Blues Guitar Chords

Blues guitar chords have a distinct sound.  That sound is the Dominant 7 chord (R 3 5 b7). Dominant 7's are Major Triads with a flat 7. For our first round of blues, we will stick with the Major keys.

Blues Voicings

Practice moving these shapes around. Once you know a fretted version of a chord, it is the same quality (in this case, dominant 7) everywhere you place it (in every position) - this is dependent on all strings being closed.

When you move the shape to a new position (fret number), the root changes, but the type (quality) stays the same.

We call this mileage. You gain a lot of distance by knowing one thing. Ask yourself, 'if I know this, can it be applied to more situations or roots?' Yes? That's mileage.

Tritones

A tritone is an interval of a diminished 5th (or augmented 4th). It is 6 half steps. 6 half steps are 3 whole steps. 3-steps = tri-tone. Tone is sometimes used in music to mean a whole step (I Love Guitar attempts to avoid this double/triple/quadruple meaning).

The neighboring aspect to the tritones is very interesting. You could play the blues and get the sound with just these intervals. Blues guitar chords typically include this interval (dominants 7ths definitely).

To Do

Practice fretting & moving a single voicing type linearly. Then practice playing in a neighborhood, say positions 1 through 3, then practice the 8 to 10th position neighborhood (this means mixing forms). Play the blues progressions.

Roman Numerals

Roman numerals indicate root movement - how the 1, 4, and 5 roots are related to each other on the fretboard. Always know where your roots are located. Root movement gives directionality to harmonic rhythm. Follow the roots.

Know where you are going. To be there on time, use the space before to plan. Be on time. See it. Visualize the roots. Visualize the chord shapes. Feel the next chord shape. Know how the roots are related. Know your octaves.

Use the Blues Guitar Chords in 12 bar blues progressions