PREMIER CLINIC
ROCK
Joe Deloro’s BluesRockRoad Trip
Let’s Rock Rhythm
“Let’s Rock” is based on one of the fundamental elements in blues-rock, which is
deriving riffs from 7th chords. This lesson
also features two of the most powerful
elements in early guitar-based blues rock:
swinging eighth note (triplet-based) background riffs and “rhythmic” solos. One of
the best examples of this approach is the
classic Memphis sound of Scotty Moore on
Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock” (1957). The
chorus, which is based on the last eight
bars of a typical 12-bar blues progression,
is the inspiration for this lesson. The tempo
is brisk, and it needs to shuffle or swing,
so don’t play it with straight eighths.
Typically, both riffs and leads are derived
from dominant 7th chords and 12-bar
related chord progressions. This riff is
constructed to first outline the A7 chord,
then the E7, then B, A, and finally back
to E. Playing note by note, we’re getting
across the point of these chords. Also, to
create a little tension, we’re using a passing note on the way up to the 7th and
then coming back.
For the first riff, we’re also going to
embellish a bit by sliding into the second
pitch. From there, we pass through a non-chordal note before finishing on the minor
7 flat 7. For the E7, we’re simply dropping down a set of strings to outline that
chord the same way. When we go to the
B chord, we’re not going for a 7th chord,
but a plain B, then A. We’ll stop short on
the chord tone, reach up to the sixth fret
with the fourth finger to outline as we go
back to the chord tone, and then again
on the A. Finally, on the E chord, take the
slide approaches that we used with the E7,
but instead of going up to the 7th, which
would add more tension, resolve on the
root by way of a passing note.
We can vary this riff by starting a little bit
earlier, rhythmically. The term is “pickup,”
and the pickup we’re going to use is two
notes out of the chord to precede the riff.
For a bluesy sound, get beyond the basic
chord in terms of its quality (major, minor
or dominant seven, typically). Going to the
minor third, just for a moment, brings us
back to the boogie-woogie piano sound of
the thirties, which is where a lot these riffs
come from. It creates a good tension in
the middle because it feels like minor for a
second, and then it suddenly goes where
it’s supposed to.
We’re going to do those two things to
the next riff variation: a pickup and the
minor third to third sound. Do that in just
the first two chords, and stick with what
we had on the other chords. A double
approach to the final chord will create a
bit more tension as well.
Expanding on the preceding variation, we
extend the pickup by one eighth note, so
it’ll have a count of “and four and.” Keep
the minor 3rd passing note into the next
chord tone, the regular 3rd. We’re also
going to use a pedal-tone idea, and some
syncopation. In this case, the pedal tone is
the second fret fourth string, which is the
5th of A7. So, instead of climbing straight
up and back, we’re going to return to this
intermittently, which creates a more angular musical line. For syncopation, pause
towards the end of the riff, and then start
the pickup for the next riff. In addition to
that, we’ll add the minor 3rd passing note
idea into the B chord, the A, and then for
more pitch tension, when we go to the E
at the end, we’ll climb up chromatically.
