Why learning more than one scale pattern is beneficial. For instance, in the c blues scale the notes are c eb f gb g bb c. Learn how to play the a blues scale on piano free video. They think that learning the blues scale will help them to write and perform blues style music and they are correct. The scales are used often for composing melodies and for improvisation.
The pentatonic blues scale is built upon three dominant chords. 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. Then begin improvising on a major or minor blues structure, just using blues scale notes. These make great handouts for piano teachers to use with students. A big jazz musician wrote a sentence in his book and he was particularly struck by it when i was eighteen and it simply said that blues is the soul of jazz. Blues turnarounds the easy approach this talk of i, iv, v is a little bit heavy on the theory, but there is a easy way to locate these chords that doesnt require you know all the.
This note is known as blue note and it is the flattened fifth in the case of the minor pentatonic, or the flattened third in the case of the major pentatonic. Learning a pattern for any scale is not a bad idea, but it wont necessarily help with anything but playing scales. Pentatonic and blues scales covers the essential guitar theory for the minor pentatonic scale, major pentatonic scale and the blues scale and highlights the characteristics of each scale with useful licks and exercises. Sheet music with piano pieces and scales to open as pdf files. For more advanced students, have them play a 12 or 16bar blues form underneath. This sassy scale will enable you to riff, solo and improvise as you play. Aug 12, 2019 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. The blues scales explained i am always getting asked by piano players, guitarists and solo instrumentalists to show them the blues scale. But this book can also be used on its own as a stand alone reference guide to scale diagrams, lead guitar soloing strategies, modal playing, learning to play over chord changes, and much more. Here you can try to play some piano pieces from classical composers, or the children and tradional songs below. Basic fingering for piano is try to play black keys with fingers, white with fingers or thumb.
No portion of this book may be reproduced in any way wo express written permission. Besides learning scales from visual diagram presentation, it is a very good idea to exercise them in notated form. Contains guitar theory, pentatonic licks, exercises and sequences. Basic music theory by jonathan harnum is an excellent book for people of all levels. Printable piano music scales in all major and harmonic minor keys. Figure 5 chromatic scale musicians tend to like to use the visual reference of the piano for this same information. There are 3 groups and its easier to learn a particular finger pattern and apply it to the group rather than learn each scale separately. Essential tools for jazz improvising i learned quite by accident from the forum all about jazz. But i want to write for guitar players, and take into consideration the peculiarities, limitations recommended. I am always getting asked by piano players, guitarists and solo instrumentalists to show them the blues scale.
Pdf resources covering chords, scales, jazzy chord progressions and links to useful. 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 treble clef for high range notes the bass clef for low range notes the alto clef for middle range notes the treble clef also called the g clef because it. Even beginner piano students can have fun practicing blues improv just have them stick to. Start with the blues scale, stay with the blues scale, and eventually become trapped by the blues scale. Heres a little something that ive been working with in the studio this week. 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 traditional 12bar blues has a total of 12 bars or measures of the iivv chords that keep repeating in 12bar blocks over and over.
Jamey aebersold personal correspondence dan has done a great job with this book. Lets learn the blues scales on piano and keyboard in every key. Here is a pdf of the 36 important scales major, dorian, and. Since the key of a 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. In general it can be used on every chord but above all on min7 th and dominant 7th chord. This book will help those who want to have fun playing the blues. Learn a variety of flexible scales that help you create musical ideas. Create, develop, and express your own musical ideas and phrases.
Jazz piano lessons stepbystep lessons to master jazz theory. I have played various instruments over 24 years and because of harnums matter of fact, conversational tone, this book has lent more to my understanding of basic music theory than all my private instructors combined. Are these standard piano fingerings for the blues scale. Dec 17, 2014 the notes of the blues scale in various keys. A good method for teaching blues and jazz improvising to beginning students has been much needed. Or, in the same way, the g blues scale with the chords g7, c7 and d7. Play triad of the scale 1, 3, and 5 of the scale 6. Blues scales blues is an irresistible tonality for a guitar player. Jazz piano basics practice guide pdf practice plans. It has been a long time coming, but finally that need has been filled. The notes of the pentatonic, song with a pentatonic scale. Below this video you can download these pdf practice plans, which cover all of the important exercises and drills to master the theory in this course. He is the author of several jazz theory books published by hal.
