Head back to the open G, the second fret of the G string, rest, and then end with the open A string. Place your second finger on the second fret of the G string, play the open G, then move down to the second fret of the D string. The first lick we have for the 4 chord starts off on a root note. Make sure you memorize those note locations. The 4 chord in this case is an A chord, so your root notes are the open A string and the second fret of the G string. When the 4 chord comes around in the 12-bar blues progression, you can do the same thing by emphasizing the root notes of the 4 chord. In these licks, you can see how we started, ended, or emphasized the root notes of the 1 chord to help them fit over that chord better. You can get a sense for the rhythm for this lick by watching my example in the video. Finish off with the low E string twice, which is another root note. Roll back down to the second fret of the D string, the root note, and then rest.

We’re starting on the E note with your second finger on the second fret of the D string, playing the open D string, and then the second fret of the A string. The next lick customized for our 1 chord is more of a rhythm riff, but it can be played in a solo too.

As you watch me play this lick, you can hear me put more emphasis and importance on the root note of the 1 chord. You can hear how it sounds altogether in the video. Next play the open high E string again, then a rest, and then one more open E that you’ll let ring out. Your next note is the open high E string, then the third fret of the high E string. Bending this note from the lowered 7th to the root note is a great way of emphasizing the root note of the 1 chord. You’re going to bend that note up a whole step to an E note. The first one starts with your third finger on the third fret of the B string, which is the lowered seventh note of the scale. To show you what I mean by emphasizing the root notes of the chord, I have two custom licks to play over the 1 chord.

Blues chords and their notes