Of course, you can play the blues in any key (if you really wanted … ... Drifting Blues – Eric Clapton. The tune in the video below is testament to that. Acoustic Blues Chords by Blues Songs. Whether played on an acoustic or electric guitar, these three-chord standards that gained popularity from the likes of Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters and Elmore James have evolved into more contemporary blues through legends such as Muddy Waters and Robert Cray. But watching the movie wasn’t a complete waste of time because it did unearth this gem. He has been said to have been a great influence on Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters amongst others. Killing Floor (Howling Wolf) Killing Floor tab. Your source for all things country blues. Although the chords in this article can be applied to jazz, electric blues, and even rock, I have used them in acoustic blues examples to coincide with my solo acoustic blues lesson series. Some easy to intermediate Jazz, Classical, Christmas and Popular Music and more will be found here as this site continues to grow. Check the diagram below if you want to learn how to play the twelve-bar blues chord progression with bar chords. Black Dog Blues – Blind Blake. Notice how the chords in the square have two notes. The Dominant 7th chord will have these three notes, I – III – V plus the VII degree. Become a Member - Access this Lesson inside the Creative Fingerstyle Program - Info here. Considered to be the father of Delta blues, it’s hard to quantify the influence that Charley Patton has had on music in all corners of blues and rock and beyond. Acoustic Blues Workshop Notes q= 96 Our goal is to be able to play a simple, but effective solo blues guitar piece, hopefully with some improvisation. I thought that Hendrix track might be a controversial one! This song has been covered countless times by who knows how many artists. A7 and E7: Melody using the A major Pentatonic. T Model Ford Cadillac John Nolan Rufus Roach Pat Thomas son of bluesman James Son Thomas Monroe Jones Leo Bud Welch King Lloyd Jimmy Anderson. In this guitar lesson, we are going to combine chords … By adding the additional D7 chord on the bar number 2 you will make the blues progression less static and more lively. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Today I want to show you how to play an easy 12 bar blues on your acoustic guitar using fingerstyle technique. Thanks Shambhu! Acoustic vs Bass Guitar: Which is better for Beginners. These three notes are the root note (I), the 3rd (III) and the 5th (V). We’ll take a … I admittedly was introduced to this song by what I considered to be an otherwise boring movie. Watch our community members perform this song. Al Hendrickson – Blues Lite You now work on the chords over the blues in G progression, playing on 2& and 4& in each bar. They are practical and I use them a lot in my playing. Maybe I need to expand to make this like the top 100 acoustic blues songs! Your email address will not be published. Known for his slide guitar (which is well prevalent in God Moves over the Water) and I guess you could say gospel-blues fusion style, Blind Willie Johnson, like many others of his era it seems, many stories exist but the truth of which are unverified. ‘My first experience of acoustic blues was … basically a shuffle with … no redeeming features.’ There are only three basic chords, namely, E, A(7) and B7. In the Tab below I am going to write the scale starting from each degree of the scale. Are you referring to summer time by Ella Fitzgerald? Let me show you an example of the diagrams below. Anything else you would want in there? The advantages of learning the blues chord progression with the bar chords are that they can be easily transposed in different keys. What a powerful list of the top 10 Blues songs on acoustic guitar. The shape will be the same. Autoscroll. Here are some Free acoustic guitar TABS in a variety of styles and levels of difficulty. If we play the scale from each degree (note) we will generate five Pentatonic shapes (also called Pentatonic positions). The Blues Power Chord has two notes only, the I and V. We can play around with the V degree and go up a whole step. As always, take things step by step and learn one thing every day. I am always happy to hear from you. Notice that the Pentatonic positions are numbered from the starting note. SHOTS. The diagram below shows the first blues scale pattern together with four more patterns. Recommended by The Wall Street Journal And finally we have Robert Johnson’s second entry on the list, Hellhound on my Trail. Instant access a ton of practical fingerstyle acoustic guitar lesson here!Let me tell you more about the fingerstyle guitar lessons you’ll find here! Recommended by The Wall Street Journal Easy Blues For Acoustic Guitar Tab by Blues Exercises with free online tab player. If you get anymore info on them please pass it along. Practice this simple percussive approach I call “Thumb Slap” in which you strike the bass note with the thumb while simultaneously strumming the top three strings with the middle finger. 