Left-hand shapes for Blues in G

Blues in G

We're now going to play a blues in G. Blues harmony typically uses I, IV, and V chords like Suwanee River, but in this case, every chord is a dominant seventh.

Dominant Seventh Chords

• The B7 is an important part of the blues sound.
• This is where it departs from traditional classical harmony, which typically includes the BVII only on the V chord.

For a blues in G, we can play:

• G7 like this:
  • [Demonstrate G7 chord]

Or you might choose a different inversion.

The C7 chord could be:

• [Demonstrate C7 chord]

Or it might be like this:

• [Demonstrate alternative C7 chord]

Choosing Chord Shapes

I'm choosing shapes that go together, involving a minimum of movement. For instance, we've just played:

• G7 like that,
• C7 like that,
• and D7 like that.

Rootless Voicings

Now, those are not necessarily the best way of playing those chords. Many musicians prefer rootless voicings.

So for the G7, we can leave out the G, and it sounds even better. The beauty of this is that we can keep the same note on top for all three chords.

• If we keep the D on top and play the C7 like that instead of like this, that becomes C9.
• D is the ninth (or the second in first inversion because of E on the bottom).

For the D7, we can also keep the D on top because it's the root, and we end up playing that in the left hand.

Your Blues Chords

Here are your three chords for a blues in G. We will be using these in the left hand of Rootless Blues.

Notice how these notes are moving:

• Down a semitone
• Or up a semitone.

Only the D chord has the root in, while the others are rootless in the right hand.

Melody and Improvisation

The melody and improvisation will be based on our old friend, the G minor pentatonic. You will be using this scale in the solo as well.

This scale gives you a couple of interesting note choices over G7:

• The B flat is a kind of bluesy clash; we call that the sharp nine, same as the minor third.
• Over the D7, you get a similar clash with the F natural.

Both of those clashes are very bluesy and quite common in blues.

This minor third in the right hand or in the melody will combine with a major third in the chord. You'll probably remember playing notes like that in dominant dissonance.