40 essential blues guitar intros and outros

7/26/2019 40 Essential Blues Guitar Intros and Outros

1/21

40 essential blues guitar intros andoutros

By Richard Barrett(Guitar Techniques), May 12, 2011Guitars

Never be short of ideas again ith this guide

!"age 1 of #1

This shou$d sound fa"i$iar to anyone ho%s ever $istened to the b$ues& 'sing the

oenstring friend$y *ey of +, this descending gure crees bac* u to the - chord

(B) ready for the rst verse&
http://www.musicradar.com/author/richard-barretthttp://www.musicradar.com/guitartechniqueshttp://www.musicradar.com/tuition/guitarshttp://www.musicradar.com/guitartechniqueshttp://www.musicradar.com/tuition/guitarshttp://www.musicradar.com/author/richard-barrett


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. fancier sin in the revious idea, the chord voicings here are e/anded for a

aier fee$& $ay ith condence for the best e3ect4

This ascending turnaround $eads to the - chord again (5 in this case)& 6ee the fee$

singing and bouncy and dig in condent$y ith thu"b and ngers& . ic* i$$ give

a "ore "odern sound if desired&

'sing the sa"e basic idea but adding a fe e"be$$ish"ents gives an interesting

and har"onica$$y %co"$ete% sounding intro& Note that the ascending bass$ine is sti$$

very aarent, unti$ e brea* aay for the $ic*s in bar 2&

7tarting on the - chord (+) "eans e%ve u"ed in toards the end of the

rogression, ust in ti"e for the turnaround& The artia$ 8th chords $ead to anascending chro"atic $ine, i"$ying both 8th and di"inished chords& The sudden

sto for the voca$s is a$so an essentia$ in b$ues vocabu$ary4


3/21

9etting a $itt$e roc* %n% ro$$ $ter in here, these entatonic based $ic*s $ead to another

usefu$ chro"atic idea, $oved by Robben :ord a"ong others& rea$$y dig in to the ra*ed

chords at the beginning and *ee the attitude going fro" there&

This c$assic attern is one of those that doesn%t need turnarounds or - chord

to"foo$ery it is hat it is4 Though easy to $ay, it%s cha$$enging to sound $i*e you

rea$$y "ean it so *ee a c$ose eye on ti"ing and don%t $ose the intensity&

Turning u the gain and indu$ging in a fe doub$esto bends brings the ideaforard a fe years& ;aving estab$ished the ri3, ho cou$d be b$a"ed for a$$oing


4/21

their ngers to s$i u the nec* for so"e entatonic indu$gence< 5ig in to those $o

notes to "a*e eo$e ay attention&

=ithout the "inor b$ues, "any c$assic records ou$d never have been heard& This

idea focuses on ringing as "uch e"otion out of as fe notes as ossib$e, "a*ing

the "ost of bends and vibrato& These detai$s are crucia$ if you are to rea$$y get the

oint across&

Much "ore dd$y but no $ess intense, this idea is quite $ogica$ to $ay once you%ve

teased your ngers through it once& :ro" then on, it%s si"$y a "atter of running

through it to deve$o your %"usc$e "e"ory%&

'sing 8th and di"inished chords (you get the di"inished by si"$y droing don

a fret in this case) this intro is $ayed ith quite a heavy ic*ing hand, to "a/i"ise

its i"act& Re"e"ber, this ou$d be your rst and $ast chance to grab an

audience%s attention4

>a$$ing to "ind a higher c$ass of Beano reader, the gain is turned u here, thoughnot quite to %roc*% $eve$s& 5etai$s $i*e ti"ing and quartertone bends are a$$ i"ortant


5/21

to give the right b$uesy e3ect& Ta*e your ti"e deve$oing these s*i$$s and you can%t

