You know what, starting out is easier than some people would have you believe!
Ok, I’m not suggesting that you’ll suddenly turn into a guitar maestro overnight but it’s entirely possible to be up and on stage with your local 12 bar blues band in no time at all by sticking to a few simple basics-from which of course you can get the confidence to develop etc etc. So blues isn’t your thing, think of it as temporary, and well, it sure beats not playing at all now doesn’t it!
So, get your hands on somebody’s old acoustic and here goes. You see, 12 bar blues relies on a three chord trick and no matter what key you choose, those three chords are found in the same “L” shape on the fingerboard. Pick any note on there as your “root” note (the key of the song and the one it usually starts on”) and the pattern applies.
By way of example, if you finger the top or thickest string (assuming you are playing right handed) at the third fret, the other two notes you need form the “L” shape using the note found on the third fret of the fifth string and the fifth note of the fifth string, to the purists amongst you, the notes (and therefore the chords) of “G”, “C” & “D” respectively. This shape is the basis of the chords used in many twelve bar songs ranging from Buddy Holly to Status Quo etc. Simply find, or have somebody tell you the root note/key of the song, locate the “L” shape, and then practice the chords from one of the many chord books out there which usually have a chart that shows where the notes are called on any particular fret. . In this example, your 12 bars in G are Gx4, Cx2, Gx2, Dx1,Cx1,Gx1 and finally Dx1. the trick is to find a song that uses this pattern and play along to it to get the timing right. Good luck.
