5 Blues ‘Traps’ Every Bass Player NEEDS To Avoid

If you’re playing blues bass, one of the most sure-fire methods of getting ‘chewed out’ on the bandstand is messing up the chords or the form. Trust me – it happened to me once when I messed up the form on a slow blues. I’ve haven’t been that red-faced during a gig since.

And while you may know the ‘standard’ 12-bar blues, what you might not know is that there are ‘traps’ hidden all throughout the blues. If you’re a seasoned blues player, you don’t even think about them.

But if you don’t know where they are and how to deal with them, you can end up looking like a bit of a fool. In a worst case scenario, you could make a bad impression, botch auditions or even miss out on gigs.

I don’t want that for you, so in this lesson, you’ll learn about 5 traps hidden within the blues and how to deal with them.

You’ll learn:

• The ‘quick change’ that you’ll find in thousands of blues songs
• 2 ways the blues is extended past the standard 12-bar form
• The critical mistake when playing over a minor blues (You don’t want to make this mistake)
• Why you need to be especially careful if you’re playing a blues with jazz musicians

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Once you know where all the traps are, you can breeze through the blues with open ears and be prepared for a ton of different situations.

To be honest, there are even more little traps you’ll come across when it comes to the blues, but if you know these ones, you’ll be well-equipped to handle the other ones if you ever come across them.

Good luck with the lesson and happy playing!

Cheers