$ose4

'sing the tried and tested descending $ine aroach that e can see in 100 b$ues

intros, this shou$d e/a"$e be $ayed de$icate$y but ufront in the "i/& .dd a $itt$e

de$ay to create the right at"oshere&

Ta*ing a "ore so$obased aroach, this intro e"$oys frag"ents of the origina$

descending $ine, bui$ding into so"e ;endri/ sty$e doub$estos& . $itt$e obb$e ith

the vibrato bar (if you have one) can add so"e nice e/tra e/ressiveness&

. straight four to the bar instead of a sung or 12?@ fee$ i$$ give a "ore %in your

face% resu$t esecia$$y if you $ay it aggressive$y ith $ots of gain4 This Ai""y age

sty$e intro doub$es the bass and is a good e/a"$e of the sy""etry often resent in

intros and outros&

This ai$ing so$ofest is a great ay of $etting the audience *no you "ean business

before toning it don for the verse& Bends and vibrato are again the *ey ofroducing this fee$& Ta*e your ti"e to or* on both& Touch is a$$i"ortant in b$ues&


6/21

.nother intro identica$ to ho you "ight $ay the body of the song, ith no

turnarounds or di"inished chords& !t%s decetive$y tric*y, so be atient ith yourse$f&

. $itt$e bit of gain is nice, but too "uch crosses over into roc* territory and is harder

to contro$&

7$ight$y "ore gain for so"e edge and so"e bent doub$esto $ic*s give this intro a

$itt$e "ore attitude& Bars 2 and # a$so doub$e u on the fourth and fth strings& Not

too "uch harder than the easy version, but to "a*e it sound %right% ta*es a $itt$e

or*&

Ra*e through those th chords and obb$e a $itt$e ith the bar if you have one&

>o"bined ith a $itt$e reverb it gives a nice shi""er& . co"bination of descending

$ine and se$$ing out the chords a $itt$e $i*e +ric Aohnson and e%re ready for voca$s&&&

7tarting ith a ra*ed G chord, this intro quic*$y "oves into ;endri/?7R- territory

ith a series of doub$estos& Ta*e your ti"e to nd the "ost co"fortab$e ngerings

and don%t neg$ect the a$$i"ortant quartertone %b$ues cur$%&&&


7/21

This ascending $ine $eads to the co""on and efective device of "oving u a

se"itone (:8) to %reso$ve% into the ho"e *ey (+8)& Not too technica$$y cha$$enging,

but you can never $ay so"ething too beautifu$$y, can you< 7o "a*e that the obect

of this articu$ar e/ercise&&&

'sing a si"i$ar te"$ate to the easy version, e%ve oted for a descending gure

this ti"e, ith a $itt$e doub$esto tric*ery and so"e fancier 1Cth chords bringing

things to a c$ose& These are best $ayed ith thu"b and ngers to sound a$$ the

notes si"u$taneous$y and avoid unanted strings&

The concet of an ascending gure fo$$oed by the se"itone chord "ove"ent is

ut to good use again here, this ti"e in the *ey of G, a favourite of Robert Aohnson&

9et a$$ the oen strings ring together for so"e interesting i"$ied chords&&&

Ta*ing a "ore chorda$ aroach, the ascending bass $ine is reserved, even hen

e reach the %surrise% 511 chord& This is a great e/a"$e of sicing u a c$assic

rogression& 'se thu"b and ngers for si"u$taneous notes and to avoid the unused

strings on those 8D chords at the nish&


8/21

Au"ing in at the + or - chord this e/a"$e $eads us bac* ho"e ith a

descending $ine to the not entire$y une/ected se"itone chord "ove"ent& TiE try

"oving don a se"itone then u again too& !n fact, you can a"end any or a$$ of

these e/a"$es to suit your on sty$e&

These roc* %n% ro$$ doub$estos $ead to a har"onised descending $ine on the second

and third strings& re"e"ber, a $ot of c$assic b$ues as "ade in that sa"e era& The

se"itone "ove"ent is bac* again $i*e an o$d friend, but e%re sure you on%t "ind

hen you hear those $ove$y 1CbF chords&

This cou$d be an ear$y -an ;a$en ending, but has its roots in the c$assic descending

