.
Have fun.
About the Author:
About Mike Jones The Author: Mike has been teaching and playing guitar as a professional for over two decades over this period he has developed a very special guitar tutoring professionalgram bringing the beginner through to great guitar player in the shortest possible period. To find out more about these amazing techniques why not visit his website: Learn Guitar Fast
