Lesson on the Blues

Introduction

Hi! In this lesson, we're going to talk more about the blues. This time, instead of discussing blue notes and blues scales, we'll focus on the 12-bar blues sequence.

Blues can exist within various genres of music. However, when you add the 12-bar sequence, it becomes a proper blues.

The 12-Bar Sequence

The 12 bars typically structure as follows:

• 4 bars of I
• 2 bars of IV
• 2 bars of I
• 1 bar of V
• 1 bar of IV
• 1 bar of I
• 1 bar of V

There are a few variations, but fundamentally, this is what the blues sequence is. You can often think of it as three repeated phrases, with each phrase being four bars long.

It's something you'll be very familiar with, even if you haven't been consciously aware of the blues.

Listening Exercise

First of all, let's have a listen to that sequence on its own.

Melody Practice

Okay, let's try playing something over that: a simple little melody using the E minor blues scale.

This format is very simple and adaptable. You can hear it in hundreds, if not thousands, of songs, particularly from the 50s and 60s.

Approaches to Playing Melody

There are two different approaches to playing melody or solos:

1. Stick with the same scale/melody through the three different chords.
2. Modify as you go through those chords.

Same Melody Approach

Let's first try something where we play the same thing three times. You can hear that it works well. Using the blues scale allows it to fit nicely over the three changing chords.

Let's do the same thing again, this time in the key of G using the G major blues scale.

Attention to Details

Now, the observant among you may have noticed that on the D chord, I went up to A. I took evasive action because the major blues scale can sometimes interfere with the pattern you're playing.

Whereas the minor blues scale usually manages all three chords, you often need just one note shift with the G major blues scale.

Minor Blues Scale

So far, we've discussed G major and G minor blues scales, and we haven't seen a minor chord yet. What do we do if the key of the song is in minor?

Let's use an example of a blues in A minor. For A minor, we'll play the A minor blues scale, which includes:

• Flattened third
• Flattened fifth
• Flattened seventh

Since the flattened seventh and flattened third are already in the minor scale, the only true blue note is the flattened fifth.

Tune Example

Let's hear this tune.

Incidentally, this tune is based on a composition by my friend, Nick Pickett. Back in the 60s, he had an instrumental violin hit called "Nine by Nine," which sold a million copies. Unfortunately, due to some unfortunate circumstances, he never received his royalties.

Conclusion

We're going to finish off this lesson with a tune called "Big Blues." This piece has a few tricky bits, to say the least, which I'll demonstrate.

Key Sections

• Bar 30: Long, sweeping bows and should be played faster. It may take you some time to reach that speed.
• Bar 38: This one involves third position, using the third and first finger.
• Bar 32: Needs to be faster, followed by a swooping upward motion.

Practice Tips

If there's a part of this tune or solo that feels too difficult, set it aside for now. Focus on finding a workaround or simplification that allows you to play the whole piece without getting stuck on one section.

This is a valuable lesson, not just for this book, but for life in general: if it's too difficult, it doesn't mean you can't do it eventually. It shouldn't stop you from giving the entire piece a try.

Final Recap

In this lesson, we covered:

• The blues in E
• The blues in G
• The blues in A minor

Practice all of these tunes and then try improvising on each using the correct scales. Finally, work through "Big Blues".

Take your time with the difficult sections and aim to play the full tune and solo. If you can't get it right away, set yourself a target, whether that's one day, one week, or even one month.

See you in the next lesson!