Basic Blues: 12-bar Blues Theory
The Blues Melody
and Blues Scale
This blues lesson is for intermediate players. Those who want to play blues,
should know the blues scale. Guitar players should know how to finger blues
scales all the way up the neck in the so called "box position".
Blues Notes and
Passing Tones, Bending
If you read my previous lesson on the blues scale, you will remember that the
blues-tonality is unstable and unsettled, because you play a minor of scale over
major chords. You should also remember that one and a half steps up from the
root gives you a minor third, and two steps up from the root gives you a major
third. I will also remind you of the VII note, where you have the VIIb note in
the blues scale, but a VII note in the major scale and in the chords.
| For more online lessons by Olav Torvund visit his own website at http://www.torvund.net/guitar. The site features a series of blues guitar lessons as well as lessons on music theory, chord progressions, chord diagrams, MIDI backing tracks, scales, ear training and open tuning. |
Blues Triad
Mastery
I created BTM because I wanted to learn triads in a way that was fun for both
fingers and ears. I wanted something Bluesey. I wanted to play *music* and not a
monotonous lesson as boring as cardboard. I couldn't find a lesson like this, so
I wrote one.
Blues
Feeling
This is another intermediate lesson. The goal of this lesson is to show you how
to get a good blues feeling. Don't think about it. Just pretend you are Jimi
Hendrix and play.
One-Chord
Booogie Grooves
Blues has always been a stylistic sponge, soaking up the sounds of other, more
popular musical trends and incorporating them into its timeless framework. Over
the years elements of rock, Latin and funk have all been added to the blues
vocabulary. Of course, the influence goes in the other direction too, some times
in ways that are less obvious.
Blues
Turnarounds
These turnarounds are mainly in E, but I've put in a few in other keys. They are
just a collection of things I've picked up over the years. I'd be very
interested in any others anyone's got.
Introduction to the Texas Shuffle
You can read theory and play scales all day long, but without hearing
(and playing) how they are applied in a practical sense, their value is greatly
diminished. This lesson is an introduction to the Texas shuffle, with apologies
to SRV.
Blues Licks
The following Licks are very simple and as I think they sound authentic.
Especially for Beginners, they sound cool and help to "open the Blues ear..."