Blues – expand your repertoire

After you have learned the basic components of guitar blues such as dominant chords and 12-bar blues progressions it's time to expand your knowledge in different directions. In this article you will discover new ways.

Alternate blues accompaniments

Besides from common blues shuffle, here is another way to play blues on rhythm guitar:

a blues chords
A7, Asus13, A7 (II)

The chords above are A7, Asus13 and an A7 voicing (notice that the first and third chord is not identical). Play these chords in the sequence: A7 - Asus13 - A7 (II) - Asus13, choose between strumming and finger picking. Now, play these chords ...

d blues chords
D7, Dsus13, D7/9

The chords above are D7, Dsus13 and D7/9. Play these chords from left to right, in the sequence: D7 - Dsus13 - D7/9 - Dsus13. Now, play these chords ...

e blues chords
E7, Esus13, E7 (II)

The chords above are E7, Esus13 and an E7 voicing (notice that the first and third chord is not identical). Play these chords in the sequence: E7 - Esus13 - E7 (II) - Esus13.

In the end, you should try to put it all together with the A7 bundle, D7 bundle and E7 bundle in a sequence. Here is an example of a simple arrangement:

Tab blues


Go to next article in the course: 12 Bar blues chords.

Go back to the main section of Blues guitar.

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