Twelve-Eight Time
One of the most exciting and dramatic things about Blues is the sound of a lead guitar playing a slow Blues tunes. This is because there are often more complicated rhythms in a slow Blues than a faster tune. Although the tempo may be slower, slow Blues tunes often involve fast playing, Which when notated becomes easier to read and understand in 12/8 time than in 4/4 time.
12/8 time divides four triplets into 12 separate beats. The following examples are the same except one is notated in 12/8, the other in 4/4. Notice the different ways the the two examples are counted.
You may notice that a bar of 12/8 is quite similar to 4 bars of 3/4 (waltz time).
Each of the beats in 12/8 can be split into sixteenth notes.
The sixteenths may be expanded further into sixteenth note triplets.
A further subdivision would be thirty second notes. Things rarely get any faster than thirty second notes.
As with eighth notes, eighth note triplets and sixteenths, the use of set rhythms is a great way to gain control of all beat subdivisions in 12/8 time. Use the methods shown in earlier lessons to create your own exercises for set rhythms in 12/8.
