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C Blues Riff
Pro Tips:
(Click here)
Pro Tip:
Use a heavy swing feel.
Play behind the beat.
Try to recreate the tone of your favorite blues player.
This blues style twelve bar blues riff uses techniques and patterns that you will see from a lot of great blues guitar players such as Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Joe Bonamassa, Jimmy Vaughan and many more.
This riff is based off of a twelve bar blues in C. The three main chords are C7, F7, and G7 with a shuffle feel. Some of the other techniques being used are quarter step bends, double stops, and position shifts.
Begin this riff on the eighth fret sixth string, hit that two times and then move your third finger to the tenth fret on the fourth string and play the 8th fret on the fourth with some slight vibrato for some color. The second have of the riff is the third finger on the tenth fret on the fifth string. Then the eighth fret moving to the tenth fret not he fourth string. This is the basic shape of the first four bars that outlines the C7 chord.
In the fifth and sixth bar we move everything up one string and outline the F7 chord with a similar riff idea. Play the eighth fret on the fifth string, and then on the tenth fret the second and third string at the same time. Use your third and fourth fingers for this. Move to the eighth fret on the same strings with your first finger. Also add some vibrato here for that extra vibe. This is a very common blues style phrase that’s very useful. After the double stops play the eighth fret on the fourth string, and then the eighth fret moving to the tenth fret on the third string. The next part of this is moving back to the C7 chord, and then playing through the turn around section of this by playing an G7 based version of the riff in the tenth position, and after only one bar switching to the F7 based pattern. This riff plays though 4 times to give you plenty of repetition to improve your playing. Use a heavy swing feel though the whole riff.
Free Demo Video
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Transcriptions
Every exercise includes a transcription in standard notation as well as guitar tab. The transcriptions are presented online and are also available for download as a PDF for printing or saving to your computer. The transcriptions are available for Paid Members of PracticeTheGuitar.com
