Lets take a look at the notes that make up the e blues scale. A scale is a series of notes pitches arranged from lowest to highest. Dont put it off until tomorrow or until you have the scale under better control. Blues scale in general it can be used on every chord but above all on min7 th and dominant 7th chord. Just the blues scale can be considered a basis for a particular key blues. Ive met plenty of people whove told me that they cant improvise or play jazz, and while i know that some people have natural gifts, i also know that the. For instance, in the c blues scale the notes are c eb f gb g bb c. Almost all music genres being born in the last hundred years come from blues above all in notclassical music. Instead of each scale relating to a specific chord, this scale is based on the overall key. These charts highlight the notes and chords of e blues scale.
The blues scale for each key consists of the minor seventh chord in this case, cm7, plus the fourth and flat fifth f and gb. I have also included the 5 box patterns you need to learn in order to memorize the blues scales in all keys. The exercises in this book use the major scale, pentatonic scale, blues scale, and chromatic scale. To play your own 12bar blues, just follow these easy instructions, playing with either hand or both hands. The secret piano blues scale the professionals dont tell you about. It occurs between neighbouring white and black notes, and between the neighbouring white keys. These are the four most common scales in pop and rock music. The major blues scale is some less common than the minor blues scale, and therefore we start. Unlock the world of blues piano and open the door to a world of creativity. You can also click on the image below and use it in png format. The jazz, rags, and blues series by martha mier are a good place to start if you re looking for sheet music. Blues scales are the most famous sounds of the xx century music. A blues scale consists of 6 different notes, namely the root, flat 3rd, 4th, flat 5th, 5th and flat 7th of the major scale.
Below are listed the twelve minor dorian minor, major, and dominant 7th scales. The most common types of scale are major scales, minor scales and the blues scale. For example, in an a minor blues scale, the added note would be d sharp. Blues scales blues is an irresistible tonality for a guitar player. Essentially, the blues is a specific progression that uses the c7, f7, and g7 chords. Each scale is provided as a separate pdf download with finger numbers above each note. Even though the lick and lefthand are written out as eighth notes, they are really played with a triplet feel. The blues chord progression lasts 12 bars thus the phrase 12bar blues that move in a familiar pattern using those three chords. We provide downloads for common scales including major, the three minor scales natural, harmonic, and melodic, the blues scale, and others. When you have the chord progression memorized, try playing the chords with the left hand while your right hand plays a simple melody, riff, or blues scale. E major blues scale charts for piano music motivated. A blues scale consists of 6 different notes, namely the.
The 1st construction, using the major scale, starts at lesson 3. Adding a blue note to the regular pentatonic scale result in the pentatonic blues scale. You can easily see them as 7 white keys, and 5 black. When playing a twelve bar blues in the key of bb, use the bb blues scale anywhere in the chord progression. While its a good idea to familiarize yourself with the blues scale for each key, you can usually fall back on the root blues scale at just about any point in a jazz solo. The secret piano blues scale the professionals dont tell you. I am always getting asked by piano players, guitarists and solo instrumentalists to show them the blues scale. Download our free pdf versions of each scale with fingering. Piano blues scale lesson how to play the blues on piano. For right hand fingering, start on the a with your thumb. Before learning how to build these scales here is a reminder of tones and semitones. Dont get me wrong on this, its perfectly legitamite to use the. E d g b e a pentaton c minor scale box 1 glitarsik.
The 12bar is an extremely common structure when playing blues. Tim wrote the well known exploring jazz piano and improvising blues piano books and has several others to his name. The scales are used often for composing melodies and for improvisation. The blues scale is the foundation of blues music and it has three blue notes. You can get more charts in with custom tunings using my interactive scale generator here. If you are new to jazz piano, check out the lessons on the major and minor scales. To play the blues is a fascinating undertaking because it can be both simplistic and yet intangibly tricky to. Volume 3 contains 12 jazz piano exercises and explorations by the acclaimed jazz piano educator, pianist, author, and recording artist tim richards.