$ine& Note, the bass features an ascending $ine underneath, i"$ying so"e

interesting har"ony& Ta*e this as a starting oint for "ore roc* e/cess4

. "ore >$atonesque a3air, this outro is eered ith vibrato, ho$e and quarter

tone bends, a$$ of hich require your strictest attention to detai$& ;o "any ti"es

have you heard the o$d adage it%s not hat you $ay but the ay you $ay it< =e$$

that%s true here&

'sing the - chord (5) to set u for the $ast G" chord is an a$ternative to the

se"itone "ove"ent featured here& =atch out for the usua$ bend?vibrato issues&

This is a si"$e entatonic hrase that can sound "agnicent& Au"ing into the

chords at the very end gives a nice nish&


9/21

Busier and ith a fair a"ount "ore gain, here is an a$ternative?advanced ta*e on

the sa"e bac*ing& .fter the ic*u bar, rea$$y dig in to that rst G for so"e stinging

vibrato& =e%ve oted again to fo$$o the na$ chords, this ti"e ith to doub$e

stos, $i*e eter Green&

'sing a c$eanish tone, this e/a"$e fo$$os the - chord through the descending run

and se"itone "ove"ent to the ho"e chord te"$ate& This i$$ obvious$y be a

fa"i$iar idea by no but ideas $i*e this never sto being usefu$, as b$ues is often

based on tried and trusted ideas&

:$ic*ing to the bridge ic*u, ith a $itt$e "ore gain, this outro gives a fe usefu$

so$oing ideas too, using the + "aor entatonic hich or*s esecia$$y e$$ overthe . chord& !t%s another ay of $aying the c$assic descending attern $eads to the

na$ chords&&&

7i"i$ar to the ear$ier intro, this si"$e hrase ta*es in a cou$e of doub$estos, to

reHect its %nishingthesong% status& .s a setu for the na$ chord, e%ve oted for


10/21

the - (+b) but as a "inor chord, adding a $itt$e dra"a and de"onstrating another

sonic ossibi$ity&

Ta*ing a "ore 7R- or BB 6ing aroach, this entatonic hrasing is another

e/a"$e of the i"ortance of string bending in the b$ues& +ven if the hrase is easy

for you technica$$y, there are a$ays i"rove"ents you can "a*e on these $itt$e

detai$s&&&

No e%re adding a bit of roc* to the b$ues& This outro $ays a s$ight$y "ore Heshed

out version of the bass art, ausing on the - (G8D, but it cou$d be a regu$ar G

chord if you refer) before a big > nish&

7taying r"$y in $ead guitar territory, this Gary Moore sty$e nish rea$$y "i$*s thosestring bends& .$though it $aunches into so"ething of a entatonic Hurry, it stos a

$itt$e ay short of %idd$e% territory and shou$d fa$$ under the ngers if you run

through it a fe ti"es&

These doub$estos are saved fro" si"$y doub$ing the bass by the quartertonebend in bar 1& 7o"eti"es, that%s a$$ it ta*es& But in cases $i*e this, "a*e sure you


11/21

have your ti"ing raorshar too& $aying ahead of or s$ight$y behind the beat

"a*es a huge a"ount of di3erence&

.nother sin on a revious$y used idea using raidre doub$estos& .s a$ays,

atch for the quartertone bends that are a c$assic b$ues ngerrint and ho about

that de$ightfu$ ."?"a8 chord that creates a very sohisticated nish&

!t%s nice to give these chords a $itt$e tre"o$o shi""er, but se$$ing the" out in bar C

gives an even nicer sin on the c$assic descending sequence& The 1Cth chords add a

coo$ ay nishing touch&

Mi/ing doub$esto and entatonic ideas, this outro is quite co"$e/, so it deserves

a bit of e/tra ti"e& =or* through s$o$y and absorb the vib?bend detai$s, as e$$ asthe best ngerings for those doub$estos& !t shou$d be fair$y se$fe/$anatory ith a

guitar in your hands&

What do Chuck Berry, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Gary Moore,lbert !ing, Jimi "endri# and countless others ha$e incommon% &o, there isn't a punchline( the ans)er is akno)ledge o* the basic blues *ormat and the ability to blend it

into their o)n contemporary styles+


12/21

The rst thing you often hear on any b$ues record is a %taster% of hatis to co"e, courtesy of so"e fancy or sou$fu$ $ic*s& 7o"eti"es this isca$$ed a %turnaround% the bit at the end of a 12bar rogression heneverything is gearing u to go round again& Iou cou$d say it%s $i*estarting ith an ending4

