Welcome to the Blues Chords Workshop Lesson 12. We have come to the final voicing group for the Blues Chords Workshop. In this last lesson we will explore the bottom structure of Group C Voicings for the Blues. These voicings span the 12th to the 16th fret on the bottom strings.
Click on the video below to watch the lesson.
Learning Aids
The TABs and chord diagrams for the Lesson 12 are presented below.
Primary Takeaways from Blues Chords Workshop Lesson 12
The main takeaways of lesson 12 are as follows:
1. Same chord shapes as Group A Voicings (Lesson 10)
This week’s chord shapes were also introduced earlier in lesson 10. However, the stretches this week are not as wide as we are playing higher up the neck where the frets are narrower. The index and middle fingers retain their function as the movable pivots in this lesson as they did in lesson 10. The main difference however is that the chord shape sequence is in reverse.
2. Partial Barre
Similar to lesson 10, you can use your index finger as a partial barre on the 12th and 14th frets for the IV and V chords respectively. When changing between the V to the IV chord, simply slide the chord shape down 2 frets. Therefore, all 3 fingers can function as movable pivots.
Tips for Better Learning
12 Ways to play the Blues
Having completed 12 lessons, you have now acquired 12 variations of playing the 12-bar Blues in a single key. These voicings use strict dropped-2 voicings which is a natural way to voice chords on guitar. Try to mix and match different voicings groups on the same string set first. Interchanging voicing groups from different string sets don’t usually work so well because of the jump in top note.
Notwithstanding, there are other ways to play the blues which we will explore in the later courses. These voicing groups introduced in this course are completely transposable to different frets thus giving you access to Blues in different keys. Simply slide the entire voicing group to the desired fret location to transpose to the desired key. You will then be able to play blues in that key 12 different ways.
Well I congratulate you for completing the Blues Chords Workshop. Also I encourage you to explore the free Jazz Chords Workshop to fully expand your learning.