The scale is made up of the notes a, c, d, e sharp, e, g, and a. Blues scale is the pentatonic scale with one more note added in the scale. These are the four most common scales in pop and rock music. Piano pentatonic blues scales overview with pictures. There are a total of 430 finger exercises in this book. 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.
Bending notes on the harmonica by david barrett for stanford ccrma music 318 class. Music notation and theory for intelligent beginners. Sign up for our free masterclass boost your jazz blues. The 1st construction, using the major scale, starts at lesson 3. Music theory pdf ebook for musicians and normal people. You may find these playalongs useful for practicing bebop scales, licks or patterns.
Pdf microtonal evaluation of blue notes in the early blues scale by empirical pitch. Music history and the physics of sound are included to the extent that they shed light on music theory. Here is a pdf of the 36 important scales major, dorian, and mixolydian in all 12. The main purpose of the course, however, is to explore basic music theory so thoroughly that the interested student will then be able to easily pick up whatever further theory is wanted. Pdf total guitar the ultimate scale book guilherme. Ever wanted to play the blues, but werent sure where to start. The scale syllabus can help you uncover new sounds. Move up the scale finger by finger until you hit the e sharp with your fourth finger. Send me a mail if you want a slow version of a piano piece. The notes of the chromatic scale, an example with a chromatic scale. Basic music theory for adult beginner level piano players. These scales are for obvious reasons perfect when playing blues on the piano.
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. Other common blues progressions include the 8 bar, 16bar, and 24bar blues. They just ooze that minor bluesy vibe or sweet major vibe. Blue notes central to the blues sound is that of blue notes. To play the blues is a fascinating undertaking because it can be both simplistic and yet intangibly tricky to master. 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 solution below shows the c blues scale, on the piano, treble clef and bass clef. Even beginner piano students can have fun practicing blues improv.
Gordon has created 20 grooves in this book containing over 150 patterns in total, using notes solely from the blues scale. Figure 6 piano keyboard 1 draw is the note d and the 1 blow is the note c on the harmonica. If youve never studied music before, you might need to spend a little more time on this chapter. You can, for example, combine c blues scale with c7, f7 and g7 chords. 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. This scale is much used above all in blues,pop,jazz,soul,funk,rhythm and blues,rock. Download our free pdf versions of each scale with fingering. Here ive organised them in groups of fingering rather than keys. Recently i did a post about the 3 most important jazz scales for beginning improvisers. A lot of people are under the impression that blues piano is not for beginners. In fact there are so many other scales that we can use to solo over a blues progression, that it would be a pitty to only use one scale all of the time. Adding a blue note to the regular pentatonic scale result in the pentatonic blues scale.
It is usually considered the forerunner of both jazz and rock, and it breaks many of the conventions of classical music theory. Steps to the real book helps to foster both approaches. Major scales, arpeggios, and cadences, 2 octaves these scales are arranged pianistically by groups according to fingering patterns to facilitate memorization harmonic form of the minor scale is shown duplicate enharmonic spellings are not shown. Practicing, using the exercises found in this booklet or in vol. The formula of the minor pentatonic, a list of all 12 minor pentatonic scales. Pentatonic and blues scales fundamental changes music book.
Every scale determines a key,that is an harmonic combunation of tones based on that scale. These playalongs stay on one dominant chord for an extended period of time. Blues piano will teach you the basic skills you need. Music theory for guitar introduction olav torvunds guitar pages music theory book of the month january 2005 happy traum. Read on for a complete blues scale guitar lesson what youll learn. Spend more time messing about with phrases in in your case here blues, and just try different fingerings. An introduction to blues turnarounds, intros and endings by scott blanchard have you ever listened to a favorite blues tune and wondered how they put the intro together. Dont get me wrong on this, its perfectly legitamite to use the minor pentatonic scale over dominant blues chords.