>hec* out so"e of our intros and co"are the" ith their outrocounterarts& Jften the on$y "aor di3erence is that the outro nishesith a very na$ ! (%ho"e%) chord, as oosed to the intro, hichusua$$y features the - chord (for e/a"$e, B "aor in the *ey of +),setting our ears u to be$ieve correct$y that there is "ore to co"e&

-he .rst thing you o*ten hear on any blues

record is a 'taster' o* )hat is to come, courtesy o*

some *ancy or soul*ul licks+ /ometimes this iscalled a 'turnaround' the bit at the end o* a 12

bar progression )hen e$erything is gearing up to

go round again+ 3ou could say it's like starting

)ith an ending

There%s so"ething co"ositiona$$y e$egant, too, about %boo*ending% asong in this ay& !t sounds "ore de$iberate, rather than ust b$uKngthrough and co"ing u ith hatever you fancy (that has its $acetoo, but you *no hat e "ean)&

E#ceptions to the rules

Jf course, there are e/cetions to every ru$e and so"e of these arefeatured in our e/tensive cata$ogue of e/a"$es& Aohn 9ee ;oo*er and+$"ore Aa"es often %va"ed% on one chord or ri3, beginning andending a song in "uch the sa"e ay& Robert Aohnson%s ngersty$eacoustic b$ues e"$oyed unusua$ di"inished voicings and chro"atic"ove"ents to $ead fro" one $ace to another&

.nd "odern e$ectric $ayers $i*e +ric Aohnson and 7cott ;endersonsubstitute unusua$ chords throughout the 12bar rogression, giving aay fee$ to roceedings&

20 intros+++

=hatever the territory, if you%re $oo*ing to i"rove your $ibrary of%stoc*% $ic*s and $$s, there is so"ething here for you& 7tarting ithintros (of course4), there are both easy and "ore advanced ideas in avariety of *eys and sty$es, fro" acoustic to fu$$on distortion&


13/21

+++and 20 outros

The outros fo$$o a si"i$ar te"$ate rst a si"$e idea, and thenso"ething a $itt$e "ore advanced over the sa"e bac*ing trac*s,hich are inc$uded for you to e/eri"ent over& 7o"e of these $ic*s

i$$ be usefu$ for genera$ so$oing vocabu$ary as e$$ as intros oroutros& 7o, hatever haened hen you =o*e ' This Morning, youi$$ no be ab$e to e/ress it far better in song&

Good $uc*&&& one, to, three&&&

&e#t( 5ntros 16L.G+BR+.6

7isten( 5ntros 125ntro 1( Easy acoustic in EThis shou$d sound fa"i$iar to anyone ho%s ever $istened to the b$ues&'sing the oenstring friend$y *ey of +, this descending gure creesbac* u to the - chord (B) ready for the rst verse&

5ntro 2( d$anced acoustic in E. fancier sin in the revious idea, the chord voicings here are

e/anded for a aier fee$& $ay ith condence for the best e3ect4

7isten( 5ntros 84

5ntro 8( Easy acoustic in GThis ascending turnaround $eads to the - chord again (5 in this case)&6ee the fee$ singing and bouncy and dig in condent$y ith thu"band ngers& . ic* i$$ give a "ore "odern sound if desired&

5ntro 4( d$anced acoustic in G'sing the sa"e basic idea but adding a fe e"be$$ish"ents gives aninteresting and har"onica$$y %co"$ete% sounding intro& Note that theascending bass$ine is sti$$ very aarent, unti$ e brea* aay for the$ic*s in bar 2&
http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/40-essential-blues-guitar-intros-and-outros-442747/2http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/40-essential-blues-guitar-intros-and-outros-442747/2


