If your ukulele is not in tune, no amount of effort or hard work will help you. A is the easiest key to play the blues in, on a standard c tuned ukulele. The previous lesson had some variations on c, but for a 12 bar blues there is another which works well, similar to the way we changed the a chord. Jan 10, 2016 on the ukulele the easiest version of the 12 bar blues chord progression is shown above. Oct 09, 2017 if this happens to you, play just the first bar until you get it correct, then play the first two bars, then the first three bars, and continue this process until you get through all 20 bars. And visit our website for more great ukulele lessons, tabs, and a. Although the 12bar blues progression has a signature blues sound, if you plan to play blues, rock, or jazz guitar on a regular basis, youll want to learn how to accessorize the 12bar blues.
Its important to have a solid vocabulary of chords, riffs and left hand tricks, but its just as important to have a strong rhythmic feel and some good right hand chops. It has been used to produce countless hits including outside of the blues genre. Twelve bar blues working out the chords the 12 bar blues is simply a chord progression. Because the ukulele and guitar have so much in common, uke players like me, who started on guitar, are inclined to adapt their guitar skills to the uke. So did a little more research a found more videos from him and the 12 bar blues. Mar 29, 2012 this is part of the tutorial easy blues licks for ukulele tabs for 5 blueslicks on one sheet pdf the blues licks of the earlier posts played in a 12 bar pattern.
Time signatures 34 and 68 time signatures major pentatonic scales minor pentatonic scales blues scales blues ukulele chords 12 bar blues easy blues solos. This particular tutorial provides a detailed, stepbystep overview of how to play a twelve bar blues pattern improvisation. In todays lesson, we are going to take an indepth look at how the form, or structure, of a blues chord progression is made. Musical improvisation means to make up music as you are playing. Its very simple to learn, give it a go click to open the pdf file.
Ukulele tricks is a useful site to pick up some free lessons and resources but they do offer paid lessons if you want to get access to more advanced techniques all in one place. If you like our song sheets and use them for personal enjoyment or in your own ukulele clubs, let us know. This book and audio package is solely devoted to providing you with all the technical tools necessary for playing 12 bar blues. On this page youll find all my free tabs pdf s the videos for these tabs are on the page free guitar tabvideos if you like the free tabs on this page, please consider donating via paypal using the button below. This is perfect to play at the end of some 12 bar blues. You can hear the influence of the blues in rock, pop, jazz and more. Aug 12, 2012 i found a video on youtube about how to play the blues on the ukulele by this guy ukulele mike. When playing, you repeat this form over and over for every verse until the song ends. This is part of the tutorial easy blues licks for ukulele play along this easy blues in c you can use the blues licks in the earlier posts its the classic 12 bar pattern with turnaround chords. Get a chord book with recommended fingerings and start slowly. Although blues music has evolved over time, a fundamental chord progression called the 12 bar blues still lives on. Ukulele blues tutorial how to play the 12 bar blues ukulele.
Memorising the sequence of chords is the most important thing, and dont worry that it is only one strum per bar for now. The 12 bar blues and the minor blues scale online guitar. Well stick to the 12bar forms here because, as i mentioned earlier, these are the ones you will most often hear played by blues musicians. Ukulele players all over the world have direct access to ukutabs its large and completely free song archive which is constantly being updated with new songs. Playalong 12 bar blues pattern c with ukulele uke4u. Ukulele scales and modes by 7 mustknow ukulele scales in standard tuning gcea.
The blues is at the heart of a lot of modern music. The 12bar blues is by far the most popular form for the blues. Adding to your already awesome arsenal of ukulele blues techniques, today we break down for you the basic format for a 12bar blues progression. The 12 bar blues is one of the most popular chord progressions in all of music. Intros, turnarounds, and endings are common enhancements to the 12bar blues that are used to steer the song toward repeats or resolutions. The result can be pleasing to the ear, and can even push the envelope for ukers, creating new styles and sounds in the process.
How to play blues ukulele covers everything from the absolute basics like simple 12 bar blues patterns to more complex playing techniques, progressions, riffs and more. The 12bar blues or blues changes is one of the most prominent chord progressions in. I found a video on youtube about how to play the blues on the ukulele by this guy ukulele mike. Jul 27, 2016 12 bar blues ukulele chord progression in c. The term 12 bar blues has become synonymous with blues music and is the basis for an incredible body of jazz, rock n roll, and other forms of popular music.
