12 Bar Blues Revisited, pt. I

This month I’d like to revisit and build upon an older series of posts which pertained to the 12 bar blues (I, II, III, IV) and Cowboy Chords (I, II, III, IV). In those series of posts each topic was dealt with separately (as they should be), but it had recently occurred to me that I had not combined the two.

I have a general order in which I like to introduce skills and topics to my students. Moreover, I like to combine the topics so that they have relevance to the student and they fully understand how they relate to one another. My point is that while students are learning a skill such as playing a 12 bar blues (using open power chords), they are also simultaneously learning to finger open position chords. So it is then pedagogically correct to then combine the 12 bar blues and open chord study together. Additionally, this is also a good time to review the concept of rhythm charts with your students. Attached is a sample 12 Bar Blues in A to use with your students.

Next month I’ll dig a little deeper and review how we apply what the student has been learning so far.