Monday Blues
Original Six Strings composition, free to use.
Three times around the 12-bar blues in A, played with an alternating bass: a bass note, a chord, another bass note, a chord. The shuffle gives it the swing.
- Difficulty:
- Beginner.
- Chords:
- A7, D7, E7.
- Time signature:
- 4/4, quarter note = 88, swung eighths.
- Length:
- 1 min 41 s at full speed.
- Before you start:
- The shuffle rhythm.
Play the song
A7next: D7
Bar 1 / 37 · 4/4
Speed
Chorus 1
Chorus 2
Chorus 3
Ending
Keyboard: Space play or pause, ← → previous or next bar, − + speed, B loop.
The chords
Click a chord to hear it.
The picking-hand pattern
It’s a blues in four-four time, with a shuffle: the eighth notes are uneven, long-short, like “dum-da dum-da.”
- Beat 1: the bass note of the chord. A string for A7, D string for D7, low E for E7.
- Beat 2: the chord, on the three high strings.
- Beat 3: another bass note, on the next string over (on D7, the same bass note).
- Beat 4: the chord, twice (on the beat and right after).
This back-and-forth between bass and chord is called an alternating bass. With a pick, play the bass notes with downstrokes and the chords with short, snappy strums.
How to learn it
- Play the progression with plain strummed chords, one per bar, to memorize it. It’s explained in the lesson The 12-bar blues.
- Work on the alternating bass over A7 on a loop, at 60%.
- Add D7 and E7, then loop the whole first chorus.
- Play all three choruses: the last one ends on A7 instead of turning back around on E7.
The tricky spots
- Bar 2: the “quick change” to D7 comes right away. Get ready for it by the end of the first bar.
- Bars 9 and 10: E7 then D7, the most tense moment of the progression. Keep the same groove, without speeding up.
Chord chart
Text tab
Chorus 1
e|-------0-----------0--0-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------0-----------0--0-| B|-------2-----------2--2-|-------1-----------1--1-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------1-----------1--1-|-------1-----------1--1-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------1-----------1--1-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------0-----------0--0-| G|-------0-----------0--0-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------1-----------1--1-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------1-----------1--1-| D|-------------2----------|-0-----------0----------|-------------2----------|-------------2----------|-0-----------0----------|-0-----------0----------|-------------2----------|-------------2----------|------------------------|-0-----------0----------|-------------2----------|------------------------| A|-0----------------------|------------------------|-0----------------------|-0----------------------|------------------------|------------------------|-0----------------------|-0----------------------|-------------2----------|------------------------|-0----------------------|-------------2----------| E|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|-0----------------------|------------------------|------------------------|-0----------------------|
Chorus 2
e|-------0-----------0--0-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------0-----------0--0-| B|-------2-----------2--2-|-------1-----------1--1-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------1-----------1--1-|-------1-----------1--1-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------1-----------1--1-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------0-----------0--0-| G|-------0-----------0--0-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------1-----------1--1-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------1-----------1--1-| D|-------------2----------|-0-----------0----------|-------------2----------|-------------2----------|-0-----------0----------|-0-----------0----------|-------------2----------|-------------2----------|------------------------|-0-----------0----------|-------------2----------|------------------------| A|-0----------------------|------------------------|-0----------------------|-0----------------------|------------------------|------------------------|-0----------------------|-0----------------------|-------------2----------|------------------------|-0----------------------|-------------2----------| E|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|-0----------------------|------------------------|------------------------|-0----------------------|
Chorus 3
e|-------0-----------0--0-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------0-----------0--0-| B|-------2-----------2--2-|-------1-----------1--1-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------1-----------1--1-|-------1-----------1--1-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------1-----------1--1-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------2-----------2--2-| G|-------0-----------0--0-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------1-----------1--1-|-------2-----------2--2-|-------0-----------0--0-|-------0-----------0--0-| D|-------------2----------|-0-----------0----------|-------------2----------|-------------2----------|-0-----------0----------|-0-----------0----------|-------------2----------|-------------2----------|------------------------|-0-----------0----------|-------------2----------|-------------2----------| A|-0----------------------|------------------------|-0----------------------|-0----------------------|------------------------|------------------------|-0----------------------|-0----------------------|-------------2----------|------------------------|-0----------------------|-0----------------------| E|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|-0----------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|
Ending
e|-0----------------------| B|-2----------------------| G|-0----------------------| D|-2----------------------| A|-0----------------------| E|------------------------|