Guitar Tricks Online Guitar Lessons

Breaking It Down

 
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In this lesson, I'll break down the basic chords and the chord structure of the 12 bar form. Once we've practiced it a couple of times, we're going to play through the 12 bar form with a rockin' backing track!

Instructor Anders Mouridsen
Tutorial:
Intro to the 12 Bar Form In Blues
Styles:
Difficulty:
print notation download lesson open guitar tuner
Breaking It Down song notation
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Breaking It Down By Anders Mouridsen

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Questions & Answers

1 year ago
Why does the music not count you in before the first chord? Its difficult to press the start arrow and play the cord at the same time? Thanks
Mike Olekshy 1 year ago

Hello - thanks so much for your question! Unfortunately, a count-in was not included in the Jam Station tracks so that the track can loop while in loop mode. I know this is a bit frustrating, so do the best you can by jumping in at a musical spot after hitting play. Hope this helps!

2 years ago
For A major, I put my middle finger on the 2nd fret of the D string, my ring finger on the 2nd fret of the B string and tuck my index finder behind them on the G string. This makes for an easy transition from A to D since the index finger can stay where it is at. For transition to E, the index finger can stay on the G string and just slide back to the 1st fret. Are there any reasons not to do it this way other than it wouldn't work for using the A shape for barre chords?
Mike Olekshy 2 years ago

Hello Alan - thanks so much for the question. There is no problem fretting the A chord this way. Down the road, depending on what the musical context is around the A chord, you might find it advantageous to finger the chord a different way. But for right now, if it's working for you, then go for it!