In this Tutorial Series we are going to learning how to play a 12 Bar Blues in A!

Let's talk about rhythm patterns to use with these notes we are playing. We can play the "swing" rhythm we have been using so far. It has the background pattern of three notes per beat. We call this triplets and count it like this:

1, &, uh, 2, &, uh, 3, &, uh, 4, &, uh, 1, &, uh, 2, &, uh ...and so on.

This gives us a "bluesy, "jazzy" or "swing" sounding rhythm.

We can also play it in a "straight eighth note rhythm". We count it like this:

1, &, 2, &, 3, &, 4, &, 1, 2, &, ... and so on.

This is more typical of rock and roll tunes. You can hear this type of rhythm pattern in Chuck Berry, The Beach Boys, and other early rock and roll. I encourage you to practice both the Swing Rhythm and the Straight Eighth Rhythm strumming patterns. They both have their uses and the more techniques you have at your disposal the more you can express yourself on your guitar!