Basic Blues in G

Hearing the I, IV, and V Chords

A lot of being a musician involves developing your sense of hearing. Developing your ear is about listening to
something critically so that you can understand what it is doing. This is a very different skill from simply
hearing something. The ability to hear something and understand what it is and then know how to recreate on
guitar is a vital skill to develop as a musician. To musicians this is called “developing your ear” and each
session we are going to have a time of developing your ear so that you can begin to hear the blues.

The I, IV, and V chords are the most common chords used in any type of music and once you learn to hear
the difference between them you will begin to hear them in all types of music.

In the session a simple exercise is covered to assist you in hearing the difference between the I chord, the IV
chord, and the V chord. While this may be confusing and difficult to hear the differences between the various
chords at first, as you practice you will get better at it. Practice the exercises in the session and also listen to
music throughout your day and try to pick out these three important chords.

Characteristics of the I, IV, and V Chords

• The I chord is usually the first and last chord of a song.


• It sounds like “homebase”. Other chords seem to always want to
  come back to the I chord.


• The IV chord shares a common note with the I chord so it sounds
  complementary--different from the I chord but yet similar.


• The V chord usually precedes and resolves to a I chord.


• The V chord has an “unsettled” sound that wants to resolve.

Session 1: Blues Basics

Playing Tip

Listen to the bass note

of the chord to help

determine what it is.

Blues Guitar with Steve Krenz 17 http://www.learnandmaster.com/bluesresources