You don't have to borrow the 12 bar blues form to have a bluesy sound in country music. Much modern country borrows certain bluesy twists that give a riff a bluesy sound such as bending notes, adding bluesy notes, or playing with a bluesy rhythm.

In this lesson we'll add one note to a single chord. We'll treat that note with a bluesy bend and a hip rhythm and show you how a simple chord gets the blues.

As you become familiar with this pattern, you'll see that all the work is in the pick hand. The rests in this particular rhythm may make you want to provide muted strums at some point to give the riff more vibe. That's okay, too. Remember to always use taste and discretion. There's a fine line between playing too much or too little.