Key: A major Blues
This is played as a Blues shuffle. The guitar is simply playing intervals of a fifth / sixth, and therefore it’s not committing itself to either major or minor. However, the bass-line includes many major third notes – which define the track as being major.
Rhythm
The guitar is playing a ‘standard Blues shuffle’, very popular in the Blues world.
Here is the tab for the most basic version, shown in the ‘A’ position:
Often, I switch to alternately picking the strings:
And the more complex version I play includes going up to the 5th fret, often using a bend:
To play the E, simply shift the strings to use the open 6th and fretted 5th strings – or I often go up the neck to the 7th fret, using the 5th & 4th strings. The D is from the 5th fret (again on the 5th & 4th strings). You could use the open D string, but I find this tends to sound a bit 'thin'.
Obviously, you need to stretch when barring further up the neck and if you find this too difficult then use the open D string whilst fretting the third string at the 2nd / 4th frets.
Here is the chord chart – simply eight bars repeated:
| A / / / | E / / / | D / / / | D / / / |
| A / / / | E / / / | A turnaround | A / E |
The term turnaround is often used in Blues, but not exclusively. It refers to a riff or lick which is played at the end of a progression, turning the progression around – bringing it back to the beginning.
Here is a favourite turnaround of mine, played entirely using chords. I don’t play it in this piece – but I want you to have it anyway :)
Here it is in A, so you’ll need to play it using barre chords:
| A A7 D Dm | A D D# E |
The chords of the second bar do not last one-beat each. If you count it with a triplet feel (or 12/8 time), then this chart shows when to change chords:
1 2 3 2 2 3 3 2 3 4 2 3
A D D# E
So the A is on the 1st beat, whilst the D - D# - E is played on the '2,3,3'
You can play this following turnaround with open chords, when in the key of E:
| E E7 A Am | E / B7 |
Anyway, getting back to this 8 Bar Blues, here is the tab for the turnaround that I played:
And that’s it as far as the rhythm goes :)
Soloing & Jamming
This piece particularly suits the major pentatonic, although you can also get away with the minor pentatonic. Sometimes, I combine elements from both – for example:
Here is a box which combines notes from the major and minor pentatonic scales, including the blues note (flattened fifth). Blues players often combine elements of the major and minor pentatonics. This is a position that is particularly favoured by B.B.King:
It is also the position that Peter Green uses (almost exclusively) for his beautiful soloing in Fleetwood Mac's classic, "Need Your Love So Bad".
Play around with this position from the 10th fret. The root note (A, in this position) is shown as a grey circle. If you don’t already know, then take the time now to locate this note on your neck (10th fret, second string) and see how it relates to the same note on the top string (5th fret) and 4th string (you find that one…or two).
The purpose is so that you can quickly / easily locate this position in different keys, when soloing over other pieces.
The orange notes are from the minor pentatonic (some of the notes, such as the root note, and fifth, are in both scales).
The black circles show notes from the major pentatonic scale. The blues note is indicated by a blue circle.
Locate where they are in this major pentatonic run, to further place this position in context. In this following diagram the root notes are grey:
Below are some example licks from the previous, combined-box position.
I tend to play this with the last note of the lick landing on the first beat of the first bar:
This next one is an example of how you can sometimes combine notes from the major and minor pentatonic, particularly in Blues and Jazz:
Next is a favourite of mine, and one for those of you with strong fingers; as it involves bending the second string four frets. I tend to play this at the end of a progression, just before going into the turnaround:
This is a common, repeatable pattern:
Another repeatable pattern that’s very common, this one is often played at speed. You’ll need to alternate pick to achieve any great speed, down with the first stroke, then down / up / down:
This one incorporates the ‘Blues note’ or ‘flattened fifth’:
Top Tips
The root note (A) is easy to locate in the diagram, as I marked it with a grey circle.
Recognise that bending the second string at the 13th fret, to sound the note at the 15th fret, sounds the note of D. Another D is on the top string at the 10th fret.
E notes are on the top string at the 12th fret, and by bending the second string from the 13th to the 17th frets – a big bend, but very satisfying once mastered!
So try it now – take a favourite lick, or a new one from this tutorial, and see how many different ways you can play it over the backing track.
A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A
Flatten the fifth, by taking it down one fret (e.g. Eb), and add that to the minor pentatonic; creating the blues scale. Here it is with the root on the 6th string:
Play around with this from the 5th fret. Here is a lick from this position, incorporating the flattened fifth:
Realise that this lick includes the notes of D, E and A – so end on whichever note corresponds to the chord being played at the time. For instance, I’ve taken it to an A at the end, but you could simply drop the last note and end on the D over the D chord.
When teaching lead guitar, I advocate and encourage students to fret with the tips of there fingers. However, I also encourage exploration with putting fingers flat across the strings and striking two strings at a time.
Play around with these following six licks, putting them in different orders and seeing how you can adapt and change them:
Remember, the Blues is simply about playing with feeling – put your heart and soul into each note and you can’t lose :)
If you want to master major blues, which really requires changing key/scale with each chord change, check out my Introduction To Major Blues Soloing tutorial.
This is played as a Blues shuffle. The guitar is simply playing intervals of a fifth / sixth, and therefore it’s not committing itself to either major or minor. However, the bass-line includes many major third notes – which define the track as being major.
Rhythm
The guitar is playing a ‘standard Blues shuffle’, very popular in the Blues world.
