George Glover - Music Theory: Blues

Music Theory > Blues

Tuesday 5/13/2008

Intervals - We need to understand intervals before moving onto fomulas
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Scales - Formulas to build scales.When to use sharps or flats
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Chords - Formulas to builds chords:

Modes

Intro to II-V-I and building a richer chord

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Solo - Solo over chords using the scales you've been introduced to
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Blues changes - Play blues changes in any key

By now you've been through all the lessons and are ready to start playing something. No better place to start than with the blues. Blues and jazz definitely go hand in hand. Maybe the only difference is that one swings and the other doesn't.

There are many different types of blues progressions. From very simple to more challenging. The most basic blues progression consists of three chords, the 1,4, and 5, all of which are dominant 7 chords. The progression can be 8 or 12 measures long.

Here we have an 8 bar blues progression in the key of C.
        || C7 | C7 | F7 | C7 | G7 | F7 | C7 | G7 ||
                                    or
        || 1 | 1    | 4   | 1   | 5   | 4    | 1   | 5    ||

Here is an example of the 12 bar blues progression
        || C7 | F7 | C7 | C7 | F7 | F7 | C7 | C7 |G7 | F7 | C7 | G7 ||
                                      or
       || 1   | 4   | 1    | 1   | 4    | 4   | 1   | 1  | 5   | 4   | 1   | 5    ||

Notice how using numbers helps transposing the progressions into different keys.

Go ahead an play these changes in other keys. In your left hand, play the dominant 7 voicing you learned in the II-V-I lesson while improvising the blues scale from the scale lesson with your right hand.

The following 12 bar blues introduces a few extra chords. Namely a diminished chord, a 6th chord, a C triad with a G in the bass and a III-IV, II-V progression. Let's take a look.

|| C7 | F7 | C7 | C7 | F7 |F# Dim| C/G| A7 |D7 | G7 | E- A7| D- G7 ||
or
|| 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 |#4 Dim| 1/5 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 3 6 | 2 5 ||

As usual we start with the 1 going to the 4 chord and back. On the 5th bar we return to the 4 chord. The 6th bar go's up a 1/2 step with the Diminished chord. The 7th bar returns back to the 1 chord but this time with the 5 in the bass.

Note: When you see two letters with a slash in between it means you play the letter on the left of the slash as a chord with your right hand while playing the letter on the right of the slash as a bass note with your left hand. So in this case the C is a chord and the G is a bass note.

In the 8th bar we have a 6th chord (Note this 6 chord is played as a dominant chord). The 9th bar has a 2 chord (Note this 2 chord is played as a dominant 7 chord). 10th bar has the 5 chord. The 11th bar has a II-V progression and so does the 12th bar. When you play these II-V's back to back you get a III-VI, II-V sequence. Where's it all leading? To the I chord in measure 1.

If we were to continue adding chords to the blues progression it begins to look like "Rhythm Changes" used in Be-Bop. That's another lesson.

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