How to play Guitar Blues
B.B. Kings was one of the greatest blues guitarists in history. His style was very unique, yet simple. Today, when many guitarists learn to play blues, they tend to follow the technique and style made famous by B.B. King. Learning to play the blues on your guitar is essential to becoming a well-rounded guitar player. The only limits you have to playing the guitar blues is your imagination, your technique, your rhythm and your experience.
Many blues guitarist play their music continuously without pausing, which is ok. However, this technique makes learning the blue difficult for the beginning blues player. When you first begin to learn to play the blues, you want to take the same approach that B.B King would use. Think of playing your music in the same way you talk. When you talk, you state a thought or idea in a complete sentence. After you complete your sentence, you pause for a moment, and then you continue with the next thought. This is how B.B. King played. He would play an idea, then pause for a brief moment, then continue. This technique will make your sound appear more resolved. When your sound is resolved, it is similar to having your verbal statement interpreted by the listener. The resolve occurs when the listener understand what is being said. Therefore, having your sound resolved when you play blues guitar is like planting the song without lyrics into the listeners ears and they interpret the message your music is producing.
An easy way to get started playing the 12 bar blues guitar is to try the minor pentatonic scale (1 b3 4 5 b7 1) over a I IV V chord progression in a major key and also in the same minor key. Listen for the similarities and more importantly, the differences.
It is common for only 3 chords to be played in 12-bar-Blues. The three chords are called I - Tonic IV - Subdominant V - Dominant. The main keynote of the song is formed from the I-Chord. The C scale goes like this: C D E F G A B C. The first chord of your blues song is the C chord the fourth is an F and the fifth is a G chord. You can see it in the diagram below:
| One | Two | Three | Four | Five |
| C | D | E | F | G |
Once you know the know the keynote, you can play the other chords based on it. A circle of fifths tells you how to come up with the next two blues chords. Your basic tone is the I chord and is placed on top of the circle. Then you rotate the circle to find the next chord.
The image below will help you understand:
Time to Practice Some Guitar Blue
Here is a 12 Bar Blues sequence: E (4 measures) A (2 measures) E (2 measures) B (2 measures) E (2 measures)
Play it and see how you like. Try adding seventh chords to spice it up a bit.
For the Key of E You Can Find Standard 12-Bar-Blues Below:
In conclusion, this basic introduction to 12 bar blues guitar will start you on your way to successfully learning to play the blues guitar.