Often new players are drawn to the instrument because of a desire to play the blues. Blues scales are used in many musical kinds for example in blues, jazz, rock and roll, funk, soul rhythm and blues, dance, pop. In classical music the melodic minor scale is played going up and the natural minor scale is played going down. I have given you the set intervals for each scale important point. It had its roots in afroamerican music with the slaves and became being really used in blues, receiving the name of blues scale. Pdf microtonal evaluation of blue notes in the early blues scale by empirical pitch. Even todays players use this scale for riffs and leads. The country blues scale guitar lesson music theory. These instructional dvds, audio cds, and this book of written. The heptatonic, or sevennote, conception of the blues scale is as a diatonic scale a major scale with lowered third, fifth, and seventh degrees, which is equivalent to the dorian.
Click here to download mp3s and a printable pdf of this lessons notation. The pentatonic blues scale is built upon three dominant chords. If you want to learn how to play jazz, one of the best places to begin is with the blues. They just ooze that minor bluesy vibe or sweet major vibe. The eflat in the c blues scale makes it sound minor, but the scale is customarily played on top of major chords. It is usually considered the forerunner of both jazz and rock, and it breaks many of the conventions of classical music theory. The theory of using numbers that correlate to the seven letters identifying note names in music should be introduced if students are not familiar with the construction of an eighttone diatonic scale i. No second note, no sixth note and a run of three chromatic notes somewhere in the middle.
The blues scale is one the first scales that students of improvisation learn and generally it ends as being the only scale that they use besides the major and pentatonic scales. Despite its name, the blues scale is not only used in blues music. I have also included the 5 box patterns you need to learn in order to memorize the blues scales in all keys. Or you could try any number of other scales that fit with your chords. A blues scale consists of 6 different notes, namely the root, flat 3rd, 4th, flat 5th, 5th and flat 7th of the major scale. The scale itself is the same as the minor pentatonic with the addition of one extra note. The blues teachers guide playing the blues focus exercise this exercise introduces the blues scale and blues improvisation.
David taub here, and i want to thank you for purchasing this instructional product. Blues scales theory the blues scale is a very colorful scale and is used by a wide spectrum of guitarists from the classic old school blues players like john lee hooker and bb king to rock players like slash and van halen. Major scale 1 4 3 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 a 4 4 4 4 4 1 4 3 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 4 4 4 4 major scale sae b b b c b 1 4 3 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 4 4 4 4 5 1 4 3 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 4 4 4 4 6. The major blues scale is built by adding a b3 interval to the major pentatonic scale, forming the pattern 12b3356. In western music theory terms, the blues scale is practically inexplicable. Since the key of f 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. Unlike major and minor scales which have been around for aeons the blues scale really just showed up in the southern united states towards the end of the nineteenth century but its effect. Blues harmonica music theory blues harmonica kaizen. Lets summarize what you can use in the chords of blues first, fourth and fifth degrees, all of them nonaltered dominants. Blues scales blues is an irresistible tonality for a guitar player. However, there are actually 4 different blues scales that can be used when you are improvisingcomposing blues style music.
Findings are discussed with regards to the array of theories proposed to explain the blues. Some players and musicologists argue that the blues scale has 6 notes. These notes create a pentatonic 5note scale that is easy to see, and can be accompanied effectively by just one or two chords. Blues music scales chart for jazz improvisation jazz theory. To play the blues is a fascinating undertaking because it can be both simplistic and yet intangibly tricky to master.
Almost all music genres being born in the last hundred years come from blues above all in notclassical music. An introduction to blues turnarounds, intros and endings. Blues scale worksheets to print now music theory worksheets. The nice thing about learning the blues scale is that once you learn it, its easy to make it your own and create great sounding solos. Learn about the major and minor blues scales on guitar be sure to subscribe to our channel because well be adding at least one new free guitar lesson per day. The blues scale is a very versatile scale and one that is easy to finger on the guitar. The best way to get used to playing the blues is to have a go at improvising over the top of a 12 bar blues chord progression. And no traditional western scale has three adjacent chromatic notes, the blues scales f, fsharp and g. Piano pentatonic blues scales overview with pictures. When playing a twelve bar blues in the key of bb, use the bb blues scale anywhere in the chord progression. They are the 5 notes of the minor pentatonic scale, plus one additional note. Blues scale lesson, blues scale in all keys by michael. You can get more charts in with custom tunings using my interactive scale generator here. 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.
The last scale that we will explore in this section of the blues guitar theory guide is the mixolydian scale. This next level guitar blues masters dvd course comes complete with seven dvds and three audio jam track cds. Lets learn the blues scales on piano and keyboard in every key. The blues scale is based on the ichord and the minor pentatonic scale connected to that chord. The term blues scale refers to several different scales with differing numbers of pitches and. The eb blues scale is exceptionally easy to play on piano just play the black keys and add the note a. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Improvisation in blues advanced simplifying theory. Melodic minor scale one fifth above diminished scale one semitone above dominant diminished scale whole tone scale.
