Contrasting Major and Minor in the Blues
Lesson time: (2min 16sec)
Course preview
This lesson is part of the course Exploring Jazz Saxophone: Part 1 - Getting Started
Watch a preview of the full course below.
Lesson transcript:
Exploring Major and Minor Tonality in Blues
By contrasting F sharp and F natural within the blues sequence, specifically, finding the third of D7 and the seventh of G7, we can create a really interesting contrast between major and minor tonality.
Key Concepts
- The blues scale imposes minorness uniformly over the music.
- However, by using seventh chords, we can access both these sounds, allowing for a blend of major and minor within the blues.
Practical Application
Example Exercise:
I'm going to play a 12-bar blues where I use F sharp and F over the relevant chords. You'll hear how this contrast adds extra color to my chord sequence.
Countdown to Play:
1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4.
While this may not sound particularly melodic on its own, it serves as a way to access the detailed sounds within these chords, it's really useful!
Historical Context
Lots of musicians have utilized this major-minor contrast in their tunes. There is a blues tune we're going to explore in this chapter where I echo my phrasing between major and minor keys.
- It starts on a major third, but then I will reverse it and begin with a minor.
Skill Development
Having the option and dexterity to switch between major and minor within melodies is a really helpful skill. This ability should unlock the blues sequence for you!
About the instructor
Since graduating from the Leeds College of Music (BA Hons) and the Guildhall School of Music (Post Graduate Diploma in Performance), Ollie has built a busy and varied career in music. As a saxophonist he has performed in live and studio settings with artists as diverse as Amy Winehouse, Tim Minchin, Bonobo, Frank Turner, the London Jazz Orchestra, the Hackney Colliery Band, the Ambient Jazz Ensemble and the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. He is also the co-leader of the jazz quartet 'Time Is Of The Essence', and composes and arranges material for this and other ensembles. Ollie is active in music education, currently as course leader for the jazz department at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (junior school), where he runs jazz ensembles, big band and theory classes. He has written a series of 'Exploring Jazz' books for Schott Music that are published worldwide and feature on exam syllabuses in the UK. Ollie has also run workshops for Oxford University, Pro Corda Strings and BABSWE, as well as the Guildhall School of Music summer schools. In his Exploring Jazz Saxophone courses, Ollie takes you from getting started right through to soloing confidently over songs and chord sequences, building the improvising skills that put a real jazz player's vocabulary at your fingertips. read more