The One Blues Chord Every Guitarist Should Know

The 12-bar blues uses common chords found in every genre. But part of the distinct sound of the blues is due to the dominant seven, which gives the chords the distinctive sound and “attitude” we associate with the blues.

In this lesson, Steve Stine shows you how to turn chords you already know into blues chords, including open and barre chords, by adding the dominant seven.

“What you’re going to notice is, just by doing a couple of small things to your chords, all of the sudden your music is going to start sounding more blues-like,” he explains.

Steve starts by showing the three chords of a blues progression in A, playing them in open position, and adds the dominant seven to lend the chords true blues flavor. He then shows the same thing with barre chords. Steve provides all the tablature for the lesson, which you can grab here.

For more of Steve’s lessons, visit his Six String Studios channel at YouTube.