Hello, today I am going to show you a tasty 3rd position 12 bar minor bass line in the style of Green Onions by Booker T and the MGs. For this lesson, you will need a harmonica in the key of C and we will be playing in 3rd position in D minor.
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Licks
I chord
The first lick fits over the I chord and starts with the 1 draw which is the root note of the I chord in 3rd position.
IV chord
The second lick fits over the IV chord and starts with the 3 blow which is the root note of the IV chord in 3rd position.
V chord
The third lick starts on the root note of the V chord which is the 3 draw whole step bend so it is essential that you get the pitch of this spot on.
How to practice this
Ok, now that we have looked at all three licks you should try playing through the last 4 bars of the 12 bars. The reason I recommend doing this is that it helps you to practice all the changes plenty of times rather than playing the full 12 bar on a loop.
Put it together
Excellent work! Now you can put all of these riffs together and play a full 12 bar blues bass line in 3rd position.
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Backing track
Now you can try playing this over a backing track…