Although i havent had a chance to use it, the table of contents promises a good selection of the blues and the arrangements offer some unique chords and chording patterns. You can find all blues ukulele songs on ukutabs right here on this page, ordered by popularity. The pattern the chords are played in, goes like this. As mentioned, the thumb notes are on all four downbeats of every bar.
Twelve bar blues working out the chords the 12 bar blues is simply a. Thats the same chord sequence as above, but with c,f,g instead of a,d,e. Minor key blues, which should also be learned, has a minor i and iv, and a dominant v7 as in major key blues. You use the same chord progression, and the chords you play change depending on what key youve decided to play in. Intros, turnarounds, and endings learn to play the ukulele. Now lets try something similar in a different key lets look at a 12 bar blues in c. Songs that use the 12 bar blues often have a section where one musician makes up new melodies. Ukulele jam in historic lower mills seventh theme 12 bar blues jam wednesday 18th april 2018 doors open 6. Most american popular music grew out of the 12bar blues. This chord progression is based around the most important chords. Once you learn to play the 12bar blues on the guitar, you can play such classic blues pieces as hound dog, stormy monday, kansas city, st.
Once you complete these twelve bars, you repeat the entire form. The second wukulele songbook 1009 worthing ukulele jam 4 dirty old town by ewan mccoll, 1949 i met my glove by the gas works wall dreamed a cdream by. Each of these songs follows the 12bar blues pattern. Jun 05, 2018 this colourful chart has some examples of common variations on the common 12 bar blues form. A 12 bar blues riff in the key of c that outlines dominant 7th and 9th. Onmusic dictionary topic 12 bar blues chords, teaching. This is part of the tutorial easy blues licks for ukulele tabs for 5 blueslicks on one sheet pdf the blues licks of the earlier posts played in a 12 bar pattern. Adding intros, turnarounds, and endings to the 12bar blues. I think were going to attempt to do this arrangement of somewhere over the rainbow and wonderful world as popularized by israel kamakawiwoole at the april 16 playalong.
Get that distinctive jazz sound in your blues in step by step instruction shown in big, easy to understand diagrams. Adding to your already awesome arsenal of ukulele blues techniques, today we break down for you the basic format for a 12 bar blues progression. In this video, i introduce the 12 bar blues and some variations of it on ukulele. Jazz blues formulas are much different than basic threechord blues.
There are also songs based on 8bar, 16bar and 24bar patterns. Goode, rock around the clock, aint nothin but a hound dog were blues songs. The grateful dead performed it with the typical 12 bar format, using a halftime, funky groove. Now for a 12bar blues, well use those chords in a specific patern. The first one gives you lyrics, melody and uke chord grids to strum while singing. Once you can play the 12 bar blues in a all the way through, picking with the occasional strum. The 12bar blues progression is important because its a starting point when musicians get together. Twelve bar blues chords for guitar a beginner guide. With the basic twelve bar pattern and this ending you can have a nice little ukulele blues jam with a few other musicians. Learn the ukulele 12 bar blues 21 ukulele songs ukulele. The 12 bar blues in c tutorial sweet home chicago the 12 bar blues in g tutorial gulf coast blues the 12 bar blues in d tutorial st.
If you liked this excerpt, order dennis mccumbers book, the total blues guitarist, at in addition, be sure to check out his blues guitar lessons at. Fortunately, the internet is awash in free, highquality uke lessons, like this one from youtubes preeminent tropical tutor, ukulele mike. Ukutabs is your true source to find chords and tabs for all of your favorite songs. A down and outward pluck with the pad of your right thumb generally on the g or c string a downward motion using your right hand fingernails over the high strings generally on the c, e, and a strings. Posted in 12 bar, beginners tips, blues charts, blues uke, songs, tabs, ukelectix charts posted on may 11, 2016 by site admin hi folks, a reminder that there is no beginners uke this week as the ukelectics have a recording session on this wednesday nighti know, rock stars right. In this lesson, we will be learning 2 rhythms for a 12 bar blues in the key of a. Youll love our easy ukulele blues scale and chords. That way if you do want to change things up, its easy because you all have that progression down. The video is meant to be watched in the context of the lesson, so if youre confused at all, head over to ukulele. The turnaround occurs in the last two measures of a 12 bar progression and is often a critical element of the progression, so a solid understanding of the 12 bar format is needed.