This figure, found throughout the syllabus, indicates youtube links that demonstrate some scale, interval or musical passage, or give a concise video lecture. Jazz scales explained in 10 minutes no more confusion. How did they use the final turnaround to create such a satisfying ending. If you liked this excerpt, order dennis mccumbers book, the total blues guitarist, at in addition, be sure to check out his blues guitar lessons at. The royal conservatory piano syllabus, 2015 edition.
We provide downloads for common scales including major, the three minor scales natural, harmonic, and melodic, the blues scale, and others. One approach to becoming a jazz piano player is to learn how to interpret lead sheet format such as is found in the real book. The essentials of piano chords interactive piano chord. For right hand fingering, start on the a with your thumb. How to form the blues scale on piano piano scales youtube. The exercises in this book use the major scale, pentatonic scale, blues scale, and chromatic scale. Blues piano scales, chords, and chord progressions for. Switch out the regular twooctave majorminor scales for a minor pentatonic blues scale. The flat third, flat fifth and flat seventh notes of the scale are the blue notes of the. How to play your piano piece with metronome in the right rhythm. Since the blues was being sang by the african slaves through singing in the fields about their pain and their distress you can imagine that this scale does not work at the same way like the major or minor scale do.
Jan 31, 2014 free minor pentatonic blues scale chart. We know that every major scale has a relative minor scale. Pentatonic scales are killer scales to play over blues and over iivv changes. Free minor pentatonic blues scale chart saras music studio.
Depending on how long you have to practice, you will either spend 5 minutes or 10 minutes on each of these theory areas. A tip is to use the left hand for a chord and play notes from the scale with the right. Isbn 18973111 this electronic edition, isbn 18973111, may be copied and distributed without prior written permission of the publisher provided that this edition is not altered in any way, shape, or form, and that it is distributed for free. Evans also produced a major reference book on the blues 1982. I am looking for volunteers to translate this book into any language. Just the blues scale can be considered a basis for a particular key blues. I have given you the set intervals for each scale important point. Check out content that is covered in each one of our ebook modules.
Aug 22, 20 play and learn by ear all 12 blues scales. Many highly advanced blues guitarists make use of not one single scale, but combine many different scales to make their sound stand out more. Any standard music theory book or course will introduce the basics of western music. Each scale is provided as a separate pdf download with finger numbers above each note. In the case of c pentatonic, the three chords are c7 f7 g7.
An introduction to blues turnarounds, intros and endings. If these questions are giving you the blues, read on and well discover tricks thatll have. If youve already studied music, you can glance over this chapter and then move right on to chapter 2. Read download piano scales arpeggios pdf pdf download. In this book youll use the yes concepts below, not the typical no methods. The solution below shows the a blues scale, on the piano, treble clef and bass clef. To summarize, the most important scales to learn first are the major, dorian, and mixolydian scales because they help you navigate major 7th, minor 7th, and dominant b7 chords, respectively. In a sense, the clef calibrates or orients the staff to specific notes. The chromatic scale lists every note available in our western european diatonic music system. The essentials of piano chords all about chords and intervals efore we get into the system, youll need to know some basics of music theory.
Pdf microtonal analysis of blue notes and the blues scale. Musicians tend to like to use the visual reference of the piano for this same information. The blues scale is so important for anyone who wants to play the blues. Scala blues piano piano lessons book 1 hal leonard student piano library blues trinity piano grade 4 piano beach blues blues guitar sugar blues clarinet blues sugar blues pdf scala web scala scala 100 things blues fans should know fender blues deville sugar blues ebflish sugar blues by dufty king of the delta blues spark scala scala. If youre a beginner on this page, i have good news for you. T tudes develop technical skills within a musical context.
Nov 18, 2008 you can printout the pdf below which is all major scale for practise at the piano. I have quite a few students who are fans of playing the blues. Olav torvunds guitar pages music theory book of the month january 2005 happy traum. 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. Often new players are drawn to the instrument because of a desire to play the blues. Here are the three most common positions, or keys, played on the c harmonica with their. Then you just keep repeating that same 12bar pattern over and over for the length of the song. From comping to soloing, youll learn the theory, the tools, and even the tricks that the pros use. Recommended books etc on music theory go here for links to other music theory sites.
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