Here is a Friday 10-second tip for you to enjoy.
It is all about the blues, but it’s more than just that.
It’s about structure.
Once you learn a solid structure for a style of music or a jam piece…
You have so many options for endless jamming fun.
Let’s take the 12-bar blues.
It’s pretty much the most well-known template in music.
It’s a canvas that you can apply wonderful brushstrokes to.
For instance, once you know the 12-bar blues structure in, let’s say the key of E (the chords of E A B)…
You can turn those chords into E7 A7 B7 and strum them, pick them, Travis pick them…
…Or you can play the blues shuffle using the three chords.
That alone can give you tonnes of fun, especially when you start jamming lead ideas over the top, adding in riffs, or throwing in the occasional fill.
I still play some form of blues almost every day.
Some days, it’s soulful and sweet. Some days, it is energetic and fast, and other days, it could be anything in between.
…But learning this structure is great not just for your playing, but also to help with discipline and the art of fully learning things and finishing them off.
…Kinda like paying your dues with the blues!
Therefore, if you don’t already know the 12-bar blues structure, it’s well worth learning it.
Of course, it’s not just learning the notes, it’s what you do with them that counts.
If you want more help with playing the 12-bar blues as well as learning it methodically, you might like to have a look at this (and take a listen to the piece of music at the link below).
The 12-Bar Blues Mini Masterclass
I hope you enjoyed that and enjoy your Friday
Dan Thorpe
Guitar Domination
P.S. This post was originally taken from Dan Thorpe’s private email list. To get blog posts like this sent to you which are full of great tips to make fingerpicking, strumming, and learning guitar more enjoyable (especially if you are over 40) join Dan’s list. It’s 100% free, HERE.
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