EXAMPLE2 BOOGIE WOOGIE/SWING STYLE

This is a ‘quick change’ blues in E that combines a swing approach with a boogie woogie bass line - to all intents and purposes it repeats itself, but in reality small differences can be heard between the two sets of 12 bars, but this is acceptable considering blues’s improvisational nature. There is a typical turnaround ending lick on bars 11-12 the second time round, and a distinct jazz feel due to the use of Major 6th, 6/9, and 13th chords as well as the usual 7ths and 9ths. Note the use of triads and four-string chords; the highest note of each creates a melody as they move; this is known as ‘voice leading’ and is widely used in jazz comping. I played this tune on my Gibson ES-335 on the neck pickup with a clean tone.

[Bars 1-3] It’s vital to approach the main chord and boogie woogie bass line with down strokes on the beat and up strokes on the off beats in order to create a natural, bouncing, rhythmic feel. With this in mind, play the initial open E6 chord (beat 4& of the count-in) with an up stroke to lock yourself into the forthcoming down-up eighth-note rhythm - moving your picking hand during the count-in makes that upstroke feel natural. The boogie woogie bass line comes in on beat 2 of bar 1, and must be a down pick. Note how the following A7 chord comes in on beat 4& of the bar, so again, an up stroke needs to be used here.

[Bars 4-7] This is where the first of the three string-chords comes in with their voice leading effect, the chord movement creating a little melody. Keep the chords tight and in time, and avoid accidentally playing unwanted strings.

[Bars 8-12] Here we find some four-string inversions of E6 and E6/9 chords and Bb13

to B13 chords which create a jazzy, swing sound, again for a voice leading effect. Note how the rhythmic chordal figure in bar 9 brings us back to a more straightforward blues rhythm over the B. The turnaround in bars 11-12 needs quick chord changes, so get the shapes under your fingers before you play up to speed. The ending lick is more ‘lead guitar’ as opposed to strictly rhythm, but it’s the kind of thing one would play in a blues, and is a typical mix of E Minor Pentatonic (E-G-A-B-D) and E Major pentatonic (E-F#-G#-B-C#), with the standard Minor 3rd (G) sliding or hammering onto the Major 3rd (G#). The final E9 chord is again approached from a semitone above, the F9 chord.