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KEYS TO THE BLUES BLUES CHART AND CHEAT SHEET
FOR HARP N GUITAR
By George Goodman
Copyright 2016 George Goodman
HarpNGuitar.com Edition, License Notes
Text and images copyright © 2016 George Goodman
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or by any information and retrieval
system.
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Blues Harp Cheat Sheet
Blues Chart
Wrap Up
Introduction
Keys To The Blues was developed to take the guess work out of playing
The Blues and consists of two main sections.
1. Blues Harp Cheat Sheet
2. Blues Chart for the 12 Bar Blues Progression
Learning and understanding these two references will quickly put you on
the path to Blues mastery.
The Blues Harp Cheat Sheet provides the cross harp harmonica key to
use so you always have the right instrument for the job.
It also displays where the choice notes are on the harmonica so you’re
playing with confidence and sounding like a pro.
For the guitarist, the Blues Harp Cheat Sheet lays out the chords for
every key.
The Blues Chart for the 12 Bar Blues Progression provides the most
common chord sequence for the Blues and displays music and guitar
tabs so you’re comping a great sound.
It also reveals the secret to the Blues feel which if you don’t know, it’ll
show.
Harmonica Tabs Basic harmonica tabs are provided to indicate which holes to blow or
draw and bends or overblows if any.
Each hole of the harmonica is numbered 1 through 10 which you will
see on the top plate just above the corresponding hole. So in the
harmonica tabs, numbers refer to the hole on the harmonica.
Tab Key
4 = Blow on 4
-4 = Draw on hole 4
b = Semi-tone bend
bb = Whole tone bend
o = Overblow
Blues Harp Cheat Sheet
Blues Key
The first column in the Blues Harp Cheat Sheet is the Blues Key
column. There are 12 different keys in music and this column displays
the 12 possible different keys that the Blues can be played in.
The most common Blues keys would be A and E which is due more to
the tuning of the guitar than anything else. Playing Blues in A or E
allows the guitarist to use open strings while comping or playing
rhythm. This is displayed in the Blues Progression section below.
As you go down the Blues key column, the key goes up by a 5th
or 5
notes. C is the first key shown in the Cheat Sheet, then going up a 5th
we
arrive at G. The next key is D, then A, E and so on.
I7, IV7, V7
A standard Blues progression uses 3 chords that usually take the form of
dominant 7th chords. These 3 chords are noted in roman numerals and
are built on the root or first note of the key, I7, the fourth note of the
key, IV7, and the fifth note of the key, V7 or shortened to I, IV, V.
Under columns I7, IV7, and V7 are the chords that are used for a typical
Blues. For example, if the Blues key were G, the three chords used
would be G7, C7, and D7.
Cross Harp
Cross Harp is the key harmonica to use in relation to the Blues Key.
Looking again at the Blues Key of G, a C harmonica would be used for
cross harp. Blues in A would require a D harmonica and Blues in E
would require an A harmonica for playing in cross harp which is also
known as second position.
The Cross Harp is determined by going up a fourth or four notes from
the Blues key.
For example, if the Blues key is C, then count up four notes from C with
C being 1, D is 2, E is 3 and F is 4. Use an F harmonica for Blues in C.
Let’s try another example, Blues in E. Go up four notes from E starting
with E – E F G A. Use an A harmonica for Blues in E.
Chord Tabs
The Chord Tab row of the Blues Harp Cheat Sheet shows the
harmonica tabs for each of the three chords in a typical Blues
progression. The Blues chords are made up of four different notes. The
harmonica tabs for each chord is divided into 4 columns with each
column representing a note in the chord.
Melodies and riffs incorporate the notes of the chord. These are the notes
that fit; that sound right when played during the chord. So if you know
the notes that make up a chord and where they are on your harmonica,
you can’t go wrong.
The first column signifies the root note of the chord, the second column
signifies the 2nd
note of the chord, the third column signifies the third
note of the chord and the fourth column represents the fourth note of the
chord.
Without delving into theory too much, these chords are four note chords
consisting of a root, major third, fifth and minor seventh.
