Here's Another Mini Guitar Lesson - Here's The Most Popular Jammed To Chord Sequence Ever!!!
Posted by Kay Stanford Jr Kastum at 12:01 PMThis weeks article is probably the most popular Jammed to chord sequence ever!!! And it is an absolute must know for ALL guitarists. Its called the 12 bar blues and is the foundation of all blues music.
Let's have a look at it in the key of A, in its basic form.
OK, let's take a look :-)
We start by counting 4 beats to a bar like this: 1,2,3,4/1,2,3,4/ etc etc... Now start off by playing 4 bars of the A chord, followed by 2 bars of D, then go back to A for 2 bars then play one bar of E, one bar of D, a bar of A and finally a bar of E to finish the progression off. This sequence is called the 12 bar blues with obviously 12 bars in total.
For a great jam with your friends, simply repeat this sequence over and over again in the key of A. You'll sound GREAT - trust me! From now on when you listen to a blues number you will start to pick out the 12 bar blues as it is extremely popular.
I really hope you are benefiting and enjoying these free mini guitar lessons. Please try not to worry if things seem not to make too much sense at the moment because my full audio video program has everything in chronological order and will become crystal clear very quickly indeed. It follows a secret structured program that will transform students into a great player in no time at all.
Let's now have a look at another variation of this classic sequence, so sticking with the same theme we'll move on.
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.
It 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
The A7 chord is constructed and played like so: the 6th string is not played, the 5th string is played open, the 4th string is played on the 2nd fret, the 3rd string played open, the 2nd string played on the 2nd fret and finally the 1st string is played 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.
This is a great chord sequence to jam with and endlessly practice your soloing over.
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:
6th string not used 5th string 5th fret (second finger) 4th string 4th fret (first finger) Strings 3, 2 and 1 are all played at the 5th fret using your 3rd finger.
Now to play the E9 chord simply slide the chord shape up two frets so the 12 bar blues sequence is played like this:-
lAlAlAlAlD9lD9lAlAlE9lD9lAlE9l
Use this 9th chord to create a real bluesy chord sequence.
Enjoy.
Let's have a look at it in the key of A, in its basic form.
OK, let's take a look :-)
We start by counting 4 beats to a bar like this: 1,2,3,4/1,2,3,4/ etc etc... Now start off by playing 4 bars of the A chord, followed by 2 bars of D, then go back to A for 2 bars then play one bar of E, one bar of D, a bar of A and finally a bar of E to finish the progression off. This sequence is called the 12 bar blues with obviously 12 bars in total.
For a great jam with your friends, simply repeat this sequence over and over again in the key of A. You'll sound GREAT - trust me! From now on when you listen to a blues number you will start to pick out the 12 bar blues as it is extremely popular.
I really hope you are benefiting and enjoying these free mini guitar lessons. Please try not to worry if things seem not to make too much sense at the moment because my full audio video program has everything in chronological order and will become crystal clear very quickly indeed. It follows a secret structured program that will transform students into a great player in no time at all.
Let's now have a look at another variation of this classic sequence, so sticking with the same theme we'll move on.
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.
It 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
The A7 chord is constructed and played like so: the 6th string is not played, the 5th string is played open, the 4th string is played on the 2nd fret, the 3rd string played open, the 2nd string played on the 2nd fret and finally the 1st string is played 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.
This is a great chord sequence to jam with and endlessly practice your soloing over.
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:
6th string not used 5th string 5th fret (second finger) 4th string 4th fret (first finger) Strings 3, 2 and 1 are all played at the 5th fret using your 3rd finger.
Now to play the E9 chord simply slide the chord shape up two frets so the 12 bar blues sequence is played like this:-
lAlAlAlAlD9lD9lAlAlE9lD9lAlE9l
Use this 9th chord to create a real bluesy chord sequence.
Enjoy.
About the Author:
About Mike Jones The Author: Mike has been teaching and playing guitar as a professional for over two decades over this time he has developed a very special tutoring professionalgram bringing the beginner through to great guitar player in the shortest possible time. To find out more about these amazing techniques why not visit his website: Learn Guitar Fast