14/21

7isten( 5ntros 69

5ntro 6( Easy acoustic in 7tarting on the - chord (+) "eans e%ve u"ed in toards the end of

the rogression, ust in ti"e for the turnaround& The artia$ 8th chords$ead to an ascending chro"atic $ine, i"$ying both 8th and di"inishedchords& The sudden sto for the voca$s is a$so an essentia$ in b$uesvocabu$ary4


7isten( 5ntros 69

5ntro 9( d$anced in 9etting a $itt$e roc* %n% ro$$ $ter in here, these entatonic based $ic*s$ead to another usefu$ chro"atic idea, $oved by Robben :ord a"ongothers& rea$$y dig in to the ra*ed chords at the beginning and *ee theattitude going fro" there&

7isten( 5ntros :;

5ntro :( Easy in EThis c$assic attern is one of those that doesn%t need turnarounds or -chord to"foo$ery it is hat it is4 Though easy to $ay, it%s cha$$engingto sound $i*e you rea$$y "ean it so *ee a c$ose eye on ti"ing anddon%t $ose the intensity&

5ntro ;( d$anced in ETurning u the gain and indu$ging in a fe doub$esto bends bringsthe idea forard a fe years& ;aving estab$ished the ri3, ho cou$dbe b$a"ed for a$$oing their ngers to s$i u the nec* for so"eentatonic indu$gence< 5ig in to those $o notes to "a*e eo$e ayattention&

7isten( 5ntros


15/21

5ntro


16/21

5ntro 14( d$anced in BbTa*ing a "ore so$obased aroach, this intro e"$oys frag"ents ofthe origina$ descending $ine, bui$ding into so"e ;endri/ sty$e doub$estos& . $itt$e obb$e ith the vibrato bar (if you have one) can addso"e nice e/tra e/ressiveness&

7isten( 5ntros 1619

5ntro 16( Easy in Cm. straight four to the bar instead of a sung or 12?@ fee$ i$$ give a"ore %in your face% resu$t esecia$$y if you $ay it aggressive$y ith

$ots of gain4 This Ai""y age sty$e intro doub$es the bass and is agood e/a"$e of the sy""etry often resent in intros and outros&


7isten( 5ntros 1619

5ntro 19( d$anced in CmThis ai$ing so$ofest is a great ay of $etting the audience *no you"ean business before toning it don for the verse& Bends and vibratoare again the *ey of roducing this fee$& Ta*e your ti"e to or* onboth& Touch is a$$i"ortant in b$ues&

7isten( 5ntros 1:1;

5ntro 1:( Easy in =>ersion 2?.nother intro identica$ to ho you "ight $ay the body of the song,ith no turnarounds or di"inished chords& !t%s decetive$y tric*y, sobe atient ith yourse$f& . $itt$e bit of gain is nice, but too "uchcrosses over into roc* territory and is harder to contro$&

5ntro 1;( d$anced in =>ersion 2?

7$ight$y "ore gain for so"e edge and so"e bent doub$esto $ic*sgive this intro a $itt$e "ore attitude& Bars 2 and # a$so doub$e u on


17/21

the fourth and fth strings& Not too "uch harder than the easyversion, but to "a*e it sound %right% ta*es a $itt$e or*&

7isten( 5ntros 1


18/21

7isten( @utros 84

@utro 8( Easy acoustic in GThe concet of an ascending gure fo$$oed by the se"itone chord

"ove"ent is ut to good use again here, this ti"e in the *ey of G, afavourite of Robert Aohnson& 9et a$$ the oen strings ring together forso"e interesting i"$ied chords&&&

@utro 4( d$anced acoustic in GTa*ing a "ore chorda$ aroach, the ascending bass $ine is reserved,even hen e reach the %surrise% 511 chord& This is a great e/a"$eof sicing u a c$assic rogression& 'se thu"b and ngers forsi"u$taneous notes and to avoid the unused strings on those 8D

chords at the nish&

7isten( @utros 69

@utro 6( Easy in Au"ing in at the + or - chord this e/a"$e $eads us bac* ho"eith a descending $ine to the not entire$y une/ected se"itone chord

