Introduction to Blues | Free Online Guitar Lesson

lesson summary

Lesson 1 of 80 in our Series: Introduction to Blues

Hawkeye Herman introduces the blues. He explains the 12 bar blues chords and the poetic format that blues lyrics typically follow.
Chapter 1: (02:09) Musical Introduction Welcome to JamPlay's Phase 2 Blues series! Instructor Michael "Hawkeye" Herman lays down a smooth 12 bar blues in the key of E to get things started.
Chapter 2: (05:00) Series Introduction, History and Poetic Form Hawkeye introduces himself in this scene. Hawkeye began playing the guitar in 1958. He grew up in the era when many of the blues guitarists that are now common household names were still alive. While living in San Francisco's Bay Area, he was fortunate enough to see these musicians perform, learn from them, and play with them as well. With roughly 50 years of experience, Hawkeye will provide you with the information necessary to playing the blues effectively.

For more information about Hawkeye Herman and his work, please visit hawkeyeherman.com. This website includes performance dates, mp3s, videos, and song lyrics among many other exciting features.

History of the Blues

The Blues is a combination of sacred spiritual music and work songs (sometimes referred to as "field songs"). Blues music sprung from the disenfranchisement of African Americans. It was away to release the anguish of slavery and oppression.

Many of the rhythms common to the blues genre can be traced back to Africa. However, the poetic form of the blues is wholly original. The poetic format of blues phrases is "aab". This includes a line that is sung, then repeated. Finally, a second rhyming line is sung. The two "a" lines create what is referred to as a "call and response." Call and response is an extremely important component of blues music. A very common example of call and response happens in a church service. The leader of the congregation sings "Amen," then the congregation responds. Hawkeye provides yet another great example. "They Call It Stormy Monday," is a blues classic. BB King sings a melodic phrase, then plays the same phrase on guitar. This often involves adding bends and slurs to imitate the voice.

Blues As a Watershed for Other Styles

The influence of blues is very widespread. Without blues, there would be no jazz, country, or rock music. Much of heavy metal music draws upon blues scales and other blues idioms as well. Chapter 3: (01:42) Blues Formula The most common form in the blues genre is the 12 bar blues. This is a chord progression consisting of 12 bars. This chord progression usually repeats for the entire duration of a song. The 12 bar blues is usually played in 4/4 or 12/8 time.

Chord Changes

The most basic form of the 12 bar blues progression consists of the I, IV, and V chords. If you are unfamiliar with Roman numeral analysis, don't worry! Hawkeye explains it in simple terms. These chords can also be labeled by the way in which they function. Respectively, the I, IV, and V chords are referred to as the tonic, subdominant, and dominant chords. In a major or minor key, each chord carries out a specific function. Tonic is often compared to home base. This chord is very stable. The subdominant chord or IV chord tends to lead back to tonic or to the dominant chord. The dominant chord wants to resolve back to tonic or home. Hawkeye applies these concepts to the key of E major. The tonic or home chord is E major. To find the subdominant chord, count up four letters in the musical alphabet including the note E. The subdominant chord is A major. The dominant chord is five letters up from E. Thus, the dominant chord in the key of E is B major.

Note: Often, dominant seventh chords are substituted for major chords in the 12 bar blues progression. Chapter 4: (11:30) How Blues Works The easiest way to internalize the 12 bar blues pattern is to vocalize it. Like Hawkeye mentions, the blues was a vocal style of music sung in the fields before it became an instrumental style. Slaves had their instruments taken away from them. Drumming was originally a form of communication developed in Africa. This prevented sedition from occurring on the plantation.

Hawkeye plays and sings a 12 bar blues to demonstrate its form. Notice how the first line is repeated. Then, a new, rhyming line completes the form.

Let’s take a look at all of the phrases in this verse:

Phrase 1: Good morning, Blues. Blues, how do you do?
Phrase 2: Good morning, Blues. Blues, how do you do?
Phrase 3: I’m doin' alright. Good morning, how are you?

Each line in the verse spans four measures for a total of 12 measures altogether.

Applying Chords to the Form

After demonstrating the vocal phrases, Hawkeye introduces the chords and where they each occur in the form. As he plays through the form, count how many times he strums each chord. Also, make a careful note of when the chords change. Count the measures in the way that Hawkeye recommends. Count "1, 2, 3, 4, 2, 2, 3, 4, etc." This method of counting will ensure that you will not lose your place in the form.

As you learned in the video, the chord changes for the complete 12 bar form are as follows:

Bars 1-4: Tonic (I)
Bars 5-6: Subdominant (IV)
Bars 7-8: Tonic (I)
Bar 9: Dominant (V)
Bar 10: Subdominant (IV)
Bars 11-12: Tonic (I)

Pay careful attention to how Hawkeye chooses to play an A major chord. He plays this chord by barring the D, G, and B strings with the middle finger.

As Hawkeye advances through this series, he will explain some additions and alterations that are frequently made to this basic form. For example, you can play the E chord in bar 4 as E7. This creates a stronger resolution to the IV chord, A.

supplemental content

Supplemental Content for this Lesson

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Phase 2, Genre-Based Guitar Lessons

Phase 2 of our teaching method focuses on genre specific techniques and skills. After you have mastered all of the lessons and topics covered in Phase 1, you then move onto your preferred genre of music. Our phase 2 lessons are taught with the overall idea that you are already equipped with a basic understanding of the guitar, how to play notes, read tablature, and position your finger correctly.

about Hawkeye Herman

Legendary Blues Teacher and Performer

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