Blues scales are used in many musical kinds for example in blues, jazz, rock and roll, funk, soul rhythm and blues, dance, pop. To play and improvise jazz piano, you must have a good knowledge of jazz piano scales and jazz piano modes. For 20 years we provide a free and legal service for free sheet music. The bb blues scale sounds good over bb7, eb7, and f7 if youre playing a bb blues. This is because this scale is really the blues scale with one note missing. There are plenty of arrangements, based on chord progressions, to use.
Switch out the regular twooctave majorminor scales for a minor pentatonic blues scale. These make great handouts for piano teachers to use with students. The mixolydian blues scalethe most useful scale of all. You can either play one scale over all bars or change scale as the chord change. Lets learn the blues scales on piano and keyboard in every key. 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. Dont get me wrong on this, its perfectly legitamite to use the minor pentatonic scale over dominant blues chords. The right hand is going to hit the first e with the thumb. Apr 02, 2020 the secret piano blues scale the professionals dont tell you about. Go from complete beginner to playing blues piano in 9 lessons.
What others are saying ive got the blues handouts for elementary group piano class. This is the hardest part about learning to use the major blues scale. For instance, in the c blues scale the notes are c eb f. Now ill show you the proper fingering for the scale. Often new players are drawn to the instrument because of a desire to play the blues.
Over a bb blues progression, you would use only the bb blues scale. The pentatonic scale is a great scale for improvising and soloing. 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. This pdf contains the scale charts for the blues scale in all keys for guitar in standard tuning. Free minor pentatonic blues scale chart saras music studio. 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. For instance, in the c blues scale the notes are c eb f gb g. The scale studies are broken down into intervals and the exercises contain three and fourpart chords, playing.
Learn how to play the e blues scale on the piano piano. There are a total of 430 finger exercises in this book. Gordon is he feels, one of his most important books because of the nature of the blues scale and how it is used to improvise in many styles of contemporary music. Starting from any key on the piano you can play a scale. On this page you can find full length video lessons which cover all of the essential theory. The longest musical phrase begins with a single note. Easy way to learn to play e blues scale on a piano using our notes and chords charts. Paddy will also introduce the concepts that will enable you to benefit from the more advanced courses. The next scale i want to talk about is the e blues scale. Any note you hit in this scale, usually sounds right when soloing. You can get started by clicking on a free lesson below.
The more that you practice these essential scales for jazz and blues piano players, the more comfortable that youll feel playing them and the more sounds that youll create. Blues music scales chart for jazz improvisation jazz theory. These scales are for obvious reasons perfect when playing blues on the piano. Jan 31, 2014 for the full pdf chart, click here to download. At this point in our study of the blues, now its time to introduce the blues scale. Learn how to play the a blues scale on piano free video. For more advanced students, have them play a 12 or 16bar blues form underneath. Since the key of e 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. How to play the blues on the piano or keyboard dummies. Once you purchase a sheet music, you will be able to download the pdf file right away from the website. For the sake of brevity, ill only look at playing blues in the key of c. Music educational books and sheet music downloads for blues, jazz, funk, latin, gospel, rock, celtic styles for instruments including piano, keyboards, sax. The pentatonic scale, major and minor free piano lessons.
The most common scales when playing the piano, are major and minor scales. Move up the scale finger by finger until you hit the e sharp with your fourth finger. They are written in treble and bass clef in all twelve keys. Likewise, if youre playing an f blues, the f blues scale. The solution below shows the e blues scale, on the piano, treble clef and bass clef. Scale blues minori e maggiori per pianoforte piano feeling. Please share your blues improv ideas andor your favorite blues piano pieces in the comments below. Blues piano scales, chords, and chord progressions for. Every scale determines a key,that is an harmonic combunation of tones based on that scale.
They think that learning the blues scale will help them to write and perform blues style music and they are correct. A 12bar blues is performed, as the name implies, by playing twelve bars in a given arrangement that are repeated through a song. The only 3 chords you need to master the blues on piano. The fingerings of the major blues scale resemble fingerings that you may already know for the minor blues scale but starting on different notes.
314 211 586 796 1352 751 750 1277 296 278 714 1241 492 214 30 737 759 932 37 902 276 904 866 969 653 466 325 674 49 426 703 1002 625 542 239 94 1426 565 387 526 798 669 898 1128 587 798 1341 1406 39 433 292