Similar to the pentagon, which has 5 sides, the pentatonic scale is a 5 note scale which can be used in any key for improvisation. It reconstructs blues piano from the ground up, and encourages you to understand all the building blocks so that you can start playing something pleasing and even improvising quickly. Oct 21, 2019 the dorian minor scale as a b3, natural 6, and b7. How to improvise jazz melodies bob keller harvey mudd college. 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. A deep understanding of the 12 bar blues chord progression, broken down into easy steps. Highlights of the art of improvisation the art of improvisation is a twovolume set that includes the features listed below, and more, to help you learn and master jazz improvisation. You also learned easy righthand patterns using three of the six tones in the blues scale f, eb and ab.
Bb jazz blues the basics when playing over a progression like the bb jazz blues you need to be aware of certain things and be able to play different things so that you have the material you need to really improvise following the harmony of the blues. You can improvise using a play two bars, rest two bars. The french translation was published by schott in two volumes in 2014, entitled simply blues piano i and ii. This will create a smooth, melodic improvisation, contrasting the more chordalbased method of using a chord tone solo. The result is about as exciting as a bedtime story from ben stein. After the pentatonic minor scale and major scale, the blues scale is probably the most widelyused scale in guitar improvisation. 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. Major blues scales here are pictures and notes of the major pentatonic blues scales. You must learn and be able to play the blues scale if youre going to be a blues piano player.
Easytoread explanations of 7 elements of improvisation, in 5 skill levels. Rhythmic variations using triplets and 116 notes part 6. How to integrate blue notes and the blues scale into your musical vocabulary. Click download or read online button to get improvising blues piano book now. Improvise with the blues scale in 2 positions on the. This is because this scale is really the blues scale with one note missing. Melodic minor scale one fifth above diminished scale one semitone above dominant diminished scale whole tone scale. My piano improv for kids ebook is a fun collection of piano improv activities for kids. Amazing jazz improvisation exercise jazz piano concepts. Most of them were pretty average and didnt really improve my playing. The pentatonic scale, major and minor free piano lessons.
A blues scale consists of 6 different notes, namely the root, flat 3rd, 4th, flat 5th, 5th and flat 7th of the major scale. Sep 10, 2014 in blues and country songs you can use the minor pentatonic scale even if the song is in a major key. You can apply the blues scale to pretty much any solo, in any song, and at least sound like you have a clue. Practicing, using the exercises found in this booklet or in vol.
How to develop your improvisation from beginner to advanced. Youve probably heard us say this many times before. Improvising with various pentatonic scales blues scale. You could instead use your knowledge about scales and chords, but freely, without a given plan or directions. Add simple 18 note based rhythms using skips, holds and rests part 5. The scale syllabus can help you uncover new sounds. Mastering the chord and scale alterations that define the blues sound. Blues solo improvisation a basic introduction guitar noise. This handout shows piano voicings for playing the blues in f and the blues in b flat. Below is a diagram of the guitar freboard showing you the minor pent. A blues scale once again it is important that if you are going to learn to improvise with this scale that you. For the rest of this article, well be using the concept of the 12bar blues and playing it in the key of a major.
Knowing the pentatonic scale helps you to create many piano music styles. A trumpetspecific, embouchurebuilding supplement to craig fraedrichs scale studies for improvisation. Pentatonic scales are the oldest musical scales in the word. Scale compendium, often referred to as the major 326 or minor 330 pentatonic scale4, play the shapes found in the exercises, but replace the written notes with the notes of your chos en scale. Free beginning piano improvisation lessons keyboard improv. Improvising blues piano download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl. The scales are used often for composing melodies and for improvisation.
These notes create a pentatonic 5note scale that is easy to see, and can be accompanied effectively by just one or two chords. How to really improvise using the blues scale pianopig. Dr ks userfriendly material, however, has literally skyrocketed my boogie playing to the next level. Nov 21, 2019 the scale contains the letters and the words to tell your story. Even though the lick and lefthand are written out as eighth notes, they are really played with a triplet feel. These include blues scales, arpeggios, targeting guidetones, and more. Youll improvise through the blues sequence many, many times, until you get the feel of it. In the case of c pentatonic, the three chords are c7 f7 g7.
