Now we've covered SRV's 100mph style tracks, let's take it back a notch and look at how the master works over a slow blues. We start by looking at the typical chords he would play over a 12 bar and how to play licks within those chords. Again, the focus here is the rhythm, and that includes the rhythm of the licks!
We will now move into a 12/8 time signature, which can only mean one thing... slow blues! If you're into blues, then you've definitely heard this kind of blues tracks before - "Have You Ever Loved A Woman", "Sweet Little Angel" and many, many more! Your first job here is to simply listen to the track and try a get a feel for it. Listen to the drums as well as the guitar as they will help you define the time signature.
We will begin by stripping the whole track down to just the basic chords. We are in the key of C Blues here, and therefore use the 1st, 4th and 5th of the key of C. This specifically works out as C7, F9 and G9. Whether you play a dominant 7th or dominant 9th doesn't really matter, as the 9th is simply adding an extra melody note. However, Stevie Ray Vaughan would definitely use the 9th for the 4 and 5 chords, so we should too! The chords can be found in the diagrams.
Our first task is to play through the whole twelve bar sequence using the chords above. We will simply be strumming beat 1 and beat 4. On beat 4, we will attack the chord and stop it immediately to create the sound of the snare drum. Remember that in 12/8 time, we need to count "one two three four five six, one two three four five six" to play through one bar. Here is the chord chart:
We will now take the simplified 12 bar and start adding the extra parts. These elements will really bring it to life and we'll kick off with the first two bars. In terms of scales, we are using the C Minor pentatonic shape 1 and the C Major pentatonic shape 2 combined, just as we have done in all the lesson up until now.
As we continue through the 12 bar, you start to get repeating sections. For example, bar 3 is identical to bar 1. As you advance this concept and learn more licks, you can easily add 'insert your own' lick to mix it up a bit, but for the purpose of this lesson, and to get the piece down, we will repeat licks. We are adding one new lick, which simply uses the C Minor pentatonic, just at a different point within the bar to change the rhythm a little.
In the final 4 bars, we use the 9th chord slides to create more interest as well as a classic Stevie Ray Vaughan sounding lick for the turnaround. This lick uses pentatonic shape 1 and 2 together in minor and includes a quick 'throw away' blues lick to move between shape 2 and 1. The scales used are as shown in the fretboard diagrams.
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