Blues Guitar Chords

Indian music and culture is something that has always interested me, yet I have never really taken the time to explore it fully. It has always had a mystical feel to it, with its enchanting sounds and rhythms that seem to take your mind off to distant lands when you really focus in on it.

The majority of the Indian music I have listened to is in soundtracks to Bollywood films. These movies have continued to grow in popularity world wide in recent years. Cable television here in England even has an entire channel dedicated to it, where you can watch all the latest and famous Bollywood movies, twenty fours hours a day, seven days a week. This is something that twenty years ago people wouldn’t of thought possible.

It’s only in recent times that such music has started to be enjoyed and shared in the west. This may be due to the increasing number of Indian families moving here and spreading the culture around the globe, which has allowed people from different cultures to experience and enjoy multi-cultural entertainment. I think that this is a wonderful thing and that it’s great to embrace new music and culture. Experiencing new and exiting things helps to keep life interesting and different each and every day.

I recently came across an interesting website that really intrigued me. The site was full of incredible violin solos. One violin instrumental I particularly enjoyed was Jagjit Singh’s famous Ghazal Hoton se choo lo tum from the movie Prem Geet. It was clear to see that even to an ear like mine, not use to sounds of this type, that the musician had some serious talent. It was marvellous to watch him sit there and play this lush rich sound that entwined and weaved its way through my speakers.

After learning the F guitar chord the other day I’m now going to teach you how to play a B Guitar chord. This chord is fairly hard to play as well… but don’t be discouraged with some practice and dedication you will pick in up in no time at all. Like the F chord you will need to use a barre. This simply means laying your index finger across the string to press down more than one note at once.

Playing a B Guitar Chord

Start by laying your index finger across the first 5 string at the second fret. For now just practise this and play the notes so that they ring clearly. This is not a B chord but will ensure that you are using the barre correctly.

Next you need to fret the second, third and fourth strings at the fourth fret. There are various ways you can do this. Some people prefer to use there ring finger to make a second barre across the 3 strings. Other people use one finger per string. So your little finger would play the second string, your ring finger the third and your index finger the fourth. I personally find this very awkward and difficult to do. Just try both ways and do which ever is better for you.

I would suggest you play each note, one at a time to check that your are fretting each note of the b guitar chord correctly. If you hear a bum note simply adjust your fingers and try again. Once every note rings clearly you can then start strumming the chord. This will take time but is well worth learning.

Once you know the B guitar chord you can then start to practice changing between it and other chord you know. Before you know where you are you will be playing songs with the B guitar chord in no time.

The F guitar chord can be fairly difficult to play compared to most of the other open guitar chords. As a beginner guitarist you mind find the f chord takes a little longer to learn and master. A certain level of finger conditioning and strength is needed to successfully play the chord and have it sound correctly.

One of the main difference in the f guitar chord compared to other open chords is that you will need to use a barre. This is where you use one finger to fret more than one note.

Here is the definition of a barre guitar chord:

“Barre chords (sometimes misspelled as Bar chords) are a type of guitar chord where one or more fingers are used to press down multiple strings across the guitar fingerboard (like a bar pressing down the strings)”

Playing a F Guitar Chord 

Place your first finger and press down on the first and second string on the first fret. Next add your middle finger to the correct position on the third string. Finally place your ring finger on the third fret, fourth string.

Now holding this position may be uncomfortable to begin with. For now just practise taking your hand away from the guitar neck and then placing your fingers back in F guitar chord shape.

Once you feel comfortable holding the shape try strumming the four strings. You will notice the two crosses on the fifth and sixth strings. This means that when playing the chord you don’t strum those strings.

To start with the chord may sound very muddy and not all the notes with ring clearly. To solve this try just playing one string at a time making sure each note rings clearly. If it doesn’t adjust your finger until it does. Making sure to press down slightly behind the fret wire.

The F guitar chord can really be one of the toughest to master for a new player. Just keeping trying it everyday and soon you will have this chord under your belt.

Once you can play it practise changing from other chord you know to the F chord and back again. Why not give the chords G and C a go? Both go extremely well with the F guitar chord.

Superblues: All-Time Classic Blues Hits, Volume One

This CD is packed with absolute classic blues hits. I’m pretty sure by the fact that your reading this page right now that you’re already a fan of the blues? You may even already have some of the tracks form this CD? This compilation brings all the hits of the blues together onto one great disc.

Perhaps you are just getting into blues music and want to discover if the blues genre is right for you? This is a terrific album to start with. If you play these hits and have a love for good music I’m sure you will love this.

