The key to great blues rhythm guitar is highlighting the Flat 7 and the Third! Let’s go over some chords you can use in a 12-bar blues in A, so you can understand these shell voicings.

Shell Voicing 1:

This shell voicing uses the E CAGED Shape, with the root on the low E string, the flat 7th on the D string, and the 3rd on the G string. Slide this shape to any spot on the fretboard, and the note you play on the low E string will be your root. Below is an example of an A7.

Shell Voicing 2:

This shell voicing also uses the E CAGED Shape, but it utilizes the higher strings. The root is on the D string, the 3rd is on the G string, and the flat 7th is on the B string. Slide this shape anywhere on the fretboard, and the note you play on the D string will be the chord name. Here’s an example of an A7 using this shape.

Shell Voicing 3:

This shell voicing uses the C CAGED Shape. The root is on the A string, the 3rd is on the D string, and the Flat 7th is on the G string. Slide this shape anywhere on the fretboard, and the note you play on the D string will be the chord name. Here’s an example of a D7 chord using this shape.

If you move this chord up 2 frets, you’ll have an E7!

Using the A, D, and E chords, you now have the chords needed to play a 1 4 5 blues in A! You can put these into a classic 12 bar shuffle, or arrange them any way you’d like in your own blues style. This is a great way to utilize the CAGED system to create awesome blues chord progressions all over the fretboard.

Need a refresher on the CAGED system? Check out our free intro to CAGED video below!

If you want to learn more about shell voicings, our “Complete CAGED for Blues Guitar” course has an entire lesson just about creating amazing shell voicings for blues, plus so much more! Check it out here (currently on sale!)