Blues Notes

 I have two custom licks to play over the 1 chord. The first one starts with your third finger on the third fret of the B string, which is the lowered seventh note of the scale. You’re going to bend that note up a whole step to an E note. Bending this note from the lowered 7th to the root note is a great way of emphasizing the root note of the 1 chord.

Your next note is the open high E string, then the third fret of the high E string. Next play the open high E string again, then a rest, and then one more open E that you’ll let ring out. You can hear how it sounds altogether in the video. As you watch me play this lick, you can hear me put more emphasis and importance on the root note of the 1 chord.

The next lick customized for our 1 chord is more of a rhythm riff, but it can be played in a solo too. We’re starting on the E note with your second finger on the second fret of the D string, playing the open D string, and then the second fret of the A string. Roll back down to the second fret of the D string, the root note, and then rest. Finish off with the low E string twice, which is another root note.

When the 4 chord comes around in the 12-bar blues progression, you can do the same thing by emphasizing the root notes of the 4 chord. The 4 chord in this case is an A chord, so your root notes are the open A string and the second fret of the G string. Make sure you memorize those note locations.

The first lick we have for the 4 chord starts off on a root note. Place your second finger on the second fret of the G string, play the open G, then move down to the second fret of the D string. Head back to the open G, the second fret of the G string, rest, and then end with the open A string.

The second lick we have for the 4 chord starts on the root note again. Place your second finger on the second fret of the G string and play it twice with two swung eighth notes. Play the open high E string, and then back to the second fret of the G string. Next, play the third fret of the high E followed by the open E. Finish by playing the open G string, and then end on the second fret of the G string, letting that root note ring out.

Going through these licks gives you a lot to think about, but start out by remembering where your root notes are. Once you’ve got those down, you can move on from there.

Now we’ll take a look at the root notes for the 5 chord and learn a couple of licks for this chord. The five chord in the key of E blues is a B chord, and we’ve got a B note on the second fret of the A string, plus the open B string. Again, memorize where those root notes are so you can emphasize them when playing over the 5 chord.

The first lick starts with the second fret of the G string, and we’re going to bend it up a whole step to a B note. The next two notes are the open B string and the third fret of the B string. Then you’ll play the open B string, the second fret of the G string, and finish off with the open B string. Take a look in the video to get a feel for the rhythm of this lick.

The next lick meant for the 5 chord is basically just going down through the minor pentatonic scale. Start with the highest note, which is the third fret of the high E string, and then play the open E. Next, play the third fret of the B string, followed by the open B. Move to the second fret of the G string, play the open G string, and finish the lick off on the open B, which of course is the root note.

The rhythm for this lick is a bit different because the first two notes are actually triplets, so the lick moves a bit faster. Take a look at the playing in the video.

There are two main types of acoustic guitar namely steel-string acoustic guitars and classical guitars. Steel-string acoustic guitars produce a metallic sound that is a distinctive component of a wide range of popular genres. Steel-string acoustic guitars are sometimes referred to as flat tops. The word top refers to the face or front of the guitar which is called the table. Classical guitars have a wide neck and use nylon strings. They are primarily associated with the playing of the solo classical guitar repertoire. Classical guitars are sometimes referred to as spanish guitars in recognition of their country of origin.

The acoustic guitar lends itself to a variety of tasks and roles. Its portability and ease of use make it the ideal songwriter's tool. Its gentle harp-like arpeggios and rhythmic chordal strumming has always found favor in an ensemble. The acoustic guitar has a personal and intimate quality that is suited to small halls, churches and private spaces. For larger venues some form of amplification is required. An acoustic guitar can be amplified by placing a microphone in front of the sound hole or by installing a pickup. There are many entry-level acoustic guitar models that are manufactured to a high standard and these are entirely suitable as a first guitar for beginners.Electric guitars are solid-bodied guitars that are designed to be plugged into an amplifier. The electric guitar when amplified produces a sound that is metallic with a lengthy decay. The shape of the electric guitar is not determined by the need for a deep resonating body and this had led to the development of contoured and thin bodied electric guitars. The two most popular designs are the Fender Stratocaster and the Gibson Les Paul.

Electric guitar strings are thinner than acoustic guitar strings and closer to the neck and therefore less force is needed to press them down. The ease with which you can bend strings, clear access to the twelfth position, the use of a whammy bar and the manipulation of pots and switches whilst playing has led to the development of a lead guitar style that is unique to the instrument. Fret-tapping is a guitar technique for creating chords and melody lines that are not possible using the standard technique of left-hand fretting and right-hand strumming. The sustain, sensitive pick-ups, low action and thin strings of the electric guitar make it an ideal instrument for fret-tapping.Electro-acoustic guitars have pickups that are specifically designed to reproduce the subtle nuances of the acoustic guitar timbre. Electro-acoustic pickups are designed to sound neutral with little alteration to the acoustic tone. The Ovation range of electro-acoustic guitars have under-the-saddle piezo pickups and a synthetic bowl-back design. The synthetic bowl-back ensures a tough construction that stands up to the rigours of the road while offering less feedback at high volumes. Ovation were the first company to provide on-board equalization and this is now a standard feature. The Taylor electro-acoustic range uses the traditional all-wood construction and the necks of these guitars have a reputation for superb action and playability. Yamaha, Maton and many other companies manufacture electro-acoustic guitars and the buyer is advised to test as many models and makes as they can while taking note of the unplugged and amplified sound.The twelve-string guitar is a simple variation of the normal six string design. Twelve-string guitars have six regular strings and a second set of thinner strings. Each string of the second set corresponds to the note of its regular string counterpart. The strings form pairs and therefore you play a twelve-string guitar in the same manner as you would a standard six-string.

Twelve-string guitars produce a brighter and more jangly tone than six-string guitars. They are used by guitarists for chord progressions that require thickening. The twelve-string is mainly used as a rhythm instrument due to the extra effort involved in playing lead guitar using paired strings. Twelve-string guitars have twelve tuning pegs and double truss rods and are slightly more expensive then their corresponding six-string version.The steel guitar is unusual in that it is played horizontally across the player's lap. The steel guitar originates from Hawaii where local musicians, newly introduced to the European guitar, developed a style of playing involving alternative tunings and the use of a slide. The Hawaiian guitarists found that by laying the guitar flat across the lap they could better control the slide. In response to this new playing style some Hawaiian steel guitars were constructed with a small rectangular body which made them more suitable for laying across the lap.

There are two types of steel guitar played with a steel, the solid metal bar from which the guitar takes its name, namely the lap steel guitar and the pedal steel guitar with its extra necks. The pedal steel guitar comes on its own stand with a mechanical approach similar to the harp. Pedals and knee-levers are used to alter the pitch of the strings whilst playing thereby extending the fluency of the glissandi technique.