Blues chords In blues ‘dominant’ 7 chords (A7 or D7 for example) are more common than basic major, minor and sus chords. The A7, D7 and E9 shapes shown here are all you need for a 12-bar blues ...

This is followed by the chords Eb7/Bb to D7/A, both with the 5th in the bass, which creates a warm sound. D7/A is the VI (six) chord, and I approached it from a half step, or one fret, above.

The A7, D7 and E9 shapes shown here are all you need for a 12-bar blues improv in the key of A. A13 and E7#9 have an edgier sound and work in jazz just as well as blues.

The figure ends with a return to the I, F5 to F6, which can be looked at as implied F7 chord. Now, one could easily play licks based on the F blues scale (F, Ab, Bb, B, C, Eb) over the entire ...