I7 Harmonica Tabs
Let’s look at each of the chords separately using our C harmonica
starting with the I7 chord. If we look at our Blues Harp Cheat Sheet
and locate the C harmonica in the Cross Harp column, then look across
to the I7 column, we see that the I7 chord will be G7. Again, the C
harmonica is used for Blues in G.
The first note we see for the I7 chord, -1, is in
the third column and so represents the third
note of the chord. The next note, -2bb is in the
fourth column and represents the fourth note
of the chord.
The second row of the I7 harmonica tabs
show -2 -3 -4 and -5 which is the full four note dominant 7th
chord.
The third row also shows the entire 4 note dominant 7th
chord which will
sound a full octave higher than the second row: 6 -7 -8 -9.
The fourth row shows a single entry in the root column, blow 9.
When the I7 chord is playing during the Blues progression, if you play
any of the notes in the I7 harmonica tabs, you will be playing a note that
fits the chord and will sound great.
IV7 Harmonica Tabs
Go back to the Blues Harp Cheat Sheet and look at the row for Cross
Harp C. Under the IV7 column is the C7 chord.
The full IV7 chord can be sounded in the
lower range of the harmonica shown in the
first row. The first note in the chord is the root
and is blow 1. That’s followed by blow 2,
blow 3 and draw 3 with a semi-tone bend.
The second row displays the entire IV7 chord
as well starting with blow 4, blow 5, blow 6, and then to get the fourth
note of the chord you need to overblow hole 6.
The third row starts at blow 7 for the root, then blow 8 and blow 9.
There is not a way to get the fourth note of the IV chord in the upper
range of the harmonica and so that space is marked x.
Finally you can sound the root again on blow 10.
V7 Harmonica Tabs
Back to the Blues Harp Cheat Sheet, Cross Key of C row and we see
that the V7 chord is D7.
The C harmonica can’t play D7 above the
first octave because that would require the
note F# (Our C harmonica has an F
natural, not F#). In this case, the
harmonica can play the notes to a Dm7
chord which are here on the C harmonica:
1 -1 -2bb -3bb 4 -4 -5 -6 7 -8 -9 -10 10.
The V7 chord is possible in the first octave of the harmonica by using
bending. Here are the tabs for the D7 chord in the bottom octave:
-1 -2b -3bb 4 – a single bend on draw 2 produces F#.
In the Blues Harp Cheat Sheet, notice that the first line of tabs for the
V7 chord shows -2b(b). A single bend on draw 2 is part of the V7 chord.
A double bend on draw 2 would result in a minor seventh chord similar
to the upper octaves.
Blues Scale Tabs
The Blues Scale is a six note scale that is characterized by flatting
certain pitches to create the signature Blues sound.
The Blues Scale can be played throughout a Blues progression
irrespective of the chord being played whether on the I, IV, or V.
For example, if the Blues key is G, playing a C harmonica in second
position, the G Blues scale can be played throughout the Blues
progression.
The tabs are broken into octaves over the rows with each row sounding
an octave higher than the row above it. The columns represent a
particular note in the scale.
Looking at the first column we see the harmonica tabs -2, 6, and 9.
These are the first or root notes of the Blues scale. Each note is the same,
but in a different octave. 6 is an octave above -2; 9 is an octave above 6.
As you can see, there is a lot of bending required to achieve the Blues
scale and get that real dirty, bluesy sound.
Blues Chart
Blues Progression – 12 Bar Blues in E
A typical 12 Bar Blues progression is shown above. This particular case
displays the Blues in the key of E. This is one of the most common keys
for the Blues because it allows the guitarist to play in an open string
format.
Guitar Tabs
If you are new to guitar tabs, let me break it down for you.
Guitar tabs consist of six lines; each line representing a string on the
guitar. The top line in the tab represents the first string or high E string.
The next one down in the tab is the second string, B. The third line down
is the third string, G. The fourth line from the top is the fourth string, D.
The fifth line from the top is the fifth string, A and finally the bottom
line represents the sixth string, low E.
The numbers on the tabs represent the fret in which to put your finger.
Looking at the first bar or measure of the tab above, the sixth string is
played open. This is signified by the number 0. 0 mean play the string
open – you don’t place a finger on any fret on the sixth string.
