It’s not as complicated as it may sound. They add a little bit of jazz flavor. This scale is called “pentatonic”, because it contains only 5 (greek penta: 5) different notes. We’ve used open-string root notes, but if you shift the root notes to fretted versions (at the 5th fret of the fifth and sixth strings) these can be moved to any key you like. We start with the minor pentatonic scale in E (there’s also a major pentatonic scale, which sounds not so “sad”, but for a deep basic Blues we’ll take the minor). We’re using a fingerstyle approach much like John Mayer does – this allows you to pick out a bass note separately from the main body of the chord, so why not try jamming a solo without the backing track? The flat keys other than F are most often used in jazz, and aren’t dealt with here. © By This turnaround can be used to set up for a repeat of the 12-bar blues progression or used as an ending, just as we’ve done here. Other keys are used but these are the most common, particularly with guitar players. Does gigging when you're old even make sense? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVe24YFGoiM, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfoDms7i1WU, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_rd8y8A2oE, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S7CASW39L4&feature=fvwrel, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytVww5r4Nk0, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdgrQoZHnNY, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP0flneNfaQ, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GGr-SuOUuw. Many famous American songs in every genre use this chord progression. BA1 1UA. C major would come after those 4, and is just as important to learn. While pianists change keys by substituting black keys for white keys, and guitar players change keys by changing the fret they’re on, harmonica players change keys by grabbing a different harmonica. Not sure what you mean by this. Shouldn't this violate some music theory "rules"? Roman numerals indicate the quality of the chord (i.e., major or minor), as well as the position the chord occupies in the key. Blues progressions are almost exclusively played in 4/4 time and dominated by the root (I Chord), with the IV and V chords providing that extra bit of flavor to keep things interesting. It's typically used as a passing "bridge" between the b7 and root. Place your ring finger on the 2nd fret of the high E string. 1st Position = Straight Harp. Blues guitar chords can be any major chords used to play blues in any key, but some, like E and A, sound more bluesy than others. Total Guitar FIGURE 5 shows the most basic blues-scale pattern, in the key … Learn the cowboy chords too. Whenever you hear a rock or metal guitar solo, there’s a good chance that it’s derived from this scale. The most common keys for blues songs are A, E, D, C, and G, but blues can be played in any key. This example continues the John Mayer idea and adds in a simple Eric Clapton-style turnaround section. For anyone that has played the blues, you know that the movement from a I chord to a IV chord is a commonly heard sound in the jazz guitar idiom. You might sometimes get someone calling for B. The tradition of jazz is steeped in the blues and certainly evolved from this language. Basic I7-IV7-V7 Blues This blues form is a basic 12 bar blues, utilizing only three chords: the I7, IV7, and the V chord. Last Updated on May 14, 2019 by Klaus Crow. In major keys, it’s common to include the natural 3rd—especially following the b3rd—when soloing over the I and V chorus. My suggestion is to start with the key of G, as that’s the easiest key to play in, and then work your way through the keys of A, C, D, and finally, E. Using the Capo to Change keys And I think I have noticed this inconsistency before, playing A minor pentatonic over an A major progression. For minor keys, use a major V chord: A minor = Am, Dm, E (or E7) E minor = Em, Am, B(7) A. Agave_Blue. You will also need a D7 chord: Place your middle finger on the 2nd fret of the G string. Place your index finger on the 1st fret of the B string. JavaScript is disabled. If a guitar is tuned to an ‘Open Tuning’ playing the open strings results in a major chord (or less common in a minor chord). There are many open tunings, but by far the most common ones are ‘Spanish’ and ‘Vestapol’. the notes that the guitar strings are tuned to. The blues has been adopted by many different styles of music, such as rock, country and of course jazz. Thank you for signing up to Musicradar. Listen out for the different sounds of each chord type. This guitar keeps that vintage tone that was used in the past, and at the same time, delivers a fresh sound out of the ultimate technologies that have been put out there by the brand. I also decided (for some reason) to count a major key and its parallell minor key as the same key. The chord shape and guitar tuning plays a big part too. It can be played with any groove, and is an ideal way to develop improvisational skills. What other ones should I practice? Which pedals were instant keepers for you, no drama, no doubts? To get you started we’re looking at some chords in the guitar-friendly key of A. You’ve probably heard of a I-IV-V (one-four-five) progression - it’s a common blues chord sequence and its name tells you that the chords are built on the first, fourth and fifth notes of the major scale. There was a problem. For all of these examples we’re going to keep them in the key of C. That means that you could use them over a C major chord, or a progression in the key of C. Major Jazz Scales – The Ionian Scale. Open G is the most popular slack key tuning as well as a very common slide tuning. Blues songs are usually in E, A, G, C or D, with E, A and G the most common. You now know two different ways to play the chords in a 12 bar blues guitar in any key. Rock and blues, TB is again right, it depend really of the song , but this are the two most common keys for Guitarist but this again is based on the chord shapes and the scales that surround these shapes. Bigstock photo. I am working on getting comfortable with playing leads over the whole neck in A and E pentatonic minor. Earlier today i looked through The Real Book to see what keys are the most common for standard tunes. John Mayer uses these types of chords in songs like I’ve Got A Woman and Eric Clapton uses them in Ten Long Years. F, Bb, and Eb if you want to play with horn players. You will receive a verification email shortly. Visit our corporate site. For more on Hawaiian slack key guitar, you can check out this extremely erudite and detailed piece by George Winston; If you are using open G slide guitar tuning for blues purposes, you are in great company! So if I play a blues jam that goes F# - B - C# how would knowing the chords help me to play lead over that? Make sure that you practice at a nice slow tempo when starting out. You have to be able to play in E, G, A, C and D. You should know Major dom7th and 9th chords and Minor chords and Minor 7th chords. So, two embellishments to play around with - the flat 5th and the major 7th. For the purist, most blues chords add 7ths, but 9ths and 13ths can be used as well. I decided to focus on "The Great American Songbook" witch means that i skipped all tunes written by jazz musicians, brazilian composers, or pop musicians like Stevie Wonder or The Beatles. What harmonica do you get next? The 7th and 9th chords sound tense and edgy; the 6th chords are softer, well suited to ballads and gentler parts. Keep a steady beat and use a metronome if you have one. Please refresh the page and try again. The following blues chords chart contains all of the chords listed above in the key of A. Additionally, it also includes the positions for playing the same chords in the key of D and E. Although these chords can be played in any key and are fully moveable , I have chosen to list the chord placements in the of A, D, and E since they follow the I, IV,V formula for playing a 12-bar blues progression. This means that if you learn these four chords in the five most common guitar keys (C, A, G, E, D), you’ll be ready to play a huge number of songs. So for guitar, that means E, A, D, G and maybe C (although key of C requires an F barre chord ).