Easy Double-Stop 12 Bar Blues in A
Here is a guitar lesson on the twelve bar blues in A. This blues lesson uses double-stops, meaning two notes are being played together. This is a great beginner lesson that every guitarist should master and understand. There are no fancy tricks in this lesson, throughout the lesson I use double-stops (playing two strings at the same time) to a shuffle rhythm.
Because this lesson is in the key of A, it is based off of the A major scale. Here is a lesson on the major scale if you are not familiar with it. In the A major scale, the A note is the 1st degree, the D note is the 4th degree, and the E note is the 5th degree. In the twelve bar blues, guitarists play chords based off the 1st, 4th, and 5th degrees of the key they are playing in. Therfore, in the key of A, the one chord is A, the four chord is D, and the five chord is E. But instead of writing out the words “one chord”, guitarists use the roman numerals instead- I, IV, and V.
Here is the structure of the 12 bar blues for this lesson:
I / I / I / I/
IV/ IV/ I/ I/
V/ IV/ I/ V/
The last two bars are called the “turnaround” because they set you up to start from the beginning and play the 12 bars all over again in a never ending loop- until you decide to stop playing. The V chord causes tension because it is furthest from the tonal center, the I chord. The tension wants to be resolved to the I chord, that tension is what the “turnaround” uses. The video below will help solidify the concepts of the 12 bar blues.
Because this lesson is in the key of A, it is based off of the A major scale. Here is a lesson on the major scale if you are not familiar with it. In the A major scale, the A note is the 1st degree, the D note is the 4th degree, and the E note is the 5th degree. In the twelve bar blues, guitarists play chords based off the 1st, 4th, and 5th degrees of the key they are playing in. Therfore, in the key of A, the one chord is A, the four chord is D, and the five chord is E. But instead of writing out the words “one chord”, guitarists use the roman numerals instead- I, IV, and V.
Here is the structure of the 12 bar blues for this lesson:
I / I / I / I/
IV/ IV/ I/ I/
V/ IV/ I/ V/
The last two bars are called the “turnaround” because they set you up to start from the beginning and play the 12 bars all over again in a never ending loop- until you decide to stop playing. The V chord causes tension because it is furthest from the tonal center, the I chord. The tension wants to be resolved to the I chord, that tension is what the “turnaround” uses. The video below will help solidify the concepts of the 12 bar blues.