Strumming the Blues

• 1). Practice the upstroke and downstroke in the blues shuffle rhythm on the E chord, where | = down, ^ = up: | ^ | ^ | ^ | ^ , beginning with "1and" on the downstroke and "the" on the upstroke: 1and the 2and the 3and the 4and the.
  
  
• 2). Play four bars of this on the E-major chord, followed by two bars on A major, one bar on the B7 chord, one bar on A major, and back to E. It looks like this (where / = bar symbol): (E)|^|^|^|^/|^|^|^|^/|^|^|^|^/|^|^|^|^ (A)|^|^|^|^/|^|^|^|^/ (E)|^|^|^|^/|^|^|^|^/ (B7)|^|^|^|^/ (A)|^|^|^|^/ (E)|^|^|^|^. This is the basic 12-bar blues pattern. Most blues songs are molded in this pattern.
  
  
• 3). Play this pattern over the following song: (E)Woke up this morning, got a hole in my shoes (E) (E); (A)Woke up this morning, got a hole in my shoes (E) (E); (B7)Plus my baby just left me, (A)it's the same old (E)blues.
  
  
• 4). Make up your own words if you can't feel it. Once you feel it, you may call yourself a blues player.