Scales are not the secret shortcut to jazz improvisation. How to improvise jazz melodies bob keller harvey mudd. In this lesson i will give you the exercises to really dig into the scale and memorize it from top to bottom, backwards and forwards so you can start your journey to learn to solo and improvise. For the sake of brevity, ill only look at playing blues in the key of c. It really helps students be better at improvising when they at least periodically go through the process of writing down a song, and focusing on using good musical structure. Blues scale in general it can be used on every chord but above all on min7 th and dominant 7th chord. How to learn a scale inside out to improvise a guitar solo. If they are special, it is because they have spent their time wisely learning the tools of the trade. By improvising on the piano you dont play after piano notes as in sheet music, but after your own ideas. At this point in our study of the blues, now its time to introduce the blues scale. With your knowledge of chord tones, the blues scale is now just another. For example, in an a minor blues scale, the added note would be d sharp. Blues scale lesson, blues scale in all keys by michael. Pentatonic patterns for improvisation sample preparatory exercises below is an example of what i call pentatonic exercise 1 in the key of c major.
Beginners often fall into the trap of only playing the notes in the chords. Learn 2 essential blues scales for blues piano improv. In this handout, bert ligon shares some basic concepts of constructing good jazz bass lines. The pentatonic blues scale is built upon three dominant chords. Jazz scales and improvisation piano scales learn how.
National jazz workshop a summer jazz camp at shenandoah. So, yes, even though we are in a major blues key, we do want to play the minor pentatonic scale from the tonic of that key. In the same way you can combine a g blues scale with the chords g7, c7 and d7 and so on in different keys. It can be used over anything including the 12 bar blues, funk and jazz. Memorizing lists of scales from major and minor to diminished and octatonic. They are the 5 notes of the minor pentatonic scale, plus one additional note. For many students, when starting out with blues improvisation, its very easy to get locked inside the notes of the. The scale itself is the same as the minor pentatonic with the addition of one extra note. As the name indicates, this scale consists of 5 notes. We will use the g major scale as an example, but you can apply this to any scale.
You can, for example, combine c blues scale with c7, f7 and g7 chords. My online blues course teaches blues piano from scratch and builds your ability in a modular way. How to really improvise using the blues scale youtube. Continue creating longer phrases, finish each phrase on the root note 1 or a blue not b3, b5, or b7. It is the most commonly used minor scale for improvisation in jazz music it works over any ii chord, or i chord, but it can also be used for other minor chords, such as the iii chord and the vi chord. As you progress through the course, youll learn left hands, right hands, bridges and endings which youll use together to make your own blues piano compositions. Ability to improvise any song using the pentatonic scale. Understanding blues poetry and using this form to create powerful solos. This improvisation is over the blues scale in the key of c. A common variation when playing the minor pentatonic scale in a blues context is to add an extra note between the p4 and the p5. How to improvise with the 12bar blues making music magazine. The blues scale is a very versatile scale which is great for beginners learning how to improvise. The pentatonic scale is a great scale for improvising and soloing. The exercises in this book use the major scale, pentatonic scale, blues scale, and chromatic scale.
Tim wrote the well known exploring jazz piano and improvising blues piano books and has several others to his name. How to improvise using piano blues scale making music magazine. Using one scale, f major, over three chords use scale sequential fragments sequences of a few notes of a companion scale can form a part of your improvisation. We will begin by improvising melodies using only the black notes of the piano. Essentially, the blues is a specific progression that uses the c7, f7, and g7 chords. The 1st month we will lay the foundation for improvisation, including the 12bar blues. In this piano course we will use what we know about chords from the accompaniment courses, learn the blues and start improvising wonderful music based on. The 16 most important scales in jazz updated learn jazz.
For instance, in the c blues scale the notes are c eb f gb g. A nice combination are the chords am7, dm7 and e7 together with the a pentatonic blues scale. Check out the links below for more training on how to get your students jamming and creating their own impressive music. Play the blues scale and other licks in the right hand on the piano how to. Everyone secretly wishes to sit next to the piano, close their eyes and let magic happen. This booklet is designed to give you the basics which you will need in order to learn the art of improvising in music.
Oct 21, 2016 some of these other ways are mentioned above. It can seem like the practice of scales never ends. Here are pictures and notes of the major pentatonic blues scales. The blues scale is created by adding an extra note to the minor pentatonic scale. After youre familiar with the sound of the chord progression while soloing over autumn leaves. Ive spent a ton of money on all kinds of blues and boogie tutorial books. Oct 19, 2016 blues piano improvisation the blues scale ok, ok one scale, then no more theory. How pentatonic scales can help with piano improvisation.
Learn the amazing art of improvising on the piano or keyboard. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Any note you hit in this scale, usually sounds right when soloing. Whether you play guitar, trumpet, or whatever, it helps to see the blues scale on piano. But there are typical scales used in jazz and here is an overview. Blues piano i ed 21512 includes chapters, and the cd for both volumes blues piano ii ed 22451 includes chapters 45, and the index for both volumes italy the italian translation improvisare il blues al piano was published as. You just need to know the right notes for each key. Despite the age and history of the pentatonic scale, it is used extensively in modern jazz improvisation. The blues chord progression lasts 12 bars thus the phrase 12bar blues that move in a familiar pattern using those three chords.
