Five Blues Chords Beginners Must Learn
It isn’t that tough to learn blues guitar, how ever you need good instruction. Sure there are some different formats to the songs (12 bar blues) and there are blues guitar chords you’re going to need to learn, but that’s what we’re going to do in this article.
In this article I’ll share with you your first five blues guitar chords. These take the form of most blues chords which are 7th chords. I’ll first show you the chord with some simple tab and then go over the proper fingering for the chord.
A7
e————-
B—–2——–
G————–
D—–2——–
A————–
E————-
The A seventh chord is a six string chord, meaning you play all six strings. Note from the tab that you play the second fret on both the B and D strings. The right fingering for the A7th chord is to use your second finger on the D string and your third finger on the B string.
E7
e————-
B————–
G—–1——–
D————–
A—–2——–
E————–
The E seventh chord is also a six string chord. This version of the E chord looks very similar to the E major chord in open position with one note removed. USe your third finger on the A string and your first finger on the G string to play the E7 chord.
C7
e————-
B—–1——–
G—–3——–
D—–2——–
A—–3——–
E—–X——-
This is the first seventh chord that is only a five string chord. Note the X on the E string, that denotes you should not strum it while playing this chord. This chord will also be the first to use more then just two fingers. To form the C7 shape use your third finger on the third fret of the A string, your second finger on the second fret of the D string, your fourth finger on the third fret of the G string and lastly your 1st finger on the 1st fret of the B string. Take your time with this one as it might feel a little awkward at first.
F7
e——1——
B—–1——–
G—–2——–
D—–1——–
A—–3——–
E—–1——-
There are two ways you can play this chord and the easiest in my opinion is to play it as a barre chord on the first fret. Note how the basic shape is like the E7 chord except you’ve barred the first fret. Use your index finger (first finger) to create a bar at the first fret then using your third finger on the third fret of the A string and your second finger on the second fret of the G string.
D Seventh Chord
e——2——
B—–1——–
G—–2——–
D————–
A————–
E—–X——-
This is the second of two five string chords in this set. Like the C7 chord you do not strum the low E string during the D7 chord. In a way the D7 chord is a backwards D major chord. Use your 1st finger on the 1st fret of the B string, then your 2nd finger on the 2nd fret of the G string, your third finger on the the second fret of the G string and finally you third finger on the first fret of the E string.
To pick up some more blues guitar chords along with more advanced techniques like lead, scales and such why not try a blues guitar dvd. With practice and some good instruction you’ll be a great blues player in not time.
