RHYTHM ROOST Boogie Blues
Boogie Blues Keen on all things rhythmic, for this month’s lesson Jason Sidwell looks to boogie with the blues by elaborating on a G7 barre chord.
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I’ve used a biting overdriven humbucker tone and a swung boogie feel for this issue’s Rhythm Roost offering. When using overdrive it’s very easy for chords to lose clarity, so two aspects that will help are: 1) reduce low-string playing (let the bassist earn their keep!) and; 2) use smaller string combinations derived from barre chord shapes. Both these factors are at work here to create a fun-to-play, clear to hear rhythmic ‘ear worm’.
The first three bars are G7 based while the fourth bar moves to F, where descending double-stops provide colourful closure. Notice the initial G7 rhythm is a three-beat phrase that repeats twice, rounds off at bar 2’s beat 4 then partially repeats in bar 3. This creates an infectious tension against the 4/4 drum groove.
The last area to highlight is chord quality; the 2nd/4th time ending is really just D7-C7 (part of a V7-IV7 blues turnaround in G) but the first chord is extended to D9 and the C7 is Bb/ tweaked up a notch further to C (or C11). The Bb/ resulting D9- C-G7 provides a rich modal sound. 11th chords are a staple of much blues, soul and R&B, and are a fantastic option to soften straight 7th chords. For good reason it’s often called a ‘Gospel V’ and the C11 voicing here is a useful one to know. Check out Larry Carlton, Robben Ford, Steely Dan and Stevie Wonder, who commonly use this chord type.