Song · Eb Standard tuning

Pride and Joy — Stevie Ray Vaughan

Tuning Eb Standard Capo None Key idea 12-bar blues shuffle, a half step flat

“Pride and Joy” is a twelve-bar blues shuffle written and taught as if it were in the key of E — the standard I–IV–V blues shapes: E7, A7, B7. Vaughan's guitar, though, was tuned down a half step to Eb standard and strung heavy (.011s and up), the same retune Hendrix used for a fatter tone and easier bends. So the E7–A7–B7 shapes everyone learns this song from actually sound as Eb7–Ab7–Bb7 on the record.

The rhythm figure alternates a muted chord chop with a rolling bass line — a Texas-shuffle feel more than a straight strum — and Vaughan colors the turnaround back to the top with a sharped-ninth voicing on the I chord (E7#9, sounding as Eb7#9): the same “Hendrix chord” sound, tuned the same half step down.

Eb7→ Eb7→ Eb7→ Eb7→ Ab7→ Ab7→ Eb7→ Eb7→ Bb7→ Ab7→ Eb7→ Bb7

This is the standard 12-bar blues form (I–IV–V) the song is built on — the recognizable turnaround, not a bar-exact transcription of any single performance or live arrangement. Open the progression below to hear the real Eb-standard pitch, not the shape name.

The full 12-bar turnaround above, in the exact Eb Standard voicings — ready to play and hear at the real recorded pitch.

Remix with Open—Shape