HelloWorldGuitar

The blues is great for guitar players because it is a genre of music that is based on improvisation. This means that there are no set rules or patterns that must be followed, which gives guitar players a lot of freedom to express themselves musically.

12 Bar Blues

To find your way around a jam session, it’s helpful to be familiar with the 12 bar blues form

Playalong:

12 bar blues in E Minor

12 bar blues in E Major

12 Bar Blues Form

The Blues exists in many forms but originated with all dominant chords I IV V.

Here’s an example using G7 as the I chord

G7 | G7 | G7 | G7

C7 | C7 | G7 | G7  

D7 | C7 | G7 | G7

PLAY ALONG: G7 Blues

Blues Scale

While this is a gross oversimplification, you can improvise over the 12 bar blues using the “blues” scale and it’ll sound pretty decent.

The Scale formula is -3 W H H -3 W or 1, -3, 4, #4, 5, -7, 1 

In G the notes are G, Bb, C, C#, D, A, G

Here’s the scale pattern for G:

Here are some of the reasons why the blues is great for guitar players:

• It is a very expressive genre of music.
• It uses a variety of different scales and chords.
• It is based on improvisation, which gives guitar players a lot of freedom to express themselves musically.
• It is a great way to develop technique and learn new things.
• It is a lot of fun to play!

If you are a guitar player and you are looking for a genre of music that is challenging, rewarding, and expressive, then the blues is a great option.