Today were covering what many would consider the second most basic lesson, and an excellent practice sandbox before you move on to more complicated techniques the 12 bar blues and blues scale combo. Youll learn the blues scale and develop good hand independence with my rock and blues basics series, which lead naturally to exciting blues and boogie styles such as this. Many feel that people who improvise or play jazz are special. How to play more advanced blues guitar solos antony reynaert. A while back we took a look at the most basic lesson in guitar improvisation. This scale is much used above all in blues,pop,jazz,soul,funk,rhythm and blues,rock. Despite its name, the blues scale is not only used in blues music. In this first article well start with the very basics, that is, the 12bar blues and the pentatonic scale. There are virtually infinite limitations you can set. For example, the same scale, f major, can be used over all three chords in the iivi progression below, although different tones are normally emphasized over each one. Dont get me wrong on this, its perfectly legitamite to use the minor pentatonic scale over dominant blues chords. Pentatonic scale improvisation pentatonic scale soloing. It can be used to solo over anything including the 12 bar blues, funk and jazz providing the key doesnt change. Once you are familiar with the intervallic characteristics of the scale, it should be very easy to play in any key.
If youre new to jazz improvisation, learning the blues scale will save you hours of pain and discomfort. There are a total of 430 finger exercises in this book. For this reason, we should practice improvising using the blues scale in this case the g blues scale. Pentatonic scale is one of the easiest scales to master. Mar 16, 2017 this is a lesson for beginners explaining how to improvise using the blues scale.
Lets summarize what you can use in the chords of blues first, fourth and fifth degrees, all of them nonaltered dominants. It also lays the material in front of you in such a way that you can quickly understand how all the building blocks fit together to construct the music. Improvisation in blues advanced simplifying theory. In case you didnt know, the 12bar blues is a chord progression of you guessed it, 12 bars or measures.
You can improvise using the same rhythm repeated over and over again. Over 350 concise musical examples to illustrate what youre learning. For instance, in the c blues scale the notes are c. How to improvise the blues scale on the piano piano. Or, in the same way, the g blues scale with the chords g7, c7 and d7. So what chord progressions work the best for improvising in a slow blues piano style. W hen you first began learning how to improvise, chances are the first thing you encountered were scales. Its such an essential tool of blues playing that you. Blues piano improvisation advice and tips play blues. In the last blues lesson 12bar blues, you learned how to play the 12bar blues in the key of f, using simplified 2note chords. This blues lesson is perfect for beginner pianists.
You will work out of a 28 page book so you will see every note, every chord, every progression in the book. Concerning keys, f, bb, eb and ab are all common in jazz since they works well for brass instrument. Pistol annies i feel a sin coming on is part of the f minor pentatonic scale f, ab, bb, c, eb with the occasional a, but the song is in f. Improvising on piano really is easy when you know the formulas. There is not a single group of scales that can be called jazz scales a jazz pianist uses lots of different scales. In this handout, bert ligon shows many different possibilities for improvising bass lines on a blues.
Learn to play piano by chords blues and improvisation. These are the four most common scales in pop and rock music. The badass boogie bundle pdf is unquestionably the best boogie purchase i have ever made. This pdf digital booklet instant download for all treble instruments contains the 11 exerciseslines specially crafted from the video below in all 12 keys which are meticulously designed to help you assimilate as quickly as possible these exotic notes that pro jazz and blues players require to express themselves. You can say youre going improvise a solo using only one note or one scale. How to improvise on the blues scale in c on the piano piano. This sassy scale will enable you to riff, solo and improvise as you play your favorite rock or blues songs. The only 3 chords you need to master the blues on piano. Piano pentatonic blues scales overview with pictures. It can be used over anything including the 12 bar blues, funk and jazz providing the key doesnt change. In this lesson, youre going to learn how to all about the blues scale. Just the blues scale can be considered a basis for a particular key blues. Youll get frustrated and confused trying to remember all the chords. 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 believe that improvising on the piano and composing go hand in hand. Using scale sequential fragments in playing with scale fragments, it is best if chord tones are hit on the beat rather than off. Learn how to improvise with a special and unique method. Ability to compose piano music by using the pentatonic scale. Lets learn the blues scales on piano and keyboard in every key. How to improvise on piano using the blues scale youtube. In this exercise we play our major pentatonic scale over the entire range of our instrument up and back down again. A nice combination is the chords am7, dm7 and e7 together with the a pentatonic blues scale. Every scale determines a key,that is an harmonic combunation of tones based on that scale. Yes, youll hear a lot of blues musicians just playing the basic 3 chords but if you really want to learn how to play blues piano i suggest you go much further.
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