Lesson 19 of 29PianoBeginner

Starting out with Blues improvisation

1:53

Use the 12-bar blues as your first springboard for improvising - the three-chord form in F, then adding the blues scale in the right hand.

Part of the courseRockschool Beginner Piano Lessons: Grade 129 lessons (1h 50m)

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29 lessons (1h 50m) · 1 free

- 01. Welcome to the online course
  1:46
- 02. Meet Paddy Milner
  1:31
- 03. Meet Andrew Johnson
  2:28
- 04. Meet James Beckwith
  1:42
- 05. Meet Ross Stanley
  3:30
- 01. Make You Feel My Love, Adele (Performance)
  1:26
- 02. The Long and Winding Road, The Beatles (Performance)
  Free lesson
  1:43
- 03. Read All About It, Part III, Emeli Sande (Performance)
  1:58
- 04. ICAUFO, Joe Bennett (Performance)
  1:23
- 05. Umbra Bella, Simon Troup (Performance)
  1:07
- 06. Fab Stomp, Deirdre Cartwright (Performance)
  1:15
- 01. Make You Feel My Love, Adele (Lesson)
  7:34
- 02. The Long and Winding Road, The Beatles (Lesson)
  11:34
- 03. Read All About It, Part III, Emeli Sande (Lesson)
  9:09
- 04. ICAUFO, Joe Bennett (Lesson)
  7:45
- 05. Umbra Bella, Simon Troup (Lesson)
  10:42
- 06. Fab Stomp, Deirdre Cartwright (Lesson)
  6:39
- 01. Improvisation - what is it?
  3:21
- 02. Starting out with Blues improvisation
  You are here
  1:53
- 03. The 12 bar Blues form
  1:06
- 04. Using the Blues scale
  2:20
- 05. Adding accompaniment
  1:14
- 01. Intro to scales, arpeggios and voicings - why they're useful
  2:49
- 02. Scales - Grade 1
  8:19
- 03. Arpeggios / broken chords - Grade 1
  3:29
- 04. Chord voicings - Grade 1
  1:33
- 01. Sight reading with the "KAT TRAP" method
  9:04
- 01. Course outro
  0:49
- 02. About Rockschool & exams
  0:55

Lesson transcript

Learning Blues Improvisation

A great way to learn how to be a good improviser is to start by using the blues. The blues is an amazing chord sequence found in thousands of songs across various genres, including:

Pop
Jazz
Rock
Blues itself

There are so many versions of this that you will have heard already.

The 12-Bar Blues Format

I'm going to show you the format for a blues. The chord sequence consists of 12 bars. There are only three chords within this sequence. As you develop more skills, we'll start using more interesting chords, but for now, we will use triads. These may not sound particularly bluesy, but they will help you understand the harmony you're looking for.

Chords in the Key of F

Chord 1: F
Chord 4: Bb
Chord 5: C

The form of the blues is shaped around these three chords in slightly different ways. Here's how the sequence typically goes:

Start with F for four bars
Move to the fourth chord (Bb)
Back to F
Up to the fifth chord (C)
Back to the fourth chord (Bb)
Return to the first chord (F)

Improvisation Tips

Now, this may not sound particularly bluesy or like a great template for improvising right now, but as soon as you get these chord shapes under your fingers, you'll find that you can start to improvise with the right hand.

To add interest, you'll develop an exciting sound over this form by using the blues scale.

Part of the courseRockschool Beginner Piano Lessons: Grade 129 lessons (1h 50m)

This lesson is part of the full course. 1 lesson is free to watch.

from$13/month

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