The natural minor scale
With
Tim RichardsDiscover how the natural minor scale on A has the same notes as the C major scale.
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20 lessons (0h 40m) · 1 free
Lesson transcript
Understanding A Minor Blues
All the pieces in this chapter so far, including the blues, have been in major keys.
A Minor Blues Chords
In A minor blues:
- The I chord must be minor.
- The IV and V chords could be major or minor, depending on which scale you use to generate them.
We've seen that minor triads occur naturally on:
- The second (II chord)
- The third (III chord)
- The sixth (VI chord) degrees of the major scale.
In C major:
- The II chord is D minor
- The III chord is E minor
- The VI chord is A minor
If you start the scale of C on A and use the same chords:
- A minor
- D minor
- G minor
You're now actually playing a natural minor scale. This shares the same notes as C major but starts on the sixth degree.
Playing Blues in A Minor
We can use this to play a blues in A minor without changing anything:
- I chord: A minor
- IV chord: D minor
- V chord: E minor
All three chords are minor.
Key Signature
The scale of A minor is the relative minor of C major. It has the same notes and shares the same key signature:
- No flats
- No sharps
Finding the Relative Minor
To find the relative minor key or scale, you go down a minor third from the major key, or a tone and a half.
- A minor is the relative minor of C major.
Cloudy Days in A Minor
"Cloudy Days" in A minor is actually an eight-bar blues.
- It has four bars on A minor, then it goes to:
- E minor
- D minor
- Back to A minor
That's an eight-bar sequence.
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Meet your guru
Meet your guru
Critically acclaimed jazz pianist and composer Tim Richards is one of Britain’s most experienced jazz educators, teaching piano privately for over 30 years, as well as at Morley College, Goldsmiths College, the University of Surrey, Premises Studios and other venues in the UK and abroad. He has produced numerous titles for Schott Music, including the best-selling two-volume Exploring Jazz Piano, Blues, Boogie & Gospel Collection and the acclaimed Improvising Blues Piano. He is also co-author, with John Crawford, of Exploring Latin Piano and Brazilian Piano Collection.
More recently Schott have published Jazz, Latin & Modern Collection (15 pieces for solo piano), comprising Tim Richards originals alongside pieces by Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk, and the two volume set Beginning Jazz Piano (now a two-part MusicGurus course).
“The real joy of Tim’s music… is that it is both hugely educational but also such great fun to play. Anyone with the slightest interest in learning to play or teach jazz piano should really acquire a set of Tim’s books.” PianoDao
As a performer Tim has been a presence on the UK jazz scene since the 1980s, also playing the blues with UK and US legends such as Otis Grand, Earl Green, Dana Gillespie, Larry Garner, Joe Louis Walker and Mojo Buford. He has released over a dozen albums as a leader (featuring many of London’s best jazz musicians including Pete King, Gilad Atzmon, Tony Kofi, Jason Yarde, Seb Rochford, Ed Jones, Dick Pearce and many others), and toured all over Europe with line-ups ranging from duo to nine-piece. His latest recording, the album ‘Telegraph Hill’ by the six-piece Hextet, was described in The Observer as "A true joy from beginning to end".
More info can be found on his website www.timrichards.ndo.co.uk
