After focusing on our pentatonics, we can now shift to the blues. Use open triads (Root, 5th 3rd) to play the I and IV chords in an A major 12 bar blues. Focus on how the movement feels from the A major to the D major. Do this out of time playing all 3 phrases of the structure of the 12 bar blues, eventually hitting E major as well. Once you are comfortable out of time, do this in time. Always think ahead to the next chord and make sure to breathe.

Lesson Summary

In this section, the focus is on playing the blues using the 12 bar blues structure. The tutorial starts with simple triads and gradually adds more complexity with additional chord colors.

Key Points:

• A major triad is played on the sixth string with the voicing using the third finger on the second fret of the D string and the sixth fret of the G string.
• D major triad is played on the fifth string, following the 1-5-3 pattern related to the root of the chord.
• The progression follows a 1-4-1-1 pattern for the first four bars, transitioning from A major to D major and back.
• The subsequent bars follow the pattern of D major, back to A major, and then transitioning to the five chord (E7 or E major).
• The tutorial emphasizes listening to the movement, feeling the rhythm, and understanding the harmonic analysis for better soloing and creativity.

Additional Details:

• The chord changes for the blues progression include transitions from A to D (I to IV) and E to D (IV to V) in a structured manner.
• The final four bars of the blues progression include chords E, D, A, and E, teaching the V-IV-I-V pattern.
• A complete structure of the 12 bar blues with chord progressions is provided to practice in time, emphasizing the importance of anticipating the upcoming chords while playing.