Here is the track list:

1. The Thrill Is Gone - B.B. King

2. Down Home Blues - Z.Z. Hill

3. It’s Gonna Work Out Fine - Ike & Tina Turner

4. I’ll Play The Blues For You (Parts 1 & 2) - Albert King

5. Killing Floor - Howlin’ Wolf

6. Honest I Do - Jimmy Reed

7. Wang Dang Doodle - Koko Taylor

8. Part Time Love - Little Johnny Taylor

9. Part Time Love - Johnny Taylor

10. I Pity The Fool - Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland

11. Blue Monday - Little Milton

12. Got To Move Your Baby - Lightnin’ Hopkins

13. Wish Someone Would Care - Irma Thomas

14. Mercy, Mercy, Mercy - Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson/Larry Williams

The passion and emotion in each of these songs is incredible. You can almost picture yourself back in time sitting in a room listening to these bands. The old style recording is much more real and less polished compared to modern recording techniques, but that it the beauty of it.

I enjoy listening to this and I know you will to so why not order a copy today? And bring the sound of these classic hits of the blues into your life.

The history of blues music can be traced back to the 19th Century American south. Back then African-American slaves were forced to work from dawn till dusk. The brutality of their labour was quite horrendous and to ease their own suffering they would sing a rhythmic call and response style music to help get them through the torment of the day. Usually the most respected of the workers would shout a solo line, they were known as “the hollers” and the rest of the workers would then repeat the solo line singing in unison whilst being in rhythm with their work. This was the birth of blues music, “the holler” would eventually evolve as the solo singer.

The first blues music was recorded in 1895 by Tomas Edison, “The Laughing song” which was played by pianist George W. Johnson. From then on blues music exploded with W.C. Handy (Father Of The Blues) first transcribing Blues music at the turn of the century and the “Crazy Blues” recording by Mamie Smith in 1920 which was the first ever commercially popular blues record. The 1920’s and 1930’s also witnessed the emergence of blues guitar players with some of the most influential being Robert Johnson, Lonnie Johnson, Son House and Blind Lemon Jefferson. Later as the 1940’s came closer jump blues became popular, the guitar migrated to the rhythm section, this would eventually influence the birth of popular genres such as rhythm and blues and of course rock and roll.

The blues guitar became electrified and amplified after World War II bringing with it electric blues. This is the time all time favourites B.B. King and Freddie King started to make a name for themselves. B.B. King is widely considered to be one of the greatest ever blues guitar players whilst Freddie King is widely recognized as the King of the Boogie Woogie guitar. Blues music enjoyed a largely black audience until the 60’s, at this time blues music grew in popularity amongst white audiences helped by the emergence of The Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Classic blues tunes were also being made more popular by bands such as Fleetwood Mac and The Rolling Stones.

Back in Chicago blues bands were dominated by the amplified electric blues guitar as the West Side Chicago Blues style was born thanks to the influence of Albert King, Buddy Guy, and Luther Allison. Blues music is still hugely popular till the present day and has continued somewhat of a resurgence since the early 80’s as the history of blues still manages to influence modern artists such as Eric Clapton and blues guitar players like Walter Trout and Robert Cray.

The E5 Chord is a really simple blues chord. You only have to fret one note (The note B on the A string). It’s important to only strum the top two strings when playing the chord.

Playing the open E string and the B gives a good solid powerful sound. 5th chords are often used in rock and punk music but they still have their place in good old blues.

The E5 chord can also be used to create a simple blues shuffle. Simply combine it with a E6 chord.

Playing 2 strums on each will give you that classic sound heard in some many songs. From Jimmy Reed to Stevie Ray Vaughan they have all used the classic E5 chord.

Quiet often when learning blues for the first time many people start by learning the basic blues guitar chords. Once you learn these you can then start moving forward with your guitar playing and branch out into other area of interest such as soloing, improvising and chord substitutions.

The most common key that most people learn the blue in to start with is the key of A. A standard 12 bar blues consists of three chords. The 1st, 4th and 5th. If this means nothing to you yet then don’t worry. In the key of A this could be the blues guitar chords A, D and E.

Knowing how these chords work together and understanding the 12 bar blues chord progression will go a long way to teaching you the basics.

Once you have mastered these you will eventually start to develop style, flexibility and your own unique technique. This is when you can really start to express yourself as a musician. Once you start being able to play a 12 bar comfortable you should consider starting to play along with other musicians. A lot of bars run local jam nights and these can be a great place to get started. If you don’t have this option then a backing track is a good alternative.

Perseverance and practice are needed to get to a high standard of playing. If this is something you wish to achieve then you have to be prepared to put the hard work in. If you are picking up your guitar once a week and have dreams of being the next BB King then you are just kidding yourself.

I recommended that if you are serious about your playing then you should start lessons. A great way to do this is to use online lessons. These are brilliant and offer you the chance of learning how to use blues guitar chords to their full effect.