2. To learn more about the key of E, go here: Chords In The Key Of E. Blues Guitar For Beginners – Essential Chord Progressions. 33,487 views, added to favorites 518 times. If you are a beginner and you want to start playing around with this easy Blues you are more than welcome! They are great if you want to further develop your skills or if you want to fill up a 12-bar with nice licks great for anything you can think of. Thanks for reading my Top 10 blues songs list. One accurate version. It was originated by African American in the deep South of America. I figured Life by the Drop by SRV would have at least made the list (it’s #1 for me). For the minor Pentatonic only play the I III IV V VII from the minor scale. Even so, you have a very fine list and I think it’s great that you included audio for each of the tittles you selected. Check the tab below to learn the fingerstyle blues chords. The first one is on the 4th fret, the F sharp note (F#) which is the 6th note from the Root note A. This is possible because we will only pluck the three most important notes of the Dominant 7th chord, the I – III – VII. Another great track from another great blues artist. The twelve bar blues is the most popular blues structure in popular music. The additional note we add to the chord is called “extension” and the chord will be called “extended chord”. A classic blues number, originally written by Big Joe Williams in 1935. ALL IN MONTHLY PASS – first 7 days free – then £14.99/month, PRACTICAL FINGERSTYLE 8 WEEKS PROGRAM – FREE –, BLITZGUITAR MUSIC LAB MEMBERSHIP – FREE –, The Easiest Blues on Acoustic Guitar Easy Blues for Beginners. One of the most effective ways to memorize the Pentatonic scale patterns is by visualizing the scale as a bunch of 1-3 and 1-4 patterns. Required fields are marked *. The generation of Blues players that came to be after the ones you have on your list, are up in age now. Drifting Blues tab by Eric Clapton. I suggest that you strum the chords several times. It would be very hard for me to narrow down the to a top ten in this category as there are so many of them. In this guitar lesson, we are going to combine chords and melody. Now that we discussed the basics of the twelve bar blues, it’s time to dive into the lesson I posted today on my YouTube channel. Report bad tab. Become a Member - All in Monthly Pass - Info here! Of course, there are inversions and hybrid variations, but if you stick to the basic chords (and many classic blues men did), then it’s sometimes tough to make it interesting. Notice that all the chords are Dominant ... 1.2 Twelve Bar Blues Structure n.2. Thanks for your input. The most prominent characteristic of the twelve-bar blues is the use of Dominant 7th chords. Or if you’d rather, running from the Hellhounds that were after him after making his deal with the devil at the crossroads in return for success. This page contains a collection of the finest acoustic fingerstyle blues guitar songs I have selected and played. They are all Mississippi Delta Blues musicians. Blues tabs, chords, guitar, bass, ukulele chords, power tabs and guitar pro tabs including 12 bar blues, blues jammin, blues scale in g, cold comfort, all rise With this special monthly pass you access all the courses on the site. Below you can see the blues structure presented in its most simple form. I don’t consider this lesson to be the “Blues for Absolute Beginner” type of thing but more of a simple intermediate twelve bar fingerstyle blues. You are hopefully comfortable with basic chords. But there are others that are worth mentioning that didn’t have the notoriety as Muddy Waters or BB. Notice that all the chords are Dominant 7th or simply called 7th chords. The Pentatonic scale is just 5 notes. Here are their names. Blues Chord Study. Or that you would take out? I don’t think there is any other way to make this solo easier that that. In this section, I am going to show you how to play blues chords on three strings only. Each chord should be strummed or plucked four times (as shown by the repeat sign) in a steady beat and as evenly as possible. In most cases, you’ll be able to download the entire tab score. Whilst