We then apply everything we have learnt to the tune "Straight No Chaser". These foundations are the effective use of chord tones, flowing approach patterns to smoothly connect your chord tones, and finally the ability to add passing tones and employ chromatic scale passages. The first lesson "Basic 12 Bar Blues" is for those with no previous knowledge of the blues. Well, first of all, you now have the foundations in place. Go right now to your piano and practice playing Easy E Flat Blues. Yes exactly as you say, this is the same major/minor conversion for heptatonic scales/, If we take the F Major Blues Scale, the notes are F(root) G(2) Ab(b3) A(3) C(5) D(6), now it we build a minor blues scale from a minor 3rd below which would be D Minor Blues Scale, we have the exact same notes D(root) F(b3) G(4) Ab(b5) A(5) C(b7). By understanding the relative relationship, it means that we can get ‘twice as much mileage’ out of our blues licks/lines/patterns – because it’s the exact same notes that can be used over both F Major harmony, and D Minor harmony. For many students, when starting out with blues improvisation, it’s very easy to get locked inside the notes of the blues scale and never deviate away from 6 tones. In the “Major Blues” section, I hope you are referring to “F minor Blues scale” when you mention “F Blues scale”. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Leave us your email below and we will send you a full sample lesson and a PDF download. But normally, this is not the cases in jazz. Verified Purchase. I provide a number of exercises that may appear to be simple, but in reality it’s training you to work within a very limited scope so that you can master the foundations of improvisation using just chord tones. Whilst the basic 12 bar blues just contains 3 chords, the I, the IV and the V, the jazz blues also incorporates the most common progression in jazz music… the mighty 251 progression: The concepts covered in the improv lessons can be directly applied to jazz and bossa nova tunes. But the blues adds that sprinkle of magic. The F Major pentatonic scale is F-G-A-D-E and the b3 would be Ab to get the F Major blues scale. Well if we build a blues scale from a minor 3rd below the root of the F blues scale, that would be the D minor blues scale, and if we play those notes from F to F we have the basic major blues scale. All Rights Reserved. So now let’s talk about usage of these 2 scales. A Minor Blues can be played over an A Minor Chord, and the same notes can be played over C Major chord to get C Major Blues scale. C Minor Blues can be played over a C Minor Chord, and the same notes can be played over an Eb Major Chord to get a ‘happier’ sounding blues scale. F Major Pentatonic is also D Minor Pentatonic …. US & Canada: +1 888 616 5371, © 2020 Copyright PianoGroove. In the "D Dorian jazz", example above one scale was used for a whole tune. Download theory supplements, midi files, chord changes and full note-for-note transcriptions of every lesson. I am summering my understandings as under; 1) Minor blues = root, b3, 4, b5, 5 and b72) Major blues = root, 1, 2, b3, 3, 5 and 63) We can build a minor blues scale from a “minor 3rd below” the root of a major blues scale. The extended blues scale is the major and minor blues scale combined. And so now, the blues scale is just another dimension that you can add to your solo, instead of it being the whole solo. It’s interesting how the exact same notes, can have a different quality when you start/end on a different note. We’ll look at this more in the next lesson in this series where we explore some of the intricacies of blues licks. Sorry for the late reply here!… I missed the notification. The minor blues has a funkier sound, whereas the major blues scale has a more soulful and happy sound — this is because it contains the major 3^rd^ and 6th which gives it a major quality. Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2017. So for if we take the C Major scale, and then play the same notes starting a minor 3rd below the root , we then have the A natural minor scale. They can improvise some nice single-note blues lines with notes from the scale scale, but they get bored playing the same blues lines. When the same notes over D Minor chord in our left hand, it has a ‘darker’ ‘bluesier’ sound. Instead we’re gonna offer some practical advice and tips to help you focus on some essential blues piano improvisation practice. 5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Piano Blues Improv Book BY FAR!! Yes if I said “Blues Scale” I would be referring to the Minor Blues Scale. Jazz improvising. Join PianoGroove Pro to access all downloads and learning resources. In the next lesson we will explore blues licks but for now we’ll keep it simple and just talk about how and when to use these 2 scales. If you have tried to improvise in the past, and you have found that your improvised lines begin to sound lost and disjointed from the chords, then it’s very likely that you are not paying enough attention to the chord tones. I Just discovered that in a sentimental mood starts with a pentatonic in f.Its cool when you make this little discoveries.☺. We know that every major scale has a relative minor scale. They contain the exact same notes, but starting on different notes. It’s just a matter of using and employing them properly. Using the tune “Georgia” – we will also explore the concept of the major blues scale and how to apply this to major 251 progressions. Step-by-step lessons to master jazz theory, Learn the blues, jazz blues, funk, & gospel, Syllabuses to guide your learning journey, learn to play your favourite tunes & songs, pianogroove.com/blues-piano-lessons/the-major-blues-scale/. The blues scale can sound amazing when used effectively, but the problem is that beginner jazz students will tend to just play up and down the scale for the whole solo. Everybody loves blues licks and riffs and there is something magical about that group of notes….