Here is the tab for the most basic version, shown in the ‘A’ position:
Often, I switch to alternately picking the strings:
And the more complex version I play includes going up to the 5th fret, often using a bend:
To play the E, simply shift the strings to use the open 6th and fretted 5th strings – or I often go up the neck to the 7th fret, using the 5th & 4th strings. The D is from the 5th fret (again on the 5th & 4th strings). You could use the open D string, but I find this tends to sound a bit 'thin'.
Obviously, you need to stretch when barring further up the neck and if you find this too difficult then use the open D string whilst fretting the third string at the 2nd / 4th frets.
Here is the chord chart – simply eight bars repeated:
| A / / / | E / / / | D / / / | D / / / |
| A / / / | E / / / | A turnaround | A / E |
The term turnaround is often used in Blues, but not exclusively. It refers to a riff or lick which is played at the end of a progression, turning the progression around – bringing it back to the beginning.
Here is a favourite turnaround of mine, played entirely using chords. I don’t play it in this piece – but I want you to have it anyway :)
Here it is in A, so you’ll need to play it using barre chords:
| A A7 D Dm | A D D# E |
The chords of the second bar do not last one-beat each. If you count it with a triplet feel (or 12/8 time), then this chart shows when to change chords:
1 2 3 2 2 3 3 2 3 4 2 3
A D D# E
So the A is on the 1st beat, whilst the D - D# - E is played on the '2,3,3'
You can play this following turnaround with open chords, when in the key of E:
| E E7 A Am | E / B7 |
Anyway, getting back to this 8 Bar Blues, here is the tab for the turnaround that I played:
And that’s it as far as the rhythm goes :)Soloing & Jamming
This piece particularly suits the major pentatonic, although you can also get away with the minor pentatonic. Sometimes, I combine elements from both – for example:
Here is a box which combines notes from the major and minor pentatonic scales, including the blues note (flattened fifth). Blues players often combine elements of the major and minor pentatonics. This is a position that is particularly favoured by B.B.King:
It is also the position that Peter Green uses (almost exclusively) for his beautiful soloing in Fleetwood Mac's classic, "Need Your Love So Bad".
Play around with this position from the 10th fret. The root note (A, in this position) is shown as a grey circle. If you don’t already know, then take the time now to locate this note on your neck (10th fret, second string) and see how it relates to the same note on the top string (5th fret) and 4th string (you find that one…or two).
The purpose is so that you can quickly / easily locate this position in different keys, when soloing over other pieces.
The orange notes are from the minor pentatonic (some of the notes, such as the root note, and fifth, are in both scales).
The black circles show notes from the major pentatonic scale. The blues note is indicated by a blue circle.
Locate where they are in this major pentatonic run, to further place this position in context. In this following diagram the root notes are grey:
Below are some example licks from the previous, combined-box position.
I tend to play this with the last note of the lick landing on the first beat of the first bar:
This next one is an example of how you can sometimes combine notes from the major and minor pentatonic, particularly in Blues and Jazz:
Next is a favourite of mine, and one for those of you with strong fingers; as it involves bending the second string four frets. I tend to play this at the end of a progression, just before going into the turnaround:
This is a common, repeatable pattern:
Another repeatable pattern that’s very common, this one is often played at speed. You’ll need to alternate pick to achieve any great speed, down with the first stroke, then down / up / down:
This one incorporates the ‘Blues note’ or ‘flattened fifth’:
Top Tips
- Focus on following the (chord) changes. Ending each lick on the note that corresponds with the chord being played at the time is a good place to start with this. So finish a lick on an ‘A’ note over the A chord, a ‘D’ note over the D chord and an ‘E’ over the E chord.
The root note (A) is easy to locate in the diagram, as I marked it with a grey circle.
Recognise that bending the second string at the 13th fret, to sound the note at the 15th fret, sounds the note of D. Another D is on the top string at the 10th fret.
E notes are on the top string at the 12th fret, and by bending the second string from the 13th to the 17th frets – a big bend, but very satisfying once mastered!
- Another thing to play around with is to see how many different ways you can play the same set of notes, in the same order ~ but with different phrasing. Simply spend more time, or less time ,on each note. You may have a dozen favourite licks that you pull-out when jamming. If you can adapt each into three distinctly different versions then you’ve immediately tripled your personal 'lick library'.
So try it now – take a favourite lick, or a new one from this tutorial, and see how many different ways you can play it over the backing track.
- Try messing around with what is often referred to as the ‘Blues Scale’. This is a minor pentatonic with an added flattened fifth. Take the A major scale and recognise which note is the fifth:
A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A
Flatten the fifth, by taking it down one fret (e.g. Eb), and add that to the minor pentatonic; creating the blues scale. Here it is with the root on the 6th string:
Play around with this from the 5th fret. Here is a lick from this position, incorporating the flattened fifth:
Realise that this lick includes the notes of D, E and A – so end on whichever note corresponds to the chord being played at the time. For instance, I’ve taken it to an A at the end, but you could simply drop the last note and end on the D over the D chord.When teaching lead guitar, I advocate and encourage students to fret with the tips of there fingers. However, I also encourage exploration with putting fingers flat across the strings and striking two strings at a time.
Play around with these following six licks, putting them in different orders and seeing how you can adapt and change them:
Remember, the Blues is simply about playing with feeling – put your heart and soul into each note and you can’t lose :)If you want to master major blues, which really requires changing key/scale with each chord change, check out my Introduction To Major Blues Soloing tutorial.