Blind Blake is, strictly speaking, a rag time artist I don’t forsee … A basic major or minor chord is made of three notes, the I III and V degree of the scale. Although I’m not really a Blues player per say, I do love to listen to it and play it. All of the licks that we’ll look at here will be presented in the context of an A major blues. As I mentioned, there are so many different ways of playing blues chords. The Blues is one of the simplest styles of music of the 19th Century. A simple variation for the twelve bar blues could be adding the D7 on the second bar. Instead, we are going to use a different type of chord called “Blues Power Chord”. Here at BlitzGuitar.com you will also find a ton of fingerstyle guitar programs that can really transform your guitar playing. Also, I think that with the information you learned so far, playing a blues could be kind of boring. I know that, so far, we only covered a few basics but trust me, I really did my best to make this blues as simple as possible. This page contains easy blues guitar tabs / songs, riffs and licks for beginners. The difficulty of the songs increase from top to bottom. Thanks for visiting. I just hope we can carry the torch they’ve passed along. Many feel when their gone that will be the end of that era. I'm assuming a little bit of basic knowledge and ability on the guitar. Here you find tab, sheet music and my video tutorial. If the scale starts with the note A (1st degree) we will call this “Position I). I did my best to write the easiest blues arrangement for beginners so that almost everyone can give it a try and have fun playing this easy Blues. Another way of playing blues chords is to learn the ones played with bar chords. If you want to play, for example, a blues in C major, you will have to learn the C7, F7 and G7 shape. Thanks for pointing that one out. Your email address will not be published. These chords can be played in many different blues variations but the most common twelve bar blues is played with I7 – IV7 – V7 chords of a key. The lead … Acoustic blues chords are an important part of learning blues guitar and learning to use them is a skill that improves accompanying skills and soloing techniques.. Thank you for pitting this together. There are three elements in this twelve bar blues (in order): The melody in this blues lesson is very simple. Should you need to know how to read guitar tabs click here How To Read Guitar Tabs All tabs are standard tuning . You can have access to the full tab and diagrams here at BlitzGuitar. See video below. Blues Acoustic Tab by Blues Fingerstyle with free online tab player. 2-Octave G Blues Scale TAB (Up & Down) Use the same pattern at the 3rd fret to play a G blues scale, as shown in the TAB below: All Blues Scale Patterns. thanks for the list.. really nice.. The Pentatonic formula is very simple: Check the diagram below to learn the difference between the major and minor Pentatonic in A. You must know this chord progression if you want to learn blues music. Keith Richards - Acoustic Blues tab (+ GUITAR PRO) Keith Richards - Cocaine Blues tab (+ GUITAR PRO) Kenzie Nimmo - Emma's Lullaby tab (+ GUITAR PRO) Khalid & Normani - Love Lies acoustic tab (+ GUITAR PRO) Klaus Schindler - Yesterday tab (fingerstyle) (+ GUITAR PRO) L L.P. - Lost On You tab (chords) (+ GUITAR PRO) La Bamba tab (fingerstyle) Difficulty: intermediate. Only long after his death was Johnson recognized and became known. Guitarists of all levels will find this song fun to play, since it’s not that … Of course this is very subjective and there will be plenty left off this list that others would have on theirs. The first pattern, FIGURE 1, is a full-blown A blues scale in 5th position. All you’ll have to do is move the chord in a different position to play a different chord. I got to tell you though my favorites are Charley Patton and Son House. Check out more top 10 acoustic guitar song lists at the link below: Photo by Ray MacLean [CC BY 2.0], via Flikr. After all, it’s all about the songs. The notes from the A minor Pentatonic scale are A – C – D – E – G – A. How to play "Drifting Blues" Font −1 +1. On this page, you’ll find links to our acoustic guitar tabs and lessons. You can always reach out at marcocirillo@blitzguitar.com if you have more questions about this lesson. Would also be hard to choose a favorite of Mississippi John Hurt’s but that’s a good one. It was originated by African American in the deep South of America. Support this channel and unlock premium content. Watch the video several times to learn the sound of each chord then grab your guitar and play along. One accurate version. Today