[Beginner] 12 Bars Together

12 Bars Together — Beginners 🎸

Come to one session, a few, or all six—whatever fits your schedule! Please RSVP separately for each date you plan to attend. No six-week commitment is required.

You know a few chords and can play a couple of songs. Now, let’s give those skills a little blues flavour.

This six-week series with Calgary Guitar Club is for guitarists who are past the absolute-beginner stage and ready to explore new rhythms, sounds, and ways to play together. We’ll use the classic 12-bar blues as our starting point, building on familiar chord shapes with bluesy seventh chords, shuffle rhythms, and simple riffs.

We’ll also take our first steps into improvisation. You don’t need fast fingers or a pile of theory—just a few notes, a little curiosity, and room to experiment.

Over six weeks, you’ll:
🎵 Add bluesy seventh chords to the shapes you already know
🪕 Explore shuffle rhythms and build a steadier groove
🎶 Learn to follow a 12-bar blues progression
🎸 Try simple blues riffs and beginner-friendly solo ideas
👂 Practice listening, keeping your place, and playing with others
🤝 Bring it together in relaxed group jams

Expect a supportive space where you can try things, miss a note, and jump back in. By the end of the series, you’ll have a blues progression you can play with others, new ideas to practise, and more confidence making music beyond a memorized song.

📅 Dates: Saturdays – November 7, 14, 21, 28, December 5 & 12
🕔 Time: 6:00 – 6:55 PM
🏠 Location: Highland Park Community Centre (3716 2 St NW, Calgary, AB T2K 0Y4)
💵 Fee: $20 per session, or $100 for all six sessions (save $20!). To book the full series, send an e-transfer to [hello@vitaconsult.ca](mailto:hello@vitaconsult.ca).
✅ What to bring: your guitar, handouts from the past session (if you missed them, you can download the files from a link we will share after your registration), tuner (optional), music stand (optional)
👨‍🏫 Instructor: Kent McAlister
Kent brings more than 25 years of teaching experience, formal guitar studies at Vancouver Community College and Vancouver Island University, and a distinguished career as a performer and songwriter. He has released three albums, toured Canada, headlined festivals, and shared stages with Rosanne Cash, The Tennessee Three, and Corb Lund. His practical, personalized teaching helps students build fundamentals through songs they enjoy.