Here are the formulae for minor and major blues scales. I have also given you an example for each scale starting on a. Keep in mind that at this stage of your lead guitar playing journey there is just no substitute for practicing the right things, learning scales, studying the sounds and relationships between chords. Major and minor blues scales guitar tab and essential licks. The blues scale is a 6note scale that contains 5 notes from the major or minor pentatonic scales plus one chromatic note. The melodic minor scale is closely related to the major scale with its natural 6 and 7. The c harmonica was meant to only be played in one key originally in this case, the key of c.
The addition of the b3 in a major scale creates a brighter, more country sounding blues scale, but is still very bluesy. Pentatonic scales are killer scales to play over blues and over iivv changes. This pdf contains the scale charts for the blues scale in all keys for guitar in standard tuning. Jazz educations purpose is to give you the basics you need in learning to play jazz or to improvise. How to play the minor and major blues scales with solo examples. Instead of playing the c blues scale over 12 bar blues changes, you could play a pentatonic minor over c, d pentatonic minor over f, and e pentatonic minor over g this is equivalent to c pentatonic major, f pentatonic major, and g pentatonic major. The blues scale is probably the most common piece of practical blues harmonica music theory that people do learn. It is used in all types of music blues, rock, jazz, metal, funk, electronica, everything really. Because the master blues scale is very heavily defined by the sound of a. Blues scales the major and minor blues scale jazz guitar online.
The blues scale is a popular scale based on various scales and numbers of pitches. The 6 mojolicious guitar scales mojo guitar teachers. Pattern 1st 2nd flattened 3rd 3rd 4th 5th 6th flattened 7th 7th. As one of the most widelyplayed scales in music, the blues scale has evolved to include multiple expressions. Likewise, in contemporary jazz theory, its use is commonly based upon the key rather than. Blues scales are the most famous sounds of the xx century music. G bb c d f how to play the pentatonic scale if you can play major and natural minor scales, then you can also play major and minor. The blues scale is a minor, hexatonic scale with the scale degrees 1 3 4 5 5 7 named after the american music genre blues from which it originates.
Modes like dorian, aeolian, and mixolydian can sound awesome over blues progressions when utilized properly. Whole and a half, whole, half, half, whole and a half, whole. Although it is in the minor family of chord and scale qualities, it can be played against chord progressions of any tonality e. The basic ingredients in music are scales, chords, melody, rhythm, and harmony. The fifth mode of the major scale system, this 7note scale is commonly used by country and rock players as they solo over blues chords and chord progressions. As the name suggests, the blues scale is used heavily in blues but is also used in.
Tabs, fingerings, box patterns, licks, pdf and more. The blues scale might be the most widely used scale ever. In similar fashion to the pentatonic scale, the formulae are applied to the major scale. It gives a safe path to a bluesy sound over the 12bar blues. Understand how to incorporate the super locrian scale. The first item on your list is to understand the theory behind this important sixnote scale. 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. The blues scale, which as you can probably guess from its name, is a commonly used scale in the blues. Blues practice is derived from the conjunction of african scales and the diatonic western scales. After the pentatonic minor scale and major scale, the blues scale is probably the most widelyused scale in guitar improvisation. To learn more about blues turnarounds, guitarists should check out the blues lessons turnarounds, theory of 6ths, soloing with 3rds and 6ths and riffbased blues with 9chord turnarounds, taught by dennis mccumber, david boye and scott a.
The modes for the ii v i, the v i and the ii v progressions are all in the same key, so to. We will begin by improvising melodies using only the black notes of the piano. D c the starting and ending note of the scale, or the key in which you and all other musicians are playing in. Every scale determines a key,that is an harmonic combunation of tones based on that scale. In the case of c pentatonic, the three chords are c7 f7 g7. To play the blues is a fascinating undertaking because it can be both simplistic and yet intangibly tricky to. The additional note is a spice that works great in a blues soup, but too much and it can make your soup a little sour.
In later lessons, well go over how to start choosing your notes on the blues scale, but for this lesson just learn the shape and have fun. A blues scale once again it is important that if you are going to learn to improvise with this scale that you learn how it sounds. The 1st construction, using the major scale, starts at lesson 3. To turn a natural minor scale into a minor pentatonic scale, eliminate the 2nd and 6th scale degrees. This scale works fine over a regular blues form, as well as over major triads. The solution below shows the c blues scale, on the piano, treble clef and bass clef. It simply adds one note to the minor pentatonic and is also pretty easy to play. Dont get me wrong on this, its perfectly legitamite to use the. Get acquainted with the minor and major blues scales.
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