Mixing chord tones and the blues scale

Improvisation with Chord Tones and the Blues Scale

Now I'm going to play an accompaniment with the left hand and improvise using chord tones.

The Process

This all might sound a bit straight, and what you really want to do is be like:

• Understand the sound of the harmony that you're using.
• Work through the chord tones.
• Once you've got them down, you can pepper this in with the blues scale as well.

So now I'm going to play you a chorus of the blues with chord tones and the blues scale in as well. By this point, you'll start to see that it gets very interesting. You start to sound very musical in how you're playing.

Developing Skills

All these ideas of improvising are about developing a certain level of skill and then layering on top:

1. Start off with a blues scale over simple triads.
2. Work towards using dominant sevenths, using the blues scale as well.
3. Start developing the form of the blues.
4. Add chord tones within that form.
5. Mix the blues scale and the chord tones together.

When we move on to more advanced levels, we start experimenting with very different sounds.

Enjoying the Journey

This approach to improvising will mean that you get to understand the building blocks of the process and, at the same time, really enjoy having fun doing it.

Improvising is all about expressing yourself and feeling your own creativity within the music.