Not just what, but HOW
Everyone gets in a rut at some point, and starts looking for a way to make the familiar sound new and fun again. If you feel like your blues chords and progressions need a reboot, it makes sense to think about learning some new voicings. But it's not enough to just get a few new chord shapes under your fingers – you need to learn how to use them, too. Swing guitarists like Freddie Green, Herb Ellis and Duke Robillard rely on just a handful of chord shapes, yet manage to spin out a seemingly endless round of blues choruses with the conversational variety of a great improvised solo. With the right ideas and information, you can too.
A Three-Step Method to Upgrade your Chord Game
Know The Swing Roadmap
When it comes to the twelve-bar progression, swing musicians pick up where Delta and Chicago blues leaves off. Understand how to think like a swing musician, and your hands will follow.
Right Groove, Right Voicings
Swing rhythm guitar is based on just a few recurring voicings played in a very specific groove. Use these building blocks to emulate this classic style, or repurpose them to your own creative ends.
Build a Vocabulary of Moves
Swing chords resolve – like licks in a solo, swing chords are constantly on the go. With just a handful of two- or three-chord moves, you can start putting together your own choruses.
Getting That Sound Shouldn't Feel Mysterious
Learning new chords and how to put them together does take time and practice, but what to work on and how to get there shouldn't be a big mystery or take the rest of your life to accomplish. From the outside, the Freddie Green style can look hard to decipher, but it's really just based on a handful of key chord shapes, and there is a logic to how guitarists put together those random-seeming sequences of voicings. For this workshop, I've distilled that logic down to the essentials, and I'll show you how swing musicians think about the blues form, the specific chord shapes you need to play twelve bar blues in the swing style, how to put these chords together in the most musical, intuitive way possible, and the best way to practice your new vocabulary.
HOW IT WORKS
Sign Up
Use the secure form below to sign up for and attend the live online workshop (or watch the replay later)
Take The Workshop
Learn the most essential swing chord voicings and how to apply them to the twelve bar blues
Start Swinging The Blues
Watch the replay for an entire year, organize your practice plan, and start swinging the blues changes
Is this workshop for electric or acoustic guitar players?
Do I need to play with a pick to take this workshop?
Is this workshop part of the Fingerstyle Five membership?
Do I need to sign up for all three workshops?
Is there a special price if I sign up for all three workshops?
$79 04/22/23 FREDDIE GREEN CHORDS
Comp authentic swing rhythms on the blues with these classic voicings and chord substitutions
$79 05/20/23 THE SWING SCALE
Play the changes on the blues with this one essential scale
$79 06/24/23 BEBOP FOR BEGINNERS
Add chromatic notes and altered tones to your blues improvisation
Sign up for all three Reliable Source workshops now and save $40!
Get a year's access to Freddie Green Chords, May's workshop on The Swing Scale and June's Bebop For Beginners for $197.
Please read if you are purchasing the Reliable Source Bundle:
Your total of $197 will be processed as two separate charges. You will only see the initial $79 charge at first, but as you continue with your order, the second, $118 charge will show up and process next.