Chords for Delicious Blues Guitar Chords

_ _ _ [D] _ _ _ [Bm] _ [E] _
_ _ [A] _ _ _ _ _ _
[Bm] _ _ _ Bluesy resolution chords are a great way to finish off whatever melodic statement you
[N] have just made.
So I'm going to show you a few different chords.
Some of you may be familiar if you're kind of theory nerds like me, but a lot of you
I think will get a very good amount of information out of these if you're looking for a way to
finish off a blues lick with some cool sounding chord, [Bb] whether you're in a band context or
playing solo guitar.
So let's jump into the first chord, that one that I played in the intro there.
[B] _ This is a minor 11 chord and I'm doing all of these in the key of B, so I'm just going
to say what the intervals are, but for your information I'm on the 7th fret, the B is
going to be the root each time.
So [B] we have our root, and we have a [A] flat 7, and we have a flat [D] 3rd, and [Ebm] normally we'll
have a 5th here for [Bm] just a minor 7 chord, but we're going to get rid of that and [B] move
it down here to this E note, [E] which is [Bm] going to be in this case the 11.
So this note is called [E] an 11 because it is beyond this first octave.
[Em] _ _
There are intervals in relation to the root, there's a 9th, 11, 13, maybe you've heard those before.
If you're interested in learning about intervals, then my course Guitar Super System linked
in the description will let you know all about those.
So this is obviously a great chord to end a minor blues phrase [B] with. _ _ _ _ _ _
And it kind of has this sense of resolution without the full like, you know, happy feeling,
obviously because it's a minor chord, but also that 11 really adds a bit of tension
that I like.
[B] _ _ It's not that typical [Bm] 5th _ sound.
So it's [A] definitely a nice chord to end on.
[E] _
_ [D] _ _ [B] _ _ _ _ _
_ Let's move on to the next chord, [A] shall we?
_ [E] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Abm] So here we have another 11 as you can see there, but this time it is a dominant 7 instead
of a minor 7.
So we're only moving one finger from the previous chord, we're moving [B] our pinky up one half
step [E] and _ _ [B] it's creating that kind of, again, that 11 just makes something [B] sound unresolved
but resolved at the same time.
Very fascinating.
So here's a close up.
Again, our root is B, [C] then we have our flat 7, [A] and [E] here is our [Eb] major 3rd making this [B] combination
_ a dominant 7, and then we're adding the 11.
_ _ So this is a great [Ab] chord for those kind of major-y blues sounds [A] where you include the
major 3rd in, say, a minor pentatonic run or just a mixolydian [G] blues sound.
_ [A] _ _
[Bm] _ _ [B] _ _ _ [A] _ _ [B] _
_ I'm going to move on to one more chord.
[Ebm] _ _
_ [A] _ _ _ _ [B] _ _ _
[Abm] _ _ _ So this is probably a [Bb] sound that you recognize.
It's super jazzy sounding [Abm] _ _ [Db] and we have a bit of a finger strength exercise in pulling this chord off.
So again, [B] we're here on the B for our root and we have our [A] flat 7 and [F] here's our 3rd.
This is our regular dominant 7, root 3rd 7 [B] shape.
Really nice for comping. _
[E] _ _ [B] _ _ [Abm] We have here, this is our kind of character note, we have the 13.
So as we know, [Bb] as I explained, this interval is not a 6th even though it's the [Db] 6th note.
_ [Ab] _ It's called a 13 [Bb] because it lies [B] beyond this octave from the root.
Again, check out my course Guitar Super System linked in the description if you're interested
in learning about intervals and how they interact with modes and chords.
So we have root, [A] [G] flat 7, [Dbm] 3rd, 13 and then here is a [B] 9.
[Abm] _
_ [E] So here's our root, [Dbm] second note, interval rule applies.
We are on [B] a 9.
The way you would say this chord is a dominant 7, 9, 13.
It all kind of goes in numerical order.
[Abm]
It doesn't matter how the chords or the notes are constructed, just that's the way the music
gods decided to put things into motion.
[Dbm] This chord is going to work great over [B] any kind of jazzy, bluesy context _ _ _ [Bb] [Db] and _ _ [B] _ _ _ [Bm] _ [A] _ _
[Abm] _ _ _ _ of course
any kind of solo in the jazz blues realm.
[Gb] Generally a major key.
_ [A] _ _ _
[B] _ _ _ _ _ _ [Abm] _ _
[Bb] So, we have, in summary, we have our minor 11, [B] _
_ _ _ [B] _ _ _ _
then we have our 711, _ _ _ [A] _ _ _
[E] _ and then we have
our dominant 7, 9, 13.
[F] _ [B] _
_ _ _ _ _ [Abm] _ _ _
[Dbm] So as you can hear, [C] these two dominant chords [B] are kind of interchangeable.
You just have to choose what your preference is, what fits the music.
The minor 11 is going to work well [Abm] over minor chord progressions.
You can substitute any time you see a dominant chord or are called to play a dominant chord
in a blues progression or something like that.
Try substituting some of these chords in.
It doesn't necessarily have to be at the end of a phrase or something like that.
So I hope this was helpful for you guys.
I'm going to send you off with one little bonus [A] ending for a blues riff.
It's not necessarily a chord per se, but it is a sweet little ending for any blues guitar
player or guitar player in general to have in their arsenal.
I'll see you guys tomorrow.
_ _ [B] _ _ _ [E] _ _ _ [A] _ _ [B] _ _
_ _ _ [Bm] _ _ _ [D] _ [Bm] _
_ _ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _
[A] _ _ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _