The focus of this lesson is to learn 24 blues licks, but with a twist. The image above represents the harmonization of the a major scale. This lesson covers the traditional, quick change, and shuffle blues. Often new players are drawn to the instrument because of a desire to play the blues.
The 12 bar blues is a 12 bar long chord progression that solo blues musicians can easily improvise over the top of. Or, in the same way, the g blues scale with the chords g7, c7 and d7. Blues music has a solid but plaintive sound which results from the use of a minorbased scale over the top of majorbased chords usually dominant. To get the minor pentatonic scale, add the black notes egabd. The chord progression is easy for beginners because it only uses three chords, the root, the fourth, and the fifth. If you all know the standard 12bar blues progression, then everyone knows the starting point. It is useful to make up your own licks and runs, because you can give them your own feeling and emotion, since particular notes in the scale can give your lick quite some color. The blues and the blues scale have these characteristics of sadness in their nature, caused by bending some of the notes in the scale. The 12 bar blues is by far the most popular form for the blues. Each of the cd tracks utilize the same 12 bar blues chord progression.
See that the note that was added is the same in both scales. Understanding the 12 bar blues form rock class 101. Bb, db, eb, e, f, ab, bb the blues scale can also be used over minor chords when the minor chord is sounded for 2, 4, 8, or 16 measures or longer. Lets say we have a standard 12 bar blues in e with the chords e 7a7b7. Lesson 1 grade 7 music minds on pause and ponder whole class setting the blues context read aloudashorttextorexcerptthatintroducesthehistoricalperiodwhentheblueswere. You can now play in safe mode with these notes, each note will sound more or less good, there are no wrong notes. The e blues scale is made up of the same notes as the e minor pentatonic with the addition of the flat 5th in this case the bb note. A blues scale practice this over an a minor and a c major chord. Sep 16, 20 for the premier instalment of solo blues we are going to look at a 12 bar blues in the key of e. Home scales blues scales 12 blues guitar scales beyond pentatonics this lesson will explore the many different blues guitar scales used in all the blues subgenres. Other common blues progressions include the 8 bar, 16 bar, and 24 bar blues. Blues scale is the pentatonic scale with one more note added in the scale. It includes the first chords you should know and some substitutions that you can try.
Blues guitar runs that will improve your guitar technique right away. The blues was first being sung by the slaves who where brought to america from africa. Major and minor blues scales guitar tab and essential licks. The chord changes for 12 bar blues in bflat instruments in the key of c.
It is the only difference between the blues scale and the minor pentatonic scale. Its called the 12 bar blues because its only 12 bars long. Easy guitar tutorial 12 bar blues in ethe 12 bar blues is a very common pattern and an important one for guitar players to learn. In the above examples, each chord was played with a very simple strumming pattern, without altering the chords or the rhythm. The solution below shows the a blues scale, on the piano, treble clef and bass clef. The traditional 12 bar blues has a total of 12 bars or measures of the iivv chords that keep repeating in 12 bar blocks over and over. Chords are usually identified in roman numerals iivv. E major and a major are perhaps the most important chords in rock music because they form the foundation of its most often used chords. The 1st construction, using the major scale, starts at lesson 3. The basic blues progression uses 3 chords the tonic i or the chord that the song is centered on, the dominant v or the chord based on the fifth step of the tonic scale, and the subdominant iv or the chord based on the fourth step of the tonic scale. The 1stroot, the 4th, and the 5th chords of the major scale. Learn how to apply blues scales to simple soloing, and how to play the 12 bar blues progression. Use the e scale below and locate the red root notes e. The 12bar blues progression is important because its a starting point when musicians get together.
Nov 11, 2015 what notes to target over a 12 bar blues hello, todays lesson is for all you people who have heard about playing through the changes but are not entirely sure what that means. The 12 bar blues is a pretty simple chord progression. A blues scale consists of 6 different notes, namely the root, flat 3rd, 4th, flat 5th, 5th and flat 7th of the major scale. Scale choices for 12bar blues this is an excerpt from sfs pentatonics 2 navigating chord changes click to learn more. The last two bars of each 4 bar phrase bars 3 and 4, 7 and 8, 11 and 12 are all harmonised by the same chord. You can get more charts in with custom tunings using my interactive scale generator here. Four dominant blues chords that you can use in the 12 bar blues.
