Member-only story

Blues You Can Use: Guitar Chords for Beginners and Beyond

Benji Powell

·13.2k Followers· Follow

Published in Blues You Can Use: Guitar Chords

4 min read

1.5k View Claps

86 Respond

Save

Listen

The blues is a genre of music that is characterized by its use of blue notes, which are notes that are slightly flatted or sharpened. This gives the blues its characteristic "bluesy" sound. Blues music is often played on the guitar, and there are a number of essential chords that every blues guitarist should know.

Blues You Can Use: Guitar Chords

by John Ganapes

4.5 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	14000 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
Word Wise	:	Enabled
Print length	:	120 pages

Beginner Blues Chords

The most basic blues chords are the 12-bar blues progression. This progression consists of the following chords:

In the key of C, the 12-bar blues progression would be:

| C | C | C | C | | F | F | C | C | | G | G | C | C |

These chords can be played in a variety of different ways. One common strumming pattern is to downstroke the first beat of each measure and upstroke the second and fourth beats. You can also add some variation to your strumming by using different picking patterns.

Intermediate Blues Chords

Once you have mastered the basic blues chords, you can start to add some more intermediate chords to your repertoire. These chords will help you to create a more sophisticated and nuanced blues sound.

Some of the most common intermediate blues chords include:

These chords can be used to create a variety of different blues progressions. One common progression is the following:

| I | I | I | I | | IV | IV | I | I | | V | V | IV | IV | | I | I | V | IV |

This progression is known as the "shuffle blues" because it is often played with a shuffling rhythm.

Advanced Blues Chords

Once you have mastered the intermediate blues chords, you can start to explore some more advanced chords. These chords will help you to create a truly unique and personal blues sound.

Some of the most common advanced blues chords include:

♭VII
♭III
♭VI
9th
11th
13th

These chords can be used to create a variety of different blues progressions. One common progression is the following:

| I | I | I | I | | IV | IV | I | I | | V | V | IV | IV | | I | I | V | IV | | &#9837;VII | &#9837;VII | I | I | | &#9837;III | &#9837;III | IV | IV | | &#9837;VI | &#9837;VI | V | IV | | I | I | V | IV |

This progression is known as the "minor blues" because it uses a minor ♭VII chord.

The blues is a genre of music that is rich in history and tradition. The chords that are used in blues music are essential for creating the characteristic "bluesy" sound. By learning these chords, you will be able to play and create your own blues music.

Blues You Can Use: Guitar Chords

by John Ganapes

4.5 out of 5