Get Started With The Blues: The Easy 12 Bar Blues Riff

30 Days of Guitar – Day 15

Welcome back to 30 Days of Guitar! Today we’re going to put all the chords & strumming aside and LEARN THE BLUES! This classic blues riff uses 2 fingers and is incredibly simple to play. Learn the 12 bar blues and a bit of blues rhythm in the simplest way possible.

Easy blues riff

Playing the blues doesn’t have to be intimidating. In fact, it can be quite easy thanks to the “12 bar blues” structure. We’ll be doing this in the key of A which is great for getting started with the blues, since we can rely on the open strings for every single pattern.

The 12 bar blues

The 12 bar blues is a classic blues pattern used in many songs. It consists of 12 bars, or measures, and is usually composed of three chords: the I chord, the IV chord, and the V chord. In the key of A, the chords used would be: A (I), D (IV), and E (V). To play a 12 bar blues in this key, you would play 4 bars of A, 2 bars of D, 2 bars of A, 1 bar of E, 1 bar of A, then repeat.

Boogie woogie pattern

To accompany the 12-bar blues chords, there’s a popular boogie woogie bass pattern which can be used to really bring out the blues groove. This pattern uses root and fifth alternating with single notes.