A Fun 12 Bar Blues Progression with Riff

Here’s a fun yet easy progression you can jam with in A pentatonic minor. The chords are simply Am7, Dm7 and Em7.

Try experimenting with your own riffs in between chord changes, or replace one of the changes entirely with a 1 bar solo.

Don’t be afraid to go nuts with it!

Watch 12 Bar Blues on Youtube


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  1. would probably enjoy these lessons and learn something from them if they would stream smoothly. I find them more annoying than informative due to the fact that they are so chopped up and don’t stream worth a darn.

    1. Hi Rod, thanks for the heads up. I’ll change up the embedding settings on the videos; hopefully that will clear things up a bit. One other thing you can do is pause the video before it really gets going and let it buffer (you can see the faint red line filling up). Once it is buffered then you should be able to play it smoothly. If not, then it would be some sort of computer problem on your end, I’m afraid.

      Cheers

      1. Hi Jonathan

        I just thought I.d mention this I saw you had a complaint about your videos. I found that you need to let it download totaly before it will run properly.
        If you try running the video before the red line is to the end it will be stopping and buffering every couple of seconds . I just put the start button at the beginning and pause the video let it load and they work fine . Maybe Rod is just dealing with a computerproblem or a slow connection speed . Just thoughth you would like to know that . I have no problems if i let it load up .
        Thanks for all the great lessons

        Warren

  2. hi. i think your great. i play by ear but when i was younger my parents made me play clarinet. I won many awards because i was taleted but i hated having fun. Im a great bass player cause its easy/.I so much like your coolness of teaching gtr I think your great and tell all about you. love and full notes. James ps 2 and a half and 3 a half are scales/ start anywhere. root 1 two and a half 1 2 3 and a half. try it i figured out by myself. James

  3. I really like what you are doing here but would like a tab, guess I must want the lazy person’s free lesson.

    Thanks, Gene

  4. Hey Jonathan,

    Just wanted to throw in a quick note on how much I enjoy your videos.

    I can’t imagine how they could be any better . . . they are

    REALLY SUPER!!!!!!!

    Again . . ., Thanks A Lot

    Olin

    1. As noted by the comment immediately above, they would be improved, immensely, by the addition of tab. For me, this is usually the distinction between watching an instructional video, or not, no matter how good the content.

  5. Jonathan,
    Keep on doing, just what your doing!! The videos are crystal clear on my laptop. Just a lot of fun and not too serious like some of the other guys out there. I see you have started to relax a little more, and you look more confortable doing the the lessons. Keep them comming and don’t change a thing.

    Have Fun Live Life !!! PEACE James

  6. Nice and clear, better job than some others out there, great thats all I can say, at least you do what so many critiques just ‘talk about’, for that its perfect. Keep at it and brilliant A1 job. I will recommend you to anyone who asks me where to learn this from.
    Thanks, best of health and spirit,
    Nick in Ozz Land

  7. Great work. No problem with the videos. I too would welcome tabs to accompany the lessons is it possible to offer the option of downloading a pdf file with the tab? I know it would make more work for you and I really value your input and help.

  8. your teaching technics are so right on. you exlain and really give us alot to work with. thank God theres people out there that really care like you do!!

  9. I have a question. It’s, now that we’ve learned (hopefully) pentatonic scales, could yuo tell me which notes a (box) you play during the 1, 4, 5 chords?

    1. Hi Bob – easy answer for you – stay in that same box during ALL the chords… 1 4 5, it doesn’t matter… that box will work fine over any chord in the key.

  10. great thing you got going on here,Johnathan. I really enjoy your videos cuz I always learn something from them. I also like the fact that you use an acoustic majority of the time.Anyway keep up the good work and I hope you’re ablt to do this for a long time.A lot of them out there don’t usually last that long but I hope you’re not one of them….I actually like you.As long as I’m learning, I’M loving it. Thank you for your time doing this for us. God bless you and your family.

  11. Jonathan, you are reaching out as far as south east remote rural Tasmania, down under down under & teaching people all over the world how to improve their playing & understanding music for FREE & I would like to thank you personally.

  12. I just found this. Coming late to the game, I guess. How would you relate this exercise to the dorian scale on A instead of the minor pentatonic? Thanks for the demo and keep up the good work.

  13. hey Johnathan, i really liked this 12 bar progression with riff i think its pretty cool,im not working right now but i click on the google adds to help you out . i guess that helps .i heard it does but i dont know. how about some slide stuff.

  14. 3rd or 4th time I’ve REALLY been interested in the content only to have it BLOCKED by some stupid GoogleAd Popup. FU Google! If Google were interfering with my site… I’d sue!

  15. I have all your coursed…love your detail
    Jonathon I need Tab…..so want to learn this but cant figure out your chord fingering .Please Help us thst need tab to learn

  16. Hi Jonathan, could you tab out some of of those riffs? I’m old and don’t get it unless I see it. Still learning with your I IV V and G riff DVDs
    Thanks

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