"ove"ent& TiE try "oving don a se"itone then u again too& !nfact, you can a"end any or a$$ of these e/a"$es to suit your onsty$e&

&e#t( @utros 910L.G+BR+.6

7isten( @utros 69@utro 9( d$anced in These roc* %n% ro$$ doub$estos $ead to a har"onised descending $ineon the second and third strings& re"e"ber, a $ot of c$assic b$ues as"ade in that sa"e era& The se"itone "ove"ent is bac* again $i*e ano$d friend, but e%re sure you on%t "ind hen you hear those $ove$y1CbF chords&


19/21

7isten( @utros :;

@utro :( Easy in EThis cou$d be an ear$y -an ;a$en ending, but has its roots in the

c$assic descending $ine& Note, the bass features an ascending $ineunderneath, i"$ying so"e interesting har"ony& Ta*e this as astarting oint for "ore roc* e/cess4

@utro ;( d$anced in E. "ore >$atonesque a3air, this outro is eered ith vibrato,ho$e and quartertone bends, a$$ of hich require your strictestattention to detai$& ;o "any ti"es have you heard the o$d adageit%s not hat you $ay but the ay you $ay it< =e$$ that%s true here&

7isten( @utros


20/21

This i$$ obvious$y be a fa"i$iar idea by no but ideas $i*e this neversto being usefu$, as b$ues is often based on tried and trusted ideas&

@utro 12( d$anced in E =>ersion 2?:$ic*ing to the bridge ic*u, ith a $itt$e "ore gain, this outro gives afe usefu$ so$oing ideas too, using the + "aor entatonic hichor*s esecia$$y e$$ over the . chord& !t%s another ay of $aying thec$assic descending attern $eads to the na$ chords&&&

7isten( @utros 1814

@utro 18( Easy in Bb7i"i$ar to the ear$ier intro, this si"$e hrase ta*es in a cou$e ofdoub$estos, to reHect its %nishingthesong% status& .s a setu forthe na$ chord, e%ve oted for the - (+b) but as a "inor chord,adding a $itt$e dra"a and de"onstrating another sonic ossibi$ity&

@utro 14( d$anced in Bb

Ta*ing a "ore 7R- or BB 6ing aroach, this entatonic hrasing isanother e/a"$e of the i"ortance of string bending in the b$ues&+ven if the hrase is easy for you technica$$y, there are a$aysi"rove"ents you can "a*e on these $itt$e detai$s&&&

7isten( @utros 1619

@utro 16( Easy in cmNo e%re adding a bit of roc* to the b$ues& This outro $ays a s$ight$y"ore Heshed out version of the bass art, ausing on the - (G8D,but it cou$d be a regu$ar G chord if you refer) before a big > nish&

&e#t( @utros 1920L.G+BR+.6

7isten( @utros 1619


21/21

@utro 19( d$anced in Cm7taying r"$y in $ead guitar territory, this Gary Moore sty$e nishrea$$y "i$*s those string bends& .$though it $aunches into so"ething ofa entatonic Hurry, it stos a $itt$e ay short of %idd$e% territory andshou$d fa$$ under the ngers if you run through it a fe ti"es&

7isten( @utros 1:1;

@utro 1:( Easy in =>ersion 2?These doub$estos are saved fro" si"$y doub$ing the bass by thequartertone bend in bar 1& 7o"eti"es, that%s a$$ it ta*es& But in cases

$i*e this, "a*e sure you have your ti"ing raorshar too& $ayingahead of or s$ight$y behind the beat "a*es a huge a"ount ofdi3erence&

@utro 1;( d$anced in =>ersion 2?.nother sin on a revious$y used idea using raidre doub$estos&.s a$ays, atch for the quartertone bends that are a c$assic b$uesngerrint and ho about that de$ightfu$ ."?"a8 chord thatcreates a very sohisticated nish&

7isten( @utros 1

40 essential blues guitar intros and outros

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