Overcast Tuesday – Blues Backing track in A
For those with a traditional blues persuasion that like soloing in a major key, this backing track is for you! Using a triplet based time signature of 12/8, the chord progression is a little busier than a standard three chord 12 bar and uses the following chords:
|A7 | D7 | A7 Bb7| A7 |
|D7 | D7 | A7 Bm7|C#m7 Cm7|
|Bm7| E7 | A7 D7| A7 E7|
For your soloing, consider using A blues scale throughout, using your ear to see which notes will work best over the chords. If you want further ideas to explore, try A major pentatonic over the A7 chords, A minor pentatonic over the D7 chords and then chord tones (ie the root, 3rd, 5th and 7th notes from the chord) for the other chords. Tone wise, almost anything goes but a humbucker guitar with a little overdrive would be the most suitable. If you have a slide use that on your third or fourth finger for some Allman-like lead phrases!
Mixing a few ethereal guitar chords with some synth pads and a laidback 100bpm tempo forms this backing track’s homage to 80s pop funk (albeit with a slight nod to Stevie Winwood). The chords are relatively standard for an Am 12 bar blues (Am7, Dm7 and Em7) except bars 3-4 feature F major to provide further chordal colour. For your soloing, try A minor pentatonic (A C D E G), A blues scale (A C D Eb E G) or A natural minor scale (A B C D E F G). Once you’ve jammed over it a few times, aim to next align your A natural minor notes with the chords. For example, try referencing F notes over the F and Dm7 chords and a B note over the Em7 chord. For your guitar tone, try either a SRV style clean neck singlecoil (Let’s Dance period) or a darker bridge humbucker overdrive reminiscent of LA session master, Mike Landau. Enjoy!
Got an iPad? Got a guitar? Then this iPB-10 Programmable Pedalboard from @DigiTech is for you… http://t.co/Ah5FB59
Manchester riots: soldier charged with burglary remanded in custody http://t.co/P5EHXri <- Trying to sell a stolen Les Paul.
If you like the smokey sound of bluesy hip-hop you’ll love soloing over this backing track by Jason Sidwell. With a mellow 110bpm tempo and a standard 12 bar structure, the sound is hip and modern with three string chord voicings that imply m7 and m9 chords. For your soloing try E minor pentatonic (E G A B D), E blues (E G A Bb B D) or E natural minor scale (E F# G A B C D). Be it with a clean neck pickup setting or crunchy bridge humbucker, the tonal choice is yours!
We’ve heard the new album from GG’s new trio and it’s fantastic! Lots of OTT guitar playing but with jazzy licks, clean tones and gorgeous chords involved too - the stylistic breadth may just surprise you! The Aristocrats - Guthrie Govan (guitar), Bryan Beller (bass), & Marco Minnemann (drums).
If you’re playing a simple 16th note rhythm, even if it means playing one note, stick to it - you’re adding to the song’s arrangement. Some guitarists will fill every four bars and get too busy - it’s overkill. Also, lock in with the hi hat and watch the dynamics between you and the drummer. If you need to back off to let the hi hats through, do it.
The Guitar Break Newsletter, June 2011… http://bit.ly/nQ2Cfq
We’ve got together with World Guitars to bring you a unique Blues Rock weekend at the beautiful Stonehouse Court Hotel. Here’s Neville and Jason with an example of the kind of thing you could learn on the weekend.