Sep 10, 2016 12 bar shuffle blues in a ukulele lesson easy ukulele blues tutorial a shuffle 2. Mar 29, 2012 this is part of the tutorial easy blues licks for ukulele play along this easy blues in c you can use the blues licks in the earlier posts its the classic 12 bar pattern with turnaround chords. A 12 bar blues riff in the key of c that outlines dominant 7th and 9th chords. With only 3 chords in a 12 bar blues, it has the power to move you.
Example 3a demonstrates a twelvebar blues in the key of a using the chords of a7, d7, and e7. There are three chords commonly used in this pattern. In the final bar, v7 is usually used before a repeating a chorusthis called a turnaround and i is used for the last chorus. Blues is undoubtedly one of the most popular forms of music to come out of america.
An introduction to blues turnarounds, intros and endings. The 12 bar blues in the key of g will require that you learn the following 7th chords. Powered by create your own unique website with customizable templates. Posted on february 12, 2014 by marklele 12 bar blues is such a joy to play on the ukulele. Jul 15, 2011 in this video, i introduce the 12 bar blues and some variations of it on ukulele. Our song sheets are for personaleducational purposes only.
Look out for the cd all of the content of this book can be found online at. Stukulele, american gypsy, pronounced bahbeek, after all this time. The music above shows an example of the blues scale. For bars 14, play a7 or the seventh of the 1 chord for bars 56, play d7.
Add a little bit of spice to the 12 bar blues on ukulele with these simple to. Watch a video tutorial to guide you through this pdf. Understanding the 12 bar blues form rock class 101. Feb 12, 2014 12 bar blues is such a joy to play on the ukulele. The simplicity of blues is what draws people to it. The first thing i get people to do is to jam a twelvebar blues sequence. From uke minutes 51 blues ukulele chords, you know that if you make the 1, 4, and 5 chords of any major key into 7th chords, youve got the basic chords for blues. We are constantly improving the quality and accuracy of our song sheets with timing dots, measure bars, tablature, etc. Expanding your fretboard knowledge and crafting your own rock, blues and jazz riffs and solos playing actual songs on the ukulele everything from the classic ukulele tunes to the 12 bar blues. The vast majority of contemporary blues music is based on what is termed a 12 bar. Once you learn the blues changes, you have the skill to play all these songs. Below is the lesson for beginner blues strumming by rock class 101. Heres an example 12 bar blues chord progression for you to print out and try. You can make a wonderful noise however good, or bad a player you are.
Using folk, rock, blues, jazz and country tunes, fred teaches you how to understand the 12 bar blues, circleoffifths changes, the rhythm changes, diatonic progressions and more. Downloadable audio files of the exercises found in the book, providing you with a selfcontained practice package. If you all know the standard 12bar blues progression, then everyone knows the starting point. I received blues ukulele a jumpin jims ukulele song book from my wife for christmas.
Ukulele blues tutorial how to play the 12 bar blues 21 songs in 6 days. Blues ukulele is a collection of 16 blues standards arranged for the ukulele by fred sokolow. On this site, run by friendly fred, there is an excellent blog post showing you how to play some easy ukulele blues licks, including some in a 12 bar. The sjuc song book consists of sjuc formatted song sheets. Learn how to play 12 bar blues on ukulele yousician. So in this tutorial were gonna look at some very useful strumming patterns that youre gonna use again and again when you play the blues. In basic 12 bar blues, there are three sets of four bars.
May 10, 2011 introduction to 12 bar blues for those who dont know, this is how 12 bar blues works or at least its how i play it. Written in standard music notation and tablature, youll learn blues form, 12 bar blues, blues shuffle rhythm, 8 bar blues shuffle, the secret method of jamming, how to bend the notes, blues scales in different keys, minor blues, blues. How to play the 12bar blues on ukulele ukulele tricks. If you learn the shape, you can move it all over the fretboard to attain 7th chords in all pitches. Kids spruke twelve bar blues most blues music is played in 44 time.