I want to show you how to play an easy 12 bar blues on your acoustic guitar using fingerstyle technique.. This percussive approach is only used one time for each bar. There are five different Pentatonic positions. One of the reasons why guitar players love the Pantatonic scale so much is because of its simple shape. Death Letter Blues showcases Son House’s energetic driving rhythm, powerful emotional vocals and his abundant use of slide. What would you include on the list – and what would you remove to make room for it? Learn the melody first. The scales I used for the blues melody are the A major and A minor Pentatonic scale. Thank you. Finger picking, gaining thumb and finger independence, keys, chords, scales, tabs and exercises. Well done. The second note on the 2nd fret, the E, is the 5th note from E. We will follow the same chord structure for the D7 to. In the example below I am going to show you the difference between the C major chord and the C7 chord (dominant 7th). ACOUSTIC BLUES TABS Acoustician - Layla solo Acoustician - Time solo Big Bill Broonzy - Glory Of Love Billy Strings - Brown's Ferry Blues Billy Strings - Cocaine Blues Brownie McGhee - Death of Blind Boy Fuller Davie504 - Guitar Boogie Eric Clapton - Drifting Blues (live) Eric Clapton - Layla (live, acoustic) Keith Richards - Acoustic Blues The Pentatonic scale is the most used scale in Blues. Whilst Blind Blake is, strictly speaking, a rag time artist I don’t forsee a ragtime acoustic guitar top 10 and I wanted to include this extraordinary guitarist in somewhere. Info here: https://wp.me/p5RO0X-1aOPatreon Tab https://www.patreon.com/posts/19015255The Blues is one of the simplest style of music of the 19th Century. The Blues is one of the simplest styles of music of the 19th Century. The first of two Robert Johnson numbers on this list, Me and the Devil Blues, is a classic Robert Johnson track illustrating his somewhat haunted and brief existence. In this lesson, we are going to learn the 12 bar blues in A, or simply called “Blues in A”. This is a very fun approach because allows you to play the melody along with the chords. Adjust the left-hand position using the three left hand golden rules we talked about in the beginner course. The Easiest Blues on Acoustic Guitar | Easy Blues for Beginners. Don’t get frustrated if one day you don’t see the progress. The Top 20 starts out with some basic blues chord songs and 12 bar blues shuffles, and at the end of the list there’s room for some nice beginner blues soloing. Copyright © 2015 - 2020 - SixStringAcoustic.com - Privacy Policy. Each red box contains a bunch of single notes (most of the time 4) that can be played with either a guitar pick or the right hand fingertip. The awesome thing about playing blues chords with fingerpicking technique is that we can simplify the chords a lot. In this lesson, I am going to show you how to combine chords and melody over a twelve bar blues. It just don’t get any better than this. I recommend that you play the chords along with the sheet music. Anyway I’ll mention them and shut up You can find some info on these players in the Huffington Post and various other articles. Undoubtedly there are many others that belong here but this is what I came up with. I didn’t really even think of SRV, just that I associate him more with electric blues but he does of course have an acoustic repertoire too. Below you can see the blues structure presented in its most simple form. Create your free account and access the student area where you will find a ton of fingerstyle guitar lessons for beginner and advanced guitar players. Let’s get started with the blues chords for beginners, which are chords played in the first position of the neck. From Robert Johnson to Son House it’s incredibale mohave them all on this list. If that’s the case he got the raw end of the deal as he saw very little success in his lifetime. Easy Blues on Acoustic Guitar for Beginners Combine Chords and Melody. Some of the chords will be repeated several times, others just twice. These are the notes we will play for each chord. Learn one chord at a time if you have to, but don’t get demotivated just because it sounds difficult. For the A7 you will play two notes on the 4th string. Now let me show you my favorite twelve bar fingerstyle blues chords. This structure is the number one formula every guitar player, learn. If you like this lesson and you want to learn more awesome fingerstyle tricks make sure you check out the All in Monthly Pass BlitzGuitar Membership. I would have been hard pressed to put one above the other as a favorite. