Download The PDF: Fake It Til You Make It

The vast majority of contemporary blues music is based on what is termed a 12-bar format.  That is, the main body of a song follows a set pattern of chords over 12 bars of music that’s repeated over and over.  Some songs may have several different patterns to give them a bit of variety, but the guts of…

Fig. 1: Primary Lead Pattern The “R”  is the pattern’s root. You can use the root to determine where to play the pattern in other key signatures. The pattern’s root note in the illustration is on the A note on the 5th fret of the low E string and therefore in the key of A.…

Lesson Tab: Finding The Key PDF   Most of the time a song will begin and end with the chord that is the song’s key signature. Another way to look at it is that the chord used most in a song is the same as the song’s key signature. The best way to develop skills in identifying key signatures is by listening…

The 12-bar blues is one of the most popular chord progressions in popular music, including the blues. The blues progression has a distinctive form in chord structure and duration. It is, at its most basic, based on the I-IV-V chords of a key. The 12 bar blues progression is the foundation of the blues. The…

Fig. 1 Why learn Vibrato? You may already know how to perform a vibrato, but here’s how to do it in the context of the blues improvisation!  Learning this gives you the tool in bringing out your own personality in your playing. Rock Vibrato Like B.B. King “The Butterfly Vibrato” B.B. King, well known for his…

The vast majority of contemporary blues music is based on what is termed a 12-bar format.  That is, the main body of a song follows a set pattern of chords over 12 bars of music that is repeated over and over.  Some songs may have several different patterns to give them a bit of variety, but the guts…