This lesson explores a roots blues approach for 3-string cigar box guitar, part of my ongoing roots blues series.

It’s a 12-bar blues in G, played twice through (24 bars total), with variations on the second pass. I played this one fingerstyle, with the guitar tuned to standard open G: GDG.

There are 25 unique blues riffs that you can work on and use in your own blues jams. In the first video, I play the piece at a slow, bluesy tempo. In the second video, I will play all 25 riffs one at a time, repeating each 3 or more times at a slightly slower tempo. Both videos show the tab and a close-up of both hands on the CBG.

If you’d like a copy of the tab, I’m providing a free PDF download for Roots Blues #3. Please leave an email address in the form below so I can send it to you.

The lesson below breaks down the piece so you can hear the rhythm and watch the finger placements. I also explain what roots blues is and outline the key moments in the history of the style. One of the main teaching ideas in this lesson is how call and response works on more than one level in roots blues, and this piece is a clear example of that approach.

🎥 Video Lessons

What’s Happening in This Roots Blues Piece

 When I started taking a closer look at what’s actually happening in this piece, I realized there was more going on than I first thought. On the surface, it sounds like a straightforward call and response roots blues riff, but there are several layers of that back and forth working together.

Call and Response in Roots Blues (Two Levels Explained)

 At a larger level, the piece uses register-based call-and-response. In this piece, the opening riff, or motif, is played in the higher register and acts as the call. That phrase is answered immediately by a low blues bass figure. This kind of high followed by a low-register response is common in roots blues.

 But what makes this lesson more interesting is what happens inside the riff itself. In bar two, the original motif is not simply repeated. Instead, it is answered by a slightly changed version of the same idea. This creates a second layer known as motivic call-and-response, in which a musical idea responds to itself through repetition and variation. In simple terms, create a riff, then add variations.

 Here is the workflow to build your own blues jams:

1. Create a riff (motif) on the higher-pitched notes (Call)
2. Play a bass-type riff on the lower-pitched notes (Response)
3. Use a variation on the first riff (motif variation)

By working with call and response on two levels, between registers and within a simple riff, you can create movement and shape without adding more notes or chords. That kind of musical conversation sits at the center of much roots blues playing.

Once that basic conversation is underway, the next step is relatively simple. Add more variations without changing the riff too much the second time through the form.

Adding Variety to a Roots Blues Jam

 Up to this point, the focus has been on how call-and-response shapes the groove. Another way to get more mileage out of the same ideas is by adding variety the second time through the form. Typical ways to add variety are: 

1. Alter the rhythm of the original riff,
2. Change a few notes, add a double stop, or briefly grab a barre shape.
3. As always, trills, triplets, hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides, etc.
4. Subtle bass movement or walking bass.

Therefore, the goal is not to play something completely different, but to continue developing the original motif.  In music school, I often heard criticism that you can always tell a beginner player because they add way too much! Keep it simple, it worked for Beethoven, so….

The Blues Turnaround

 A turnaround is the short phrase at the end of a blues form (bars 11-12) that leads the music back to the beginning. In this turnaround, I use a simple chromatic movement to pull the sound back to G7 by adding the Eb7. The shift from Eb7 to D7 adds tension, while the added triplet feel varies the rhythm:

The Blues Ending and Final Resolution

 At the end of the piece, the harmony takes a short detour based on the earlier turnaround by adding a diminished and minor chord. 

 The Bb diminished chord works as a passing chord, creating a bit of tension and helps guide the ear smoothly into Cm. 

 That Cm chord is a subdominant minor, borrowed from the key of G minor. This adds a darker colour, giving the ending a more expressive, blues-heavy finish.  

 To put these ideas in context, it’s worth stepping back and asking a simple question: what is roots blues, and why does this early, foundational style still shape the way blues is played today?

 My first real exposure to roots blues came as a teenager when I bought a Robert Johnson Delta blues album. Learning those early riffs had a lasting influence on how I play and write music, and I still hear traces of that approach in my playing today.  

What Is Roots Blues?

 Roots blues is an early, acoustic style of blues built around simple song forms, steady rhythm, improvisation, and raw emotion. It grew out of rural Southern music traditions in the early 1900s and is typically played using fingerstyle technique, open tunings, and call-and-response phrasing.

 While many roots blues tunes use a loose 12-bar structure, the form is often flexible, shaped by the vocal line and rhythm. Roots music relies on feel and expression, using slides, bends, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and vibrato to give each note real depth. 

🎼 Roots Blues Lineage (1900–Present)

❓ Common Questions

Questions?

Drop a comment below. Now grab your cigar box guitar and work through those riffs.