Each 4bar phrase can be divided into two 2 bar segments. Bending study 5 this is for the advanced player looking to improve their bending skills. The premier site for the history and analysis of the standards jazz musicians play the most. Each of these songs follows the 12 bar blues pattern. Piano pentatonic blues scales overview with pictures. In todays lesson, we are going to take an indepth look at how the form, or structure, of a blues chord progression is made.
The first roman numeral i is the root or key that the progression is in. You will learn 4 licks over bars 12, another 4 licks over bars 34, and so on. The most common musical form of blues is the 12bar blues. Blues progressions the following blues progressions are covered in this lesson. In this excerpt from sfs pentatonics 2 navigating chord changes, we study a process of selecting and applying different scale choices, when improvising over 12bar blues progressions. Scale choices for 12 bar blues in this excerpt from sfs pentatonics 2 navigating chord changes, we study a process of selecting and applying different scale choices, when improvising over 12 bar blues progressions. The blues scale is very similar to the minor pentatonic scale, but with an additional lowered 5th note lowered by half a stepsemitone, or blues note. C c c c f f c c g f c c instruments in the key of eflat g g g g c c g g d c g g.
That way if you do want to change things up, its easy because you all have that progression down. This lesson teaches you 24 great blues licks, as well as the rhythm guitar parts. The blues scale, whether its major or minor, is one of the most widely used scales in modern music. Now you have the basic 12 bar blues progression under your belt why don t you try having a go at improvising over the top. The blues scale is used to improvize over the 12 bar blues, which leads to that very familiar blues guitar sound.
Over the first 8 bars, the blues scale of the root. This pdf contains the scale charts for the blues scale in all keys for guitar in standard tuning. Once you learn to play the 12 bar blues on the guitar, you can play such classic blues pieces as hound dog, stormy monday, kansas city, st. This note is known as blue note and it is the flattened fifth in the case of the minor pentatonic, or the flattened third in the case of the major pentatonic. To play the blues is a fascinating undertaking because it can be both simplistic and yet intangibly tricky to master. In order to learn about the 12 bar blues we first have to discuss the development of the blues.
For more information and licks using the blues scales check out my two books on mastering the blues scales. We will, also, be using the 12 bar blues so get ready. Because theyre probably the first scales you learned, you might have studied them for a bit, got the shapes under your fingers, and. The reason i called it bar blues, is that each lick spans 2 bars. The simplicity of blues is what draws people to it. Since the key of c appears on the circle of fifths diagram as both a major and minor key, the lesson steps explain both ways of constructing this blues scale for this key. Become a member, purchase studypacks, buy suggested products or donate. In the basic f blues, the 12 bars are only made up of 3 different chords. This is probably the most popular of the blues forms other types include 8bar, 16bar, or something irregular and has a high degree of structure and predictability although never dull. I c for the blues in c the differences in harmony occur in the first two bars of each. If d minor is sounded for eight measures, you may use the d blues scale. This booklet presents a range of chord voicings and scale maps for the fret board of a 3 string gdg tuned cigar box guitar. For instance, in the c blues scale the notes are c eb f gb g bb c. For the premier instalment of solo blues we are going to look at a 12 bar blues in the key of e.
Sep 03, 2016 scale choices for 12 bar blues this is an excerpt from sfs pentatonics 2 navigating chord changes click to learn more. Scale choices for 12bar blues effective music practice. A common variation of the 12bar blues is a faster change in the first four bars. When playing a twelve bar blues in the key of bb, use the bb blues scale. The most basic chord progression of the 12 bar blues in c is. This image demonstrates how you would find the i, iv, and v chords in the key of a using the a major scale. In addition, it is a common method to put extra empathize on the tones of the involved chords when the actual chord is being played. Lesson 1 grade 7 music critical learning guiding questions thestructureofthe12barbluesformisbothaccessibleandchallenging. The 12 bar blues and the minor blues scale online guitar.
Eb, gb and bb are the so called blue notes of the scale. It is usually considered the forerunner of both jazz and rock, and it breaks many of the conventions of classical music theory. Here are the blues scales in all 12 keys listed in circle of fifths order. A nice combination are the chords am7, dm7 and e7 together with the a pentatonic blues scale. Blues is undoubtedly one of the most popular forms of music to come out of america.
