Blame It On The Boogie | TAB
Let’s go through all sections of this standard Motown classic—play some parts note-for-note, invent a few sections, and fill in a few gaps!
Intro/instrumental
The first section must be played exactly as on the record. When it later returns as an instrumental, we repeat it less. There are no chords, but I felt it was fun to add them anyway.
Verse
The verse has two guitars—one sliding, one picking. They overlap, so when creating a single part, plenty of modifications had to be considered.
Chorus
The chorus layers backing vocals, horns, keys, and guitars. In a live band, I tend to drive this part more than just playing the picked licks from the verse. Depending on the groove, I adjust the part—here’s my starting point:
If there are no horns, try adding some mutes, removing slides and hammer-ons, and filling in the gaps:
Alternatively, we can simplify by taking elements out:
Once confident with all three parts, let improvisation guide you—play what sounds best in the context of your band.
Breakdowns
The first breakdown is played using chords by the keys and horns—ideal if your band has fewer members:
If you have a full band, try playing what’s on the original recording as an answer to the first breakdown:
The second breakdown has no chords or guitars, just drums and vocals. I like to invent a part here:
When you can play all the TAB, play along with the backing track and chord chart above.
Blame It On The Boogie Backing Tracks + TAB | Related Pages
Blame It On The Boogie | Chords + Lyrics
You can learn to play Blame It On The Boogie by The Jacksons using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and backing tracks.
| Cm7 | Eb |
My baby’s always dancin’ and it wouldn’t be a bad thing…
Five similar tunes | Chords | Lyrics
