Next Level Blues Ukulele - Riffs for Rhythm - Blues Ukulele Tutorial

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Today we are going to learn how to level up blues big time. We are going to replace our strum pattern with riffs. We can really level up our playing by getting away form our basic strum patterns and using riffs for rhythm instead. A riff, if you play the right chords, can actually imply a chord. That is why a bass player can play a rhythm and you know what chord it is, but they aren't actually making a chord shape and strumming a chord.

The process is this. Step 1 figure out the scale. G blues uses G minor pentatonic, C# blues uses C# minor pentatonic, Bb blues uses Bb minor pentatonic. Once you know the scale use it to write a riff, the only two rules, the riff should be 1 bar and the last note should be the root note. The root note is the note the scale is named after. So if the scale is A minor pentatonic, the root note is A. Play the riff 4 times and then move it up the fretboard 5 frets. If you play the exact same riff up the fretboard 5 frets it replaces the IV chord, so you would play that riff 2 times and then back to where you started and play it two more times. Lastly you have the turnaround which can be either V, IV, I, I or V, IV, I, V. Here you move the riff up 7 frets play it once, down two frets play it once, back to where you started and play it once and then back up 7 frets and play it one more time. That is the creative process.

This really makes your music sound more professional and sounds amazing when played with percussion and bass. This is how the pros write their rhythm. You won't go to a Willie Nelson concert and see him just strumming away on basic chord shapes. They are using their bands and their musical knowledge to imply these chords and arpeggiate these chords, instead of just strumming away at them, and now after this lesson you can so do the same with a 12 bar blues!

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Next Level Blues Ukulele - Riffs for Rhythm - Blues Ukulele Tutorial