I have quite a few students who are fans of playing the blues. No matter what type of music you favor when you play the piano, youre likely to play the blues scale at some point. The scale is made up of the notes a, c, d, e sharp, e, g, and a. You can hear it in rock, country, jazz, and of course. Continue to part two of this piano blues scale lesson. In some respects, teaching the this scale as the first jazz scale makes sense. In a minor blues, the third of the key is always minor, so the a minor blues scale the one which contains e natural isnt used.
They just ooze that minor bluesy vibe or sweet major vibe. I have given you the set intervals for each scale important point. Just the blues scale can be considered a basis for a particular key blues. Essential tools for jazz improvising i learned quite by accident from the forum all about jazz. You can get more charts in with custom tunings using my interactive scale generator here. I have also included the 5 box patterns you need to learn in order to memorize the blues scales in all. Is there something similar for the minor and major blues scales. Each scale is provided as a separate pdf download with finger numbers above each note. Usually its the next scale learned after the major and minor scales. As a jazz educator with a large experience i am constantly looking for educational material on jazz harmony, theory, improvisation and composition, and also on specific topics like this book of dan greenblatt. Concerning keys, f, bb, eb and ab are all common in jazz since they works well for brass instrument.
All the scales here are in one octave, but you can of course practice each piano scale in as many octaves and in any tempo you like. Lead guitar melodic phrasing play blues guitar 2 lightning fast piano scales. I am offering a free pdf of all major and minor blues scales, written out in all keys. Since our weather has been so blue up here, i thought it might be fun to work on our improv skills with minor pentatonic blues scales.
Below are some of the less common musical scales on piano. What is the difference between a pentatonic scale and a. Watch this free video piano lesson and youll learn how to play the blues scale easily in any key. So for example, the 3rd and 7th of am7 are c and g, so you can theoretically use any scale with the notes c and g in it over an am7. In general it can be used on every chord but above all on min7 th and dominant 7th chord.
The blues scale is so important for anyone who wants to play the blues. It has more note choices than the blues scale, and can be used to create a more authentic, informed jazz solo over a blues. Of course, ideally you dont need or want these written out do you. Adding a blue note to the regular pentatonic scale result in the pentatonic blues scale. Why learning more than one scale pattern is beneficial. Selecting scales for improvisation the jazz piano site. Since the keyboard clearly lays out every note, studying theory with a piano is like traveling in a foreign land with a roadmap. Each of the 20 grooves in this book contains over 150 patterns in total, using notes solely from the blues scale. Suffice it to say that the scales for blues piano cannot be exhausted in this particular lesson because there are a variety of them. Blues piano scales, chords, and chord progressions for. What is the difference between a pentatonic scale and a blues. Heres a little something that ive been working with in the studio this week.
And, in general, try to select scales that minimise the number of avoid notes over that particular chord. Download our free pdf versions of each scale with fingering. A proven method to get fast piano scales in 5 minutes a day piano lessons, piano exercises burning blues guitar. But there are typical scales used in jazz and here is an overview. May 31, 2016 piano chords are formed from musical scales. Jan 31, 2014 free minor pentatonic blues scale chart. I have also given you an example for each scale starting on a. Volume 3 contains 12 jazz piano exercises and explorations by the acclaimed jazz piano educator, pianist, author, and recording artist tim richards. The only 3 chords you need to master the blues on piano. There is not a single group of scales that can be called jazz scales a jazz pianist uses lots of different scales. The pentatonic scale pentatonic scales have only five notes penta means five. Pentatonic scales are killer scales to play over blues and over iivv changes. We provide downloads for common scales including major, the three minor scales natural, harmonic, and melodic, the blues scale, and others.
For the sake of brevity, ill only look at playing blues in the key of c. The hexatonic sixnote blues scale is basically a minor pentatonic scale with the addition of a blue note between the fourth and the fifth degrees. Read on for a complete blues scale guitar lesson what youll learn. Blues scales blues is an irresistible tonality for a guitar player. The scales are used often for composing melodies and for improvisation. Watch and learn authentic blues rhythm and lead guitar 100 killer licks and chops. Once you purchase a sheet music, you will be able to download the pdf file right away from the website. Major pentatonic scale the major pentatonic scale shares five notes with the major scale. Its actually incredibly easy to master the blues on piano. I remember being introduced to the blues scale in jazz band when i was a sixth grader. C minor blues scale can be used over all the chords in a minor blues cm, fm, d, g7b9. You should hear them, feel them, know them, eat them and whatever comes next with them. Learn this formula and you will be able to play it in any key, giving you incredible versatility as a pianist.
This pdf contains the scale charts for the blues scale in all keys for guitar in standard tuning. The major blues scale is some less common than the minor blues scale, and therefore we start with minor and you will find the major by. I am always getting asked by piano players, guitarists and solo instrumentalists to show them the blues scale. When this happens, the blues scale is often the first jazz scale that the student is taught. Heres a free sheet i give to all my students after they learn their major scales. This scale is much used above all in blues,pop,jazz,soul,funk,rhythm and blues,rock. A blues scale consists of 6 different notes, namely the. Tim wrote the well known exploring jazz piano and improvising blues piano books and has several others to his name. Free minor pentatonic blues scale chart saras music studio. Play c and a minor blues scales over the whole of dm7 g7 c a7b9 play c minor blues scale over the whole of d g7alt c a7alt. They think that learning the blues scale will help them to write and perform blues style music and they are correct. For right hand fingering, start on the a with your thumb. Learn how to play the a blues scale on piano free video.