The tabs in the first bar also shows that you need to place a finger on the
second fret for two notes, then on the fourth fret for two notes, then on
the fifth fret for two notes and then back to the fourth fret for two notes.
Place your left hand so that your first or index finger is in the second fret
and use this finger for playing the fifth string, second fret.
Space your left hand fingers so that each of the fingers are in their own
fret. Your second or middle finger will be in the third fret. In our tabs
there is no 3 or fretting in the third fret, so this finger won’t be used for
this pattern.
Place your third or ring finger in the fourth fret and use this finger on the
fifth string.
Finally place your fourth or pinkie finger in the fifth fret and use this for
playing in the fifth fret on the fifth string.
This is an easy but great sounding comping pattern that only requires
playing two strings and for most of the pattern, one of the strings is
played open.
During the chord E7, the sixth string is open while the notes change on
the fifth string.
The exact same thing happens during A7 but with the fifth string open
and the notes changing on the fourth string.
The B7 is more challenging and requires placing your first finger on the
fifth string in the second fret, your third on the fourth string in the fourth
fret and your fourth finger on the fourth string in the sixth fret. This
stretch will take some practice.
Chord Progression
This progression is known as the 12 Bar Blues.
This is because it consists of 12 bars or measures of music that repeat
over and over throughout the song.
Some variations to this progression are common but this represents the
most common form of the 12 Bar Blues.
This example shows the 12 Bar Blues in the key of E.
In the first four bars, the I7 chord is played. If we look at the Blues Harp
Cheat Sheet in the I7 column for Blues key E, we see the chord E7.
Looking at our Blues Progression we see E7 in the first four bars.
In bars 5 and 6, the IV7 chord is played. Again back to our Blues Harp
Cheat Sheet, we see the IV7 chord for the Blues key of E is A7. Our
chart shows A7 in bars 5 and 6.
For bars 7 and 8 we are back to the I7 chord, E7 in our example.
In bar 9, we play the V7 chord. The V7 chord in the key of E is B7.
Bar 10 is the IV7 chord, A7.
Bar 11 is back to the I7 chord, E7.
Finally in Bar 12 we play the V7 chord.
Bars 1 – 4: I7
Bars 5 and 6: IV7
Bars 7 and 8: I7
Bar 9: V7
Bar 10: IV7
Bar 11: I7
Bar 12: V7 (I7 if last time around)
The Blues Rhythm
Notice at the top of the music is the word Shuffle which indicates the
style to play. This is one of the most important elements to create the
Blues feel.
Shuffle is similar to Swing.
Each bar of music in our 12 Bar Blues is made up of four beats.
Each beat can be divided into two notes, called eighth notes.
The shuffle is produced by giving the eighth note that lands on the beat,
2/3 of the beat instead of half the beat. The eighth note that lands on the
offbeat only receives 1/3 of the beat.
Because the offbeat eighth note is reduced in duration, it is usually
accented to give it an extra push.
This is what drives the Blues rhythm. Getting a feel for where the
offbeat eighth note lands is a huge part of getting the Blues sound.
Very rarely is a Blues ‘straight’ where the eighth notes are of equal
duration.
Wrap Up
If you are new to the guitar and harmonica and music in general, then I
have thrown a lot at you.
Watch the video and read through this repeatedly and it will all become
clearer.
Key #1
The Blues can be played in all 12 different keys and is made up of three
chords, the I, IV and V.
Key #2
To play Cross harp, go up four notes from the Blues key. The Blues key
counts as 1. Eg. For Blues in G: G, A, B, C. C is four notes up from G
and would be the key harmonica to use for Blues in G.
Key #3
Melodies and riffs incorporate the notes of the chord. These are the notes
that fit; that sound right when played during the chord. So if you know
the notes that make up a chord and where they are on your harmonica,
you can’t go wrong.
Key #4
The Blues scale provides notes that sound great over the entire Blues
progression. Learn these and you’ll be sounding like a pro.
Key #5
The Blues is typically a 12 Bar progression with the same chords
occurring in the same bar throughout the song. All you have to do is
learn what chord is in each of the twelve bars and you’ve learned a
thousand Blues songs.
Key #6
Learn to shuffle. This is the key to getting the Blues feel.
…and finally
Key #7
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