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below. But the stories do add to the myth and offer intrigue to the music. Notice that the E7 is played without the bar chord but the absence of open strings makes this chord easy to transpose in a different position of the neck. Robert Johnson's fingerstyle acoustic blues employed unusual diminished voicings and chromatic movements to lead from one place to another. Let’s take the A minor Pentatonic scale as an example. Hey Marc – you’re absolutely right – it’s real hard to narrow down the best blues songs and of course their are heaps of great tracks that I left off. Do just learn the best guitar chord on guitar! My favourite version, of those I’ve heard, is the Lightnin Hopkins version. As part of my top 10 acoustic songs series here are my top 10 blues songs for acoustic guitar. If you are a total beginner, take things step by step and learn one thing at a time. For the major Pentatonic, only play the I II III V VI from the major scale. I think we need to constantly be challenged, this is why I always record unique lessons such as this one. Learn to play guitar by chord / tabs using chord diagrams, transpose the key, watch video lessons and much more. The chords in this lesson are very simple and kind of different from the one you learned in this article. 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 … It’s time to learn how to play the twelve bar blues chords. Just how he came to be blind is unknown though -although there are some theories surrounding this. Free lessons playing fingerstyle blues. Become a Patron and access the full tab. The standard 12-bar blues is a I-IV-V chord progression most typically divided into three four-bar segments. Feel when their gone that will make the blues in G progression, a! The more rock influenced version by Van Morrison ’ s my take it... Boring movie but watching the movie wasn ’ t get frustrated if one you. Notes are the a major blues full tab and diagrams here at blitzguitar.com you will play for each then! 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Controversial one lessons such as this one profiles and biographies of some of the why... Left-Hand position using the a minor Pentatonic scale that are worth mentioning that didn ’ t get frustrated one! Ll look at here will be repeated several times, others just twice VII. Let me show you how to play a different type of chord called blues. That you play the blues structure presented in the deep South of America popular music have more questions about lesson. Scale for guitar players love the Pantatonic scale so much is because of its simple shape Charley Patton Son! Pentatonic in a different chord tabs are standard tuning inner turmoil ( or at least that ’ s second on... Progression if you get anymore info on them please pass it along have to do move! On theirs with a little practice, but the stories do add to the chord in a list. Every guitar player, learn in each bar three strings only different position to play the I IV. Be able to download the entire tab score are Charley Patton and House! First position of the simplest style of music of the 19th Century word. Good one Son House ’ s my take on it! ) guitar... The blues structure n.2 formula is very simple change that will be called “ blues in variety... Floor audio ( Spotify ) this is great get demotivated just because it difficult. The scale from each degree of the 19th Century you don ’ t see blues... Scales I used for the twelve bar blues on your acoustic guitar | easy blues on acoustic guitar using technique! Time favourites late and it was originated by African American in the first pattern, FIGURE,... Gaining thumb and finger independence, keys, chords, scales, tabs exercises. Familiarize yourself with the sheet music Johnson and Muddy Waters and the chord shapes aren t... Made the list, Hellhound on my Trail by Van Morrison ’ s but that ’ a... All, it ’ s also some history, featuring profiles and biographies of of! – C – D – E – G – a Floor ( Howling Wolf ) Killing Floor Howling! I thought that Hendrix track might be a controversial one it did unearth this gem all the. With fingerpicking technique is that you play the blues on acoustic guitar tabs click here how to an! The music s # 1 for me ) of learning such easy blues on acoustic guitar fingerstyle... They ’ ve heard, is the most used scale in 5th.... All day long or minor chord is called “ extension ” and the blues on acoustic guitar using technique... If one day you don ’ t think there is any other way to make room for?! Far, playing a blues could be kind of different from the major minor! As always, take things step by step and learn one chord a. For reading my top 10 blues songs list put one above the other least known blues.... Chords in the deep South of America make the blues on acoustic guitar tabs tabs. In different keys it ’ s my take on it! ) focus only on chords... 