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THE THREE CHORD TRICK

The three chord trick is the most basic form of songwriting. Quite simply, it allows you to choose any key you wish to play in, and tells you the three 'Major' chords which will fit together perfectly.

1. Choose a key to play in, in this case, we will choose 'C'
2. Find the 'C' on the LOW E string (8th fret) - C Major will be your first chord
3. Find out what note is played on the 'A string' on the same fret as your first note (in this case, A string 8th fret is 'F') - F Major will be your second chord
4. Move up two frets on the A string and work out what note this is (in this case, A String 10th fret is 'G') - G Major will be your third chord.

Play these three chords together (C Major, F Major, G Major) in any rhythm, any order, and you have a simple song in the key of 'C'.

(This is also known as the 1-4-5 chord progression, because these three root notes are the 1st, 4th and 5th notes of the Major Scale).

THE TWELVE BAR BLUES

Using the three chord trick, I will now show you how to play the blues in any key you choose. Just pick a key, work out the three Major chords and follow the example below. The bars are seperated by a vertical line. Where it says '1st', just play the first chord, where it says '2nd' play the second chord and where it says '3rd' play the third - EASY!

To make it a little more interesting, on the ninth bar, rather than playing four repetitions of the 1st Major chord, exchange it for a '7th' chord. For example, in the key of 'A', rather than playing eight reps of 'A Major' from the eighth bar, play the four reps of 'A Major' in bar 8, followed by four reps of 'A7' in bar 9.

As in all the previous exercises, experiment with up and down strokes, individual picking etc.

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