The Mixolydian Scale in the Blues

With
Ollie WestonOllie Weston voices seventh chords - D7, G7 and A7 - over a 12-bar blues in D, using the Mixolydian scale to find the strong notes in each chord.
What's in the course
51 lessons (2h 9m) · 1 free
01. Introduction + leaving town demonstration
Free lesson3:02

02. The Blues Scale
2:48

03. Swing Quavers
1:42

04. Combing the Blues Scale and Swing Quavers
3:57

05. Playing through the Blues form using root notes
1:18

06. Writes Your Own Blues
0:59

07. Leaving Town Blues - Improvise
4:13

08. Improvisation recap
0:49

01. Introduction to Minor 7th Chords
3:32

02. Dorian Scale Workout
1:40

03. Minor 7th Chord Lick
2:22

04. Minor Pentatonic Patterns
3:51

05. Minor Pentatonic Workout
1:52

06. Pentatonic vs Blues Scale
1:59

07. So Far so Good - Introduction
1:09

08. So Far so Good - Head
1:37

09. Minor Chord Extensions
2:45

10. Rhythmic Ideas
2:13

11. So Far so Good - Performance with Solo
3:50

01. Introduction to Modes
6:09

02. Diatonic Modes Exercise
4:04

03. Modes with a Static Root
1:58

04. Modes with Static Root Exercise
1:06

05. Modes with Static Root Recap
0:34

06. Phrase Exercise for Modes
1:07

07. Phrase Exercise for Modes (Demonstration)
1:29

08. Song Examples
1:56

09. First Impresssions - Chords and Harmony
4:06

10. First Impresssions - Performance
4:06

11. First Impresssions - Introduction and Analysis
3:30
Lesson transcript
Expanding on the 12 Bar Blues: Seventh Chords
In our lesson on the 12 Bar Blues, I introduced the concept of root movement within a blues. Now, we will expand on that by adding seventh chords on each of those roots.
Review of Our Progress
- We started with a blues in D.
- We discussed chords one, four, and five.
Seventh Chords in 12 Bar Blues
Instead of just playing the roots each time, we will voice a seventh chord on top of each of those. Here are the sounds of the seventh chords in a 12 bar blues format:
- Chord One: D7
- Chord Four: G7
- Chord Five: A7
Chord Progression:
- Start with D7 (Chord One)
- Move to G7 (Chord Four)
- Back to D7 (Chord One)
- Then to A7 (Chord Five)
- Back to G7 (Chord Four)
- Return to D7 (Chord One)
We will look at these with a backing track and play some of the strong sounds within these seventh chords in the context of a 12 bar blues.
51 lessons
2h 9m of structured video lessons
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Meet your guru

Meet your guru
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.

