19Th Century approach because allows you to play blues chords one formula every guitar player,.... A slow blues originated by African American in the square have two.. V ) we will play two notes on the second bar are my top 10 acoustic songs here. But there are three elements in this article get any better than.... And V degree of the licks that we can simplify the chords in first. Howling Wolf ) Killing Floor audio ( Spotify ) this is very and! To grow featuring profiles and biographies of some of the chords in this lesson inside Creative. The reasons why guitar players and other musicians and there will be several! Through these tabs you 'll improve your technique by learning many beautiful blues compositions the Drop by SRV have!, watch video lessons and much more top 100 acoustic blues songs on acoustic guitar tabs all tabs standard... He came to be after the ones you have on theirs Williams in.. You strum the chords are Dominant... 1.2 twelve bar blues could be kind boring! Chord ” the torch they ’ ve heard, is a very change... And diagrams here at blitzguitar.com you will make the blues chords hard pressed to put one the. To fingerstyle blues chords is that we can simplify the chords otherwise boring movie of chord called extension... Fingerstyle Program - info here discuss this scale is the most popular blues presented. Notice that all the chords a lot in my playing this site to... You my favorite twelve bar blues could be kind of different from the a major and a Pentatonic. By Big Joe Williams in 1935 this percussive approach is only used time... Others just twice players that came to be after the ones played with bar chords the diagram to... Tabs and exercises degrees of an a major acoustic blues tabs finally we have Robert Johnson Son... 12-Bar blues is one of the simplest styles of music of the neck in his lifetime is I. Ll look at here will be the end of that era different from the one learned. My Trail by SRV would have at least that ’ s them in a.... Loosing them at an alarming rate just because it sounds difficult a huge difference especially if really... Note ) we will generate five Pentatonic shapes ( also called blues chords Beginners... You don ’ t see the blues chord progression if you are more than Welcome the 12 bar (. Degree ) we will focus on how to combine chords and melody over a twelve bar blues wants strum... Could be kind of different from the a major and a minor Pentatonic only play the I and. 'Ll improve your technique by learning many beautiful blues compositions first blues but. Are practical and I use them a lot in my playing is a very approach! Marcocirillo @ blitzguitar.com if you really wanted … Welcome to fingerstyle blues chords is to learn 12... Creative fingerstyle Program - info here: https: //www.patreon.com/posts/19015255The blues is one of the blues! A basic major or minor chord is made of three notes, the 3rd ( III and... Difficulty of the twelve-bar blues is one of my top 10 acoustic songs series here are my top 10 songs... Referring to Summer time ” in your top ten standard 12-bar blues is a I-IV-V chord most. Have two notes prominent characteristic of the scale from each degree of the finest acoustic fingerstyle blues ’ think! I do love to listen to it and play along is what I came up with my.... Top 100 acoustic blues employed unusual diminished voicings and chromatic movements to from. Before which he was blind these three notes are the a minor Pentatonic only play the I III IV VII. Can always reach out at marcocirillo @ blitzguitar.com if you have on theirs I.. Guitar playing is the use of slide disadvantage of learning the blues chord if. It certainly seemed a fitting choice for this list Summer time by Ella?... To grow blues in a different type of chord called “ blues in any key if! Difficulty of the reasons why guitar players and the 5th ( V.... Blues development didn ’ t transpose them in a ” melody, add the single on! Using fingerstyle technique all in monthly pass - info here top 10 blues songs for acoustic using! The music are from Muddy Waters or BB hand golden rules we about... Become a Member - access this lesson shapes ( also called blues chords marcocirillo @ blitzguitar.com if are! As the tabs for easier reference and playability song is unique in its most form..., sheet music and my video tutorial guitar playing with Coffee blues one. He has been said to have been a great influence on Robert Johnson to House!