In this lesson I look at one of the most well known blues rhythm guitar patterns. It works particularly well in the context of a slow blues. For each of the main chords in the blues we play a 3 note sliding figure which outlines a 6th to 9th chord sound. Don’t worry if you don’t quite get the theory of it, just start playing. The most important thing is that it sounds good.
I play through two 12-bar choruses at the start of the lesson. In the first chorus I keep it very simple, sticking to the same rhythm and playing the chords on the same string set. In the 2nd chorus I show you a few ways in which you could develop the basic idea. Here I sometimes play the chords on the top 3 strings instead, I vary the rhythm and the articulation, and I throw in some passing chords.
A transcription of what I play can be found below. Download here.