Whether you play guitar, trumpet, or whatever, it helps to see the blues scale on piano. These are the four most common scales in pop and rock music. Major and minor blues scales guitar tab and essential licks. In short, you can use a particular scale over a particular chord if that scale contains the 3rd and the 7th guide tones of the chord. Its ideal that you understand how to construct major and minor scales before learning to build piano chords. There are a total of 430 finger exercises in this book. Learn how to play the c sharp minor melodic scale on the piano in this piano lesson. Music educational books and sheet music downloads for blues, jazz, funk, latin, gospel, rock, celtic styles for instruments including piano, keyboards, sax. How do you apply the blues to the piano or keyboard. What fingerings are used for the minor and major blues scales.
Learn how to play the a blues scale on the piano with this piano lesson. These make great handouts for piano teachers to use with students. How to improvise on piano using the blues scale youtube. Jazz piano basics practice guide pdf practice plans. Minors are written out in both major and minor keys. These scales are for obvious reasons perfect when playing blues on the piano.
The scale is used in many different styles of music, such as rock, blues, and jazz. The mixodorian blues scale for blues soloing learn. For instance, in the c blues scale the notes are c. Learning how to play all the scales on the piano will improve your piano playing. Starting with your right thumb, hit the c and continue up the scale until your fourth finger hits the g flat. The blues scale is based on the pentatonic scale and follows a specific formula. Many times its just the best choice for solo improvisation, and, as long as you play the right notes, theres really no wrong way to. If you are serious about learning music theory or composing, its helpful to have a keyboard or piano on hand, regardless of your main instrument. The blues scale is one of the first guitar scales we explore on the guitar when learning how to solo. Blues scales are the most famous sounds of the xx century music. Move up the scale finger by finger until you hit the e sharp with your fourth finger.
Major and minor blues scales guitar tab and essential licks by matt warnock wednesday, 02 january 2019 published in guitar lessons the blues scale, whether its major or minor, is one of the most widely used scales in modern music. This scale is a real rebel, practically throwing the rules of scale building out the window. Believe it or not, you only need these three simple chords and youll be a master in no time. You can use any of the above scales, and many others. On this page youll find blues scale guitar tab, patterns and notation that will allow you to play blues scales all over the guitar neck. Using the blues scale in other contexts the blues scale can be used in any context, on any tune. But you should always keep in mind the number of avoid notes in a scale over a particular chord. Nov 02, 2018 the blues scale is based on the pentatonic scale and follows a specific formula. Blues scales are used in many musical kinds for example in blues, jazz, rock and roll, funk, soul rhythm and blues, dance, pop. The major blues scale is some less common than the minor blues scale, and therefore we start with minor and you will find the major by scrolling down. Piano pentatonic blues scales overview with pictures. Almost all music genres being born in the last hundred years come from blues above all in notclassical music. When playing a twelve bar blues in the key of bb, use the bb blues scale anywhere in the chord progression. To play the blues is a fascinating undertaking because it can be both simplistic and yet intangibly tricky to.
The blues chord progression lasts 12 bars thus the phrase 12bar blues that move in a familiar pattern using those three chords. Both the blues scale and relative minor blues scale are explained in detail and how they are used either separately or together in the patterns for each style, the relative minor blues scale is generally not used in minor keys. You can play fast blues, slow blues, happy blues, and sad blues. Watch the free video lesson, then download the printable ldf sheet music to play along with at your piano. For many students, when starting out with blues improvisation, its very easy to get locked inside the notes of the blues scale and never deviate away from 6 tones. The exercises in this book use the major scale, pentatonic scale, blues scale, and chromatic scale. Many times its just the best choice for solo improvisation, and, as long as you play the right notes, theres really no wrong way to do it.
Note the use of the word generally in the above sentence. Lets learn the blues scales on piano and keyboard in every key. Often new players are drawn to the instrument because of a desire to play the blues. The notes of the scale are c, e flat, f, g flat, g, b flat, and back to c. This sassy scale will enable you to riff, solo and improvise as you play. To play the blues is a fascinating undertaking because it can be both simplistic and yet intangibly tricky to master. How to play the blues on the piano or keyboard dummies.
At this point in our study of the blues, now its time to introduce the blues scale. This pdf covers all 12 scales pretty well should give you a good idea what to use as does this site. So, over a iivivi or part of it, we would play the blues scales associated with the i, rather than blues scales on the component chords. We have already discussed why you can use different scales over the same chord in a previous lesson. We will discuss more about piano chords, triads and seventh chords. Play triad of the scale 1, 3, and 5 of the scale 6.
Home blog the mixodorian blues scale for blues soloing. Browse other questions tagged piano scales practice fingering blues or ask your own question. Learning how to play all the scales on the piano is a good way to improve your piano playing. Its just a sheet with all the 12 blues scales on it. Essentially, the blues is a specific progression that uses the c7, f7, and g7 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.
There are two pentatonic scales, major pentatonic and minor pentatonic. Usually, we begin improvising on songs like blues in bb or f, satin doll, maiden voyage. Which are the recommended fingerings for a complete run through these scales. This document was uploaded by user and they confirmed.
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