Lets learn the blues scales on piano and keyboard in every key. The 12 bar blues is the most common blues chord progression. Here are pictures and notes of the major pentatonic blues scales. Most jazz standards are 32 bars long and so the blues form is less that a third of the length of a typical jazz standard. Note that the fingerings for the e and a chords gray shown below are different from the e and a open chords above. Is there anything apart from c blues or a minor pentatonic that is a bit more interesting. The iivv 145 the 8 bar blues the 12 bar blues a variation of the 12 bar blues roman numerals are used to show which chord or key changes are used in a progression. After watching the overview video, try one of the lessons below to experience a lesson at. Literacy gains transforming instructional practice supports grade 7 music 2 what is the blues. The blues scale doesnt necessarily mean that it will be used in every 12 bar blues progression just as every 12 bar blues progression wont be based on the blues scale. You can either play one scale over all bars or change scale as the chord change.
A bar is a musical phrase, a way of measuring the music against its rhythm, and blues songs are structured in a 12 bar format. Examining the 12bar blues pattern if youve ever spent any time around a serious blues musician or music aficionado, youve probably heard the phrase 12 bar blues tossed about. You could base this on the blues scale, you could base it on mixolydian, you could base it on the byzantine or any other given scale, if you really wanted to. On page 1, the notes of the c blues scale are shown both on the. The 12 bar blues is a chord progression used in blues and rock music that lasts for 12 bars. This piece is centered around the open position of the e blues scale. It is not only the basic structure for blues, but is also used extensively in rock, country, jazz and pop music. The 8 bar blues the 12 bar blues a variation of the 12 bar blues roman numerals are used to show which chord or key changes are used in a progression. Since the key of a appears on the circle of fifths diagram as both a major and minor key, the lesson steps explain both ways of constructing this blues scale for this key. Blues piano tutorial chord progression 12 bar blues youtube. Feb 1, 2016 12 bar blues ing cigar box guitar tablature pdf. It is assumed that you are familiar with the 12 bar blues progression. We will be playing it in the key of g, so our chords are g, c and d.
Unfortunately, having grown up playing tuba in a lot of bands, i might be using terminology and notation and forgetting that not everyone knows it. What notes to target over a 12 bar blues on harmonica. Instead of annoying, creepy, privacyinvading ads, popups, or selling your data, studybass relies on the support of its users. My blogging has been rather sporadic so far this month this is a busy time of year for piano teachers, isnt it. The solution below shows the c blues scale, on the piano, treble clef and bass clef. Diagonal blues scale with added notes from the major pentatonic scale. Feel free to contact me at kirkjerk at gmail dot com if i can. This chord progression is based around the most important chords. Two of the most common 12 bar patterns or arrangements are the slow change and the fast change. Minor and major blues scales are also the first scales that guitarists learn when exploring lead guitar. The 12bar blues form basic a typical starting point for studying the blues is the 12bar format. The 12bar blues form exercises blues bass studybass.
What a lot of players would do is start running their five or seven patterns for each scale in random keys up and down the neck, put on a 12bar blues backing track and start wailing away trying to cram the four scales into every bar. Lets say we have a standard 12 bar blues in e with the chords e7a7b7. There is slight variations in how you use this scale depending on the harmony behind it. Blues scales blues is an irresistible tonality for a guitar player. Over a 12 bar in c c7, f7, g7 what scales can sound good. Im so glad my spring recital is over, but this month is still somehow very booked.
All the scales featured on this page work over the standard 1 4 5 blues progressions, but ive made it clear when a scale can be used in a minor key, major key, or both. For an easy start, use the e pentatonic major blues. There are only so many combinations with this format, so the feeling of familiarity is just not one you can escape as a musician or a listener. The power of the 12 bar blues however, is in the potential to use it as a starting point.
The 12 bar blues progression with slight variations basslines improvisation scales how to practice improvising improvising techniques. Tongue blocking study 2 this study is for the newer player or the player new to tongue blocking. As always, commit the pattern to memory because we will be using the pentatonic scale, the blues scale, and the mixolydian mode in the next lesson. Im going to show you what notes to target over a 12 bar blues.
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