Learn to see the I, IV and V chords visually grouped together on the fingerboard and move between them! An absolutely essential skill if you want to play the blues.
View the full lesson at 12 Bar Blues in 12 Keys | JustinGuitar
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I must be missing something so let me ask. Playing in the key of C and starting on the C root on the 5th string 3rd fret, why do you go to the F (4 chord) on the sixth string 1st fret (with the extra stretch required)? Isnāt it just as easy, or easier stretch wise, to go to the F on the 3rd fret on the 4th string, and then the G, 5th fret 4th string, replicating the same pattern as you would if you were starting on a 6th string root?
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Itās a good question. I believe (I havenāt watched that video for some time) that Justin is only teaching 5th and 6th string root shapes for these blues rhythm chords and that is that way Iāve usually seen it taught. Not sure why 4th string root chords seem to be left out, perhaps for the difficulty of muting strings 5 and 6 when using the 4th string root shape?
The solution to your specific example is to play C on a the 8th fret of the 6th string and play F and G on the 5th string (frets 8 and 10). Of course, you donāt get the low G and F notes when playing it this way, so it also depends on the specific sound you are going for.
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That was cool.
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I think it is generally thought that lower sounds better when it comes to root notes.
And learning notes on 2 strings is probably easier than 3 for starters.
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You can totally do that but the reason why itās played on the 6th string usually is because the chords are ācomplimentā-ing the blues melody(solo), and tend to clash with the melody because the pitches are so close. By playing it on the 6th string, it also acts as bass, and playing the 12 bar blues on the 4th string sounds ānakedā-ish. That said, you can do whatever you want, and using the 4th string can help you memorize the notes on the 4th string so I would say go for it!
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I wonder if Iām alone in finding when I try to play these 12 bar sequences the pain in my fretting hand is terrible.
Iām an intermediate player who has no problems with bar chords etc but when it comes to this it is so sore.
Any tips?
tx
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Can someone help me understand the theory involved in the shuffle rhythm? Using the C chord example, I understand that 1st finger on the 8th fret of the 6th string (C note), 3rd finger on 10th fret of the 5th string (G note) is a C power chord, playing the 1st and the 5th of the C major scale. However, when he puts the 4th finger down on the 12th fret of the 5th string, heās playing an A note, which is the 6th of the C major scale, and is not part of a C major chord. So why does this work? It sounds good (and therefore is good), but Iād like to understand it and I donāt believe itās addressed in any of his videos showing this technique.
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Youāve answered your own question. It is part of the major scale. Itās also part of the major pentatonic scale. Any note of the major scale will sound good over any chord from that scale. Some will sound better than others.
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Hey mate,
As @stitch said, the A is in the C scale, so it works.
It sounds so good and satisfying specifically because it provides a quick tension and release, going from the 5 to the 6 and back again over and over, while all the while playing that C.
The 2, 4, 6, 7 of a scale generally provide this tension, and want to eventually move to one of the 1,3,5 chord tones; the essense of music.
Cheers, Shane
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Hi @daboyce67 youāre not missing anything at all. The opposite. Youāre seeing additional options that Justin doesnāt teach but which are perfectly valid.
Playing a chunka-chunka based on string 4 fret 3 and string 3 fret 5 is 100% playing an F chord in that style. And those pitches are exactly the same as if you were to slide shift your C chord along strings 5 & 4 to frets 8 & 10 respectively, which is also perfectly valid.
It is all about the sound you want and how it blends with the song / backing track or if it lands nicely in your ears.
There is no rule that says chunka-chunka must be on the three thickest strings only.
@jjw gives you a couple of options too.
@elevatortrim also adding that most people do know the notes on the E and A strings but are less sure of the notes on the D string.
@AndyFab77 The stretching can be hand torture when you first start so working in small time chunks is the best approach. I wonder if you are making life a little more difficult and a small change in guitar position, posture, neck angle etc. could help. Iām not sure without a photo / video.
ā
Good question @MR28
A simple chunka-chunka, with only one extension push of a finger to a higher fret, makes use of three notes.
When viewing the chunka-chunka rhythm there are no āfull chordsā being played. Not unless there is a band or a backing track and the A7, D7, E7 chords are being taken care of by other musicians. Letās examine the 2-string, 2-note chord fragments that are played in chunka-chunka.
A chord
Frets 5 & 7 = A & E = Root & 5th ā¦ basically a 2-string power chord ā¦ we could call it A5 but in a blues shuffle setting donāt usually name it that way.
Frets 5 & 9 = A & F# = Root & 6th ā¦ we could call it A6 but donāt.
Note ā¦ A5 is always taken as being a power chord with no 3rd in the chord. A6 is usually the name for a full chord so not really useful for root & 6 only. And we donāt name it A6 so that doesnāt really matter.
We donāt use A5 and A6. We simply call it chunka-chunka and can say that it is A - meaning played as the I chord or played over the I chord.
It is similar with the D and E chords. If analysed, they could be seen as D5 & D6 then E5 & E6 respectively. But those names are not used. We would simply say E and D in the blues shuffle chunka-chunka context.
There is another version of chunka-chunka where you push the 6 a little further, one fret up, to reach the b7 note. That too isnāt seen as a chord in its own right and given a name. It is a